LOS ANGELES – While many UCLA students were relaxing during Spring Break, hundreds of thousands of protesters hit the streets in cities across the country. Their target: the infamous immigration bill passed by the House of Representatives.
The protests are understandable, as the bill includes a provision that makes illegal immigrants and anyone who helps them – including employers – felons. The bill has also been criticized for its plan to cover the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border with a fence only 700 miles long.
This isn’t the first time Congress has tried to find a quick fix for immigration. In 1986, at a time when many believed illegal immigration threatened national security and taxed public services and benefits (sound familiar?), Congress passed a bill that granted illegal immigrants already here amnesty while promising to toughen border security. The bill also required employers to get documents from their workers.
According to a Pew Hispanic Center figure cited by The Associated Press, the number of illegal immigrants has grown by at least seven million since 1986. The failure, experts said, was that enforcement of security measures was too lax.
While the current House bill’s enforcement-only method seems drastically different from the 1986 bill, it repeats a core mistake: It promises unrealistic security measures that are hard to implement.
In response to the House bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee has come up with its own plan. It has tough enforcement provisions, including fortified fences and the use of satellites. But the Senate bill also leaves wiggle room for those who arrived illegally. Under the Senate’s plan, the agricultural industry can more easily (and legally) employ these immigrants seasonally. It also lets undocumented students stay in school and unites families.
One of the more controversial aspects of this plan is that it allows these undocumented individuals to eventually gain legal status in the United States. Provided that the individual kept tax payments current, passed a criminal background check, proved continuous employment, learned English and paid a $2,000 fine, he or she could apply for legal status after 11 years.
Currently, there are about 11 million undocumented workers in the country who make up 5 percent of our workforce. Their children grow up knowing only life in the United States.
Nothing about this issue is black and white. For every cost that undocumented workers create in the country, they also afford us benefits.
For example, the documents illegal immigrants use to gain employment have a valid Social Security number, so they are subjected to the same taxation and contribution to Social Security as any legal worker – a contribution of which they will never see the benefits. According to The New York Times, last year alone these immigrants were responsible for 10 percent of the Social Security surplus.
Congress – and the American people in general – must tread carefully through this issue and not get caught up in the firestorm of political rhetoric because the wrong fix can end up costing the country.
It is obvious the House bill is one of these temporary solutions. Is the Senate bill any better? A little. But it’s going to hinge on the federal government actually implementing its provisions. And, considering this is an election year, it seems that this is being treated as the issue of the week rather than the vital matter it actually is.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.
