LWV Immigration Forum
Although technically immigration is a national issue, there are implications for Whatcom County due to the heavy agricultural base and proximity to the border. The League of Women Voters hosted a for
Although technically immigration is a national issue, there are implications for Whatcom County due to the heavy agricultural base and proximity to the border. The League of Women Voters hosted a for
First, immigration is an incredibly complex issue and as I have been teaching my students at WWU, often times it is necessary for us to find ways to simplify the issues in order to draw conclusions. A couple of those methods seem to hinder, versus help the debate. When we deal with complex issues we tend to look to people that we relate to and share the same values (referred to as ethnocentrism) [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocentrism]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocentrism[/url], and then piggy-back their perspective. We tend to more easily relate to those from the same culture, background, education experience, and values and therefore tend to place a higher trust in their opinions. The second is stereotypes, which we use to fill in the blanks when we do not know about others we come in contact with. In watching the immigration debate, it seems much of the dialogue is being guided by this two simplifications, which is making it much harder to find common ground, even though I am more convinced then ever that there is some.
Second, the government is not allowing markets to work properly and therefore equilibrium between supply and demand is not occurring, creating surpluses and shortages, and making it impossible to solve the problem. One point mentioned during the forum is that Mexican farm labors are having a hard time competing against US agriculture products as a result of the heavy subsidies the ag sector receives, especially corporate farming. Those subsidies are allowing cheaper food into Mexico displacing farm workers that then need to find employment elsewhere. The choice is to either gain new skills, or go somewhere where you can use your agriculture background and find work, so they come to the US. The other market distortion caused by the government is the red tape in the existing guest worker program. Paul Grey pointed out the reason that the current guest worker program is not utilized is the excessive paperwork involved, the farmer bears the cost of transportation to and from the US making it very expensive, and anyone that participates is heavily scrutinized and subject to higher legal liabilities. The result is businesses refuse to participate and the current programs are ineffective.
The third is that at the end of the day any immigration policy must be humane and treat people with dignity, respect, and compassion. We all have basic rights, feelings, needs, and goals and any change in policy has to do a better job of preserving human dignity and respect then the current policy does. That does not mean that people should not suffer consequences for poor choices, but it should not be unduly excessive. The problem with government bureaucracy is it needs rules and policies to go by, but rarely do those same policies account for individual circumstances. The result is a lack of fairness and compassion in the system.
Hannah Storm highlighted three issues that need to be fixed in the current system and based on what they are they seem like they need to be fixed before any comprehensive reform can move forward. The first is that there are not enough legal channels for people to come to the US to work. If there are not enough legal channels for either businesses or workers, then people will resort to illegal means to achieve their goals. Second, the time it takes to get legal citizenships for immediate families is longer than is reasonable. A family member must leave the country and apply, which can mean a family is separated for as much as 10 years. We should not be surprised that people will not take that route; none of us would want to endure that. Finally, there are due process problems in the existing system that ignores basic rights. I have a friend of mine that is Canadian and working in Tucson for the US Forest Service. She and her Canadian husband went to Vancouver Island for a vacation before the holidays and returned through Port Angeles. Her husband got stopped at the border and turned around, but she was allowed to continue. In those instances there is no appeal or due process. The person may be sent back for legitimate reasons or error, but if it is an error there is no way to get it rectified. They have no idea when he will be able to get back in the country, and she has to work in Tucson. This is part of the humane processes that need to be in place and treating people with dignity and respect. There needs to be due process in the system and a means to preserve fairness and equity for everyone.