Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Immigrant Scapegoating Doesn't Solve Problem
August 25, 2003
Tucson Citizen
by John F. Kerry
My wife Teresa grew up under a dictatorship. She didn't get to cast a vote until she was 24 years old when she became a naturalized American.
She reminds me constantly that you can love your heritage even as you fulfill the full measure of your love of our country and your loyalty as a United States citizen. Immigrants have demonstrated their loyalty time and again. At least 10 of the U.S. soldiers in our armed forces who lost their lives in Iraq were not citizens. Their service and sacrifice speak volumes about the character and contribution of immigrants today and across the generations.
Immigrants add more than $10 billion each year to the American economy without even counting the contributions of immigrant-owned business. We need the energy and enterprise of immigrants - and that means we need root and branch reform of our nation's immigration policy. Our policy should not just harness the future flow of immigrants, but it should be based on a program of earned legalization for undocumented workers who are already here.
Those who have been in the United States for a significant amount of time, who have held a job, and who can pass a background security check should be eligible to earn full citizenship.
This proposal makes sense for the economy; it is not only fair to people who have worked long and hard and paid their taxes. This approach is the only way to strengthen our homeland security by bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows and into the light of greater accountability.
We need to end the shame of looking away while workers are exploited, families are separated and people die in a desert trying to find work.
That's why I strongly oppose the "Protect Arizona Now" ballot initiative. It is both heartless and divisive. The plan victimizes immigrants for the failures of government and an unstable economy.
It is no coincidence that the last time a proposition like this was considered was at a time of economic insecurity when some politicians chose to scapegoat immigrants instead of doing the hard work of ensuring economic opportunity for all. Before the Clinton economic boom took hold, right-wing politicians in California chose to blame someone for the lack of state social services and an insecure job market.
Only real economic leadership and truth-telling pushed back the forces of hate and discrimination by diffusing the tensions that economic insecurity had caused. Like those who advocated for Prop 187 in California, the supporters of the new Arizona initiative want to require state and local government employees to check the immigration status of anyone seeking public services. But turning every public service provider into an immigration official will not improve services.
It will not reduce the need of restaurants, construction firms, farms and others for more immigrant labor than our immigration laws create room for. And it will not make Arizona healthier or safer.
Hospitals should treat the sick because disease does not know the immigration status of the ill. It spreads from person to person without checking papers. Teachers should teach kids because we believe all children are born equal and denying them the opportunity to reach their potential offends our democratic sensibilities.
We need to reform immigration law in a way that better reflects our democratic values and our modern, global economy. Turning every teacher, health care provider, and firefighter into an immigration officer is not the solution.
As president, I would do what George Bush failed to do: forge a true, real, and lasting partnership with President Fox to deal with the difficult issue of immigration. I would rebuild our relationship with Mexico and with the rest of the hemisphere - not for political gamesmanship, but because mutual respect across the Americas is vital to the security and the economy of the United States of America.
Then we can have an immigration policy - not a policy of scapegoating - that makes sense for our security as well as our economy, while reminding Americans everywhere of the basic compact of our country: We're all in this together.
Tucson Citizen
by John F. Kerry
My wife Teresa grew up under a dictatorship. She didn't get to cast a vote until she was 24 years old when she became a naturalized American.
She reminds me constantly that you can love your heritage even as you fulfill the full measure of your love of our country and your loyalty as a United States citizen. Immigrants have demonstrated their loyalty time and again. At least 10 of the U.S. soldiers in our armed forces who lost their lives in Iraq were not citizens. Their service and sacrifice speak volumes about the character and contribution of immigrants today and across the generations.
Immigrants add more than $10 billion each year to the American economy without even counting the contributions of immigrant-owned business. We need the energy and enterprise of immigrants - and that means we need root and branch reform of our nation's immigration policy. Our policy should not just harness the future flow of immigrants, but it should be based on a program of earned legalization for undocumented workers who are already here.
Those who have been in the United States for a significant amount of time, who have held a job, and who can pass a background security check should be eligible to earn full citizenship.
This proposal makes sense for the economy; it is not only fair to people who have worked long and hard and paid their taxes. This approach is the only way to strengthen our homeland security by bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows and into the light of greater accountability.
We need to end the shame of looking away while workers are exploited, families are separated and people die in a desert trying to find work.
That's why I strongly oppose the "Protect Arizona Now" ballot initiative. It is both heartless and divisive. The plan victimizes immigrants for the failures of government and an unstable economy.
It is no coincidence that the last time a proposition like this was considered was at a time of economic insecurity when some politicians chose to scapegoat immigrants instead of doing the hard work of ensuring economic opportunity for all. Before the Clinton economic boom took hold, right-wing politicians in California chose to blame someone for the lack of state social services and an insecure job market.
Only real economic leadership and truth-telling pushed back the forces of hate and discrimination by diffusing the tensions that economic insecurity had caused. Like those who advocated for Prop 187 in California, the supporters of the new Arizona initiative want to require state and local government employees to check the immigration status of anyone seeking public services. But turning every public service provider into an immigration official will not improve services.
It will not reduce the need of restaurants, construction firms, farms and others for more immigrant labor than our immigration laws create room for. And it will not make Arizona healthier or safer.
Hospitals should treat the sick because disease does not know the immigration status of the ill. It spreads from person to person without checking papers. Teachers should teach kids because we believe all children are born equal and denying them the opportunity to reach their potential offends our democratic sensibilities.
We need to reform immigration law in a way that better reflects our democratic values and our modern, global economy. Turning every teacher, health care provider, and firefighter into an immigration officer is not the solution.
As president, I would do what George Bush failed to do: forge a true, real, and lasting partnership with President Fox to deal with the difficult issue of immigration. I would rebuild our relationship with Mexico and with the rest of the hemisphere - not for political gamesmanship, but because mutual respect across the Americas is vital to the security and the economy of the United States of America.
Then we can have an immigration policy - not a policy of scapegoating - that makes sense for our security as well as our economy, while reminding Americans everywhere of the basic compact of our country: We're all in this together.
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