Friday, June 29, 2012
How the President’s Deferred Action Initiative Will Help the U.S. Economy » Immigration Impact
How the President’s Deferred Action Initiative Will Help the U.S. Economy » Immigration Impact
President Obama’s June 15 “deferred action” announcement is good not only for the 1.4 million unauthorized children and young adults who have been granted a temporary reprieve from deportation, but also good for the U.S. economy. Each year, tens of thousands of unauthorized students graduate from primary or secondary school, often at the top of their classes. They have the drive and intelligence to become doctors, nurses, teachers, and entrepreneurs, but their lack of legal status has prevented them from attending college or working legally. The President’s deferred action initiative has finally provided them with an opportunity to live up to their full potential and, in the process, earn more, spend more, and pay more in taxes.
Consider the following:
Photo by zimmytws.
How the President’s Deferred Action Initiative Will Help the U.S. Economy
President Obama’s June 15 “deferred action” announcement is good not only for the 1.4 million unauthorized children and young adults who have been granted a temporary reprieve from deportation, but also good for the U.S. economy. Each year, tens of thousands of unauthorized students graduate from primary or secondary school, often at the top of their classes. They have the drive and intelligence to become doctors, nurses, teachers, and entrepreneurs, but their lack of legal status has prevented them from attending college or working legally. The President’s deferred action initiative has finally provided them with an opportunity to live up to their full potential and, in the process, earn more, spend more, and pay more in taxes.
Consider the following:
- Beneficiaries of the President’s announcement will have access to greater educational opportunities and better jobs, which in turn means more taxable income. A study by the College Board found that, over the course of his or her working life, the average college graduate earns in excess of 60% more than a high-school graduate, and workers with advanced degrees earn two to three times as much as high-school graduates.
- A RAND study from 1999 shows that raising the college graduation rate of Hispanics to that of non-Hispanic whites would increase spending on public education by 10% nationwide, but the costs would be more than offset by savings in public health and benefits, as well as by increased tax revenues resulting from higher incomes. For example, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant woman with a college degree will pay $5,300 more in taxes and use $3,900 less in government expenses each year compared to a high-school dropout with similar characteristics.
- Immigrant workers, like all workers, spend their wages in U.S. businesses—buying food, clothes, appliances, cars, etc.—which sustains the jobs of the workers employed by those businesses. Moreover, businesses respond to the presence of new workers and consumers by investing in new restaurants, stores, and production facilities. The end result is more jobs for more workers.
- A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco points out that “immigrants expand the U.S. economy’s productive capacity, stimulate investment, and promote specialization that in the long run boosts productivity,” and “there is no evidence that these effects take place at the expense of jobs for workers born in the United States.”
- Currently, only 5-10% of unauthorized high-school graduates go to college, and most unauthorized youths are forced to work illegally in the cash economy as domestic servants, day laborers, and sweatshop factory workers. The President’s initiative will create a strong incentive for unauthorized students to remain in school until graduation, would make them lawfully eligible to work, and would ultimately help fill positions like teachers and nurses—positions that have long been in demand in the United States.
Photo by zimmytws.
Monday, June 4, 2012
USDA Says Border Patrol Shouldn’t Be Acting as Interpreters | VivirLatino
USDA Says Border Patrol Shouldn’t Be Acting as Interpreters | VivirLatino
USDA Says Border Patrol Shouldn’t Be Acting as Interpreters
2 Jun 2012 On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “USDA” civil rights office found that the U.S. Forest Service discriminated against Latinos in Washington State by using U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents as interpreters and as law-enforcement support in routine matters.
The decision by the federal agency came in response to a complaint filed by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) on behalf of one of its clients, whose name is not being released publicly to protect her privacy. The complaint stemmed from an incident in May 2011 in which a U.S. Forest Service officer called Border Patrol during a routine stop in the Olympic Peninsula. The incident led to the death of the partner of the complainant in the case.
This is the first legal ruling addressing the issue of whether the use of Border Patrol agents as language interpreters violates civil rights protections.
According to the New York Immigration Coalition, in New York, a disturbing pattern has emerged of Border Patrol agents responding to local law enforcement requests to serve as “Spanish-language interpreters” for Latino community members stopped for traffic violations, and participating in 911 dispatch activities. Border Patrol agents are frequently called to “translate” even though the targeted individuals may be conversant in English or do not speak Spanish. In some cases, these stops appear pre-textual and potentially due to racial profiling. Community members report that Border Patrol agents have immediately asked for immigration documents of individuals before interpreting and have engaged in aggressive and intimidating behavior. Given how New York State is now under the Secure Communities program is a cause for greater concern in terms of these border patrol interventions.
To address these concerns on Thursday an alliance of advocacy organizations, including the New York Immigration Coalition, filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) for records related to the use of Border Patrol agents as interpreters for local law enforcement agencies, a practice that has now been labeled as “discriminatory” by a federal agency. A separate FOIA request seeks the release of information about Border Patrol agents’ participation in 911 dispatch activities. The alliance of organizations that submitted these FOIA requests includes the American Immigration Council, the Alliance for Immigrants & Reform Michigan, Migrant Justice, the New York Immigration Coalition, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and One America. The requesters are represented by the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center.
Via / New York Immigration Coalition, Seattle Weekly
The decision by the federal agency came in response to a complaint filed by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) on behalf of one of its clients, whose name is not being released publicly to protect her privacy. The complaint stemmed from an incident in May 2011 in which a U.S. Forest Service officer called Border Patrol during a routine stop in the Olympic Peninsula. The incident led to the death of the partner of the complainant in the case.
This is the first legal ruling addressing the issue of whether the use of Border Patrol agents as language interpreters violates civil rights protections.
According to the New York Immigration Coalition, in New York, a disturbing pattern has emerged of Border Patrol agents responding to local law enforcement requests to serve as “Spanish-language interpreters” for Latino community members stopped for traffic violations, and participating in 911 dispatch activities. Border Patrol agents are frequently called to “translate” even though the targeted individuals may be conversant in English or do not speak Spanish. In some cases, these stops appear pre-textual and potentially due to racial profiling. Community members report that Border Patrol agents have immediately asked for immigration documents of individuals before interpreting and have engaged in aggressive and intimidating behavior. Given how New York State is now under the Secure Communities program is a cause for greater concern in terms of these border patrol interventions.
To address these concerns on Thursday an alliance of advocacy organizations, including the New York Immigration Coalition, filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) for records related to the use of Border Patrol agents as interpreters for local law enforcement agencies, a practice that has now been labeled as “discriminatory” by a federal agency. A separate FOIA request seeks the release of information about Border Patrol agents’ participation in 911 dispatch activities. The alliance of organizations that submitted these FOIA requests includes the American Immigration Council, the Alliance for Immigrants & Reform Michigan, Migrant Justice, the New York Immigration Coalition, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and One America. The requesters are represented by the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center.
Via / New York Immigration Coalition, Seattle Weekly
- Tags: border patrol
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