The U-S Mexican Immigration Debate Under the Bush Administration

Outline

Thesis:

I. The economy in both Mexico and the United States is the force that drives immigrants out of Mexico and into the United States

A. Both the Mexican and American economies are experiencing a recession.

B. Most immigrants area not drawn to the jobs in the US, but are forced out of Mexico due to lack of opportunity, under employment, and poverty.

C. The Mexican and American economies are dependent on one another, and NAFTA has proved to be an uneven agreement which is greatly damaging to the Mexican economy while beneficial to the American economy.

D. The only way to solve the problem of immigration in the long run is to fix the economy in Mexico.

1. No number of border control or fences will stop the immigrants. They will only stop coming once the Mexican economy can offer them similar wages, opportunities, and standards, as the US does.

2. Fixing the Mexican economy begins with reform of the government and redistribution of the nations wealth. Mexico is controlled by a select group of elitists that live in luxury while overwhelmingly; the rest of the population struggles to make a decent living or suffers in poverty.

3. The elitists that hoard all of Mexico’s potential wealth are the big corporations in both Mexico and the USA.

4. It is the United States duty to terminate or revise NAFTA so that large American corporations are not stealing the jobs from the native Mexicans.

II. The increased border security has not proved to be damaging and ineffective.

A. The trip illegal immigrants make across the Mexican American border is becoming increasing more dangerous.

1. Since the introduction of more border security in border cities like San Diego and El Paso, immigrants have been forced to enter less inhabited and much more dangerous terrain in order to cross the border.

2. This has resulted in the deaths of 498 immigrants who were fleeing from the poverty of Mexico and trying to make a better life for their family in the US.

B. The flow of illegal immigrants entering the USA has actually slowed down, but research shows that the decrease is due to the slow down in the American economy, not the additional security at the border.

C. The additional security at the border is ineffective because all of the money spent on it is not worth the rising number of deaths it has caused at the border.

III. Reforming the immigration policy to streamline the application and distribution processes of visas would help solve the problem of illegal immigration.

A. The USA must give out more temporary work visas in order to satisfy the demand that US employers have for labor.

B. It is necessary to streamline the H-2A agricultural worker visa because American agriculture is in great need of more labor.

C. If the United States issued more visas, illegal immigration would decrease. Mexicans would rather enter the USA legally than risk their lives crossing the border.

IIIV. Immigration has both good and bad affects on the American economy. However, the good influence it has strongly outweighs the bad.

A. The labor force of Mexico is what the United States need to meet its potential capitol.

B. Anti-immigrant forces complain that immigrants lower the wages for American citizens. Research shows that immigrants might lower the wages by 5% at most. If Americans had a 5% decrease in their wages, they would still be loosing less money than what they would be if they had to pay higher taxes if the United States continues to increase the immigration enforcement and border control budget.

C. The possible 5% decrease in wages is a very minor offset for most Americans, while the higher wages immigrants can earn in the US could save their families and create better futures.

D. Anti-immigrant forces claim that illegal immigrants take up government benefits and that they don’t pay taxes.

1. This is mostly untrue as most illegal immigrants pay taxes such as property tax and even social security.

2. Immigrants might not pay as many taxes as American citizens, but if they had been able to enter the country legally, they would probably be happy to pay the taxes.

E. Immigrants are helping to ease the burden that younger Americans will have to face as the Baby Boomer generation goes into retirement.

F. Immigrants bring the culture and diversity that the United States is known for.

V. The George W. Bush Administration has enacted many laws and programs that have cracked down on illegal immigration and changed the immigrant experience on a whole.

A. The 2007 comprehensive reform bill proposed by Bush failed in Congress in June 2007. The reform bill had a few good aspects, but was largely impractical.

B. The Bush Administration has increased the budget for border security and immigration enforcement.

C. The Bush Administration has prompted the construction of a 700 mile wall on the US-Mexico border.

D. The Bush Administration has ended the “catch and release” policy and has adopted the “catch and return” policy.

E. the Bush Administration has introduced and spread the E-Verify program so that employers can verify the legality of their workers.

F. the Bush Administration proposed the “No Match” Employment Eligibility Verification regulation.

G. The Bush Administration has cracked down on illegal immigration by enforcing stricter punishments for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

H. In the Fiscal Year 2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed about 1.2 million illegal immigrants from the USA.

VI. During the past four years, both legal and illegal immigrants have been facing discrimination and hostility, causing many immigrants to talk of the “anti-immigrant climate” in America.

A. Immigrants are living in fear of being deported.

1. Towns and cities with large immigrant populations have seen a huge economic decline. Immigrants are no longer buying things, going to the mall, going to parties, etc. They have secluded themselves from community life, in fear of being caught and being deported.

2. Many immigrants are leaving the state or even returning back to their home country because they can’t live bear to live in the constant fear of being deported.

B. Many legal immigrants live in fear because if they have just one illegal friend or family member, it can affect everyone.

C. Many immigrants have been fired due to the new employer sanction laws.

1. Many employers are complaining about the new crack down on hiring illegal. Employers claim they need the workers and are worried about what they will do when they must fire them.

VII. There have been many negative effects since the introduction of the employer sanction laws, increase in deportation, and over all crackdown on illegal immigration.

A. Employers say immigrants (legal and illegal) are essential to their businesses and are against the new employer sanction law.

B. Many businesses have been forced to close since immigrants have started living a more secluded life because they fear being deported. This is a negative effect on the economy. The immigrants are still in the United States, now they are just not spending money or part taking in community life.

C. Families have been ripped apart with record number of deportations in 2007.

D. Mexicans in the United States have been deported to Mexico. Some of these Mexicans grew up in the US and don’t even speak Spanish, have any family, or a place to go in Mexico.

VIII. The solution to immigration, deportation or amnesty?

A. Both deportation and amnesty have their pros and cons so a compromise seems most beneficial.

B. Anti-immigrant forces promote deporting all 12 million illegal immigrants.

1. This is an unrealistic option.

2. It would actually hurt the US economy because the US needs the immigrant labor force.

3. Families would be torn apart even more.

4. Tensions in the US-Mexican relationship would rise.

C. A path to citizenship or a path to attaining a visa would be beneficial in the short run.

1. Illegal immigrants should have to prove basic knowledge of the English language and should have to pay a neutralization fee.

2. Illegal immigrants could come out of the shadows and start living real lives, which would boost the American economy.

3. Illegal immigrants would not have to hide, and they would receive papers and start to pay more taxes and contribute to the American society.

VIIII. Conclusion, comprehensive immigration reform.

A. Aid Latin America, Mexico especially, in reforming their economy so that natives have more incentive to stay in their country. Work with the Mexican president to create a program that equally benefits both nations.

B. Make the process of legal immigration easier and more effective so that Americans don’t feel threatened by immigrants, but also so that employers have enough labor to produce more capital and strengthen the US economy.

C. Create a path to amnesty for the illegal immigrants already in the United States.

D. Stop spending so much money on border control and immigration enforcement. If the US gave out more visas, the illegal immigration flow would greatly decrease, and the US could stop spending money on border control.

Although the current immigration debate in the United States is indeed complex and multifaceted, research shows that immigration is an overall positive movement. Immigration not only helps to stimulate both the American and Mexican economy, but it also helps to diversify the culture in America. While the United States currently receives immigrants from various countries, Mexico is by far the single largest source of immigrants in the US. (Hightower)

To understand Mexican-US immigration, we must start at the source of the problem; why do Mexicans migrate to the United States? The economy in both Mexico and the United States is the force that drives immigrants out of Mexico and into the United States. Both the Mexican and American economies are experiencing a recession. Since the American economy has plummeted, it has had a negative affect on Mexico. The tragic economy in Mexico is what forces immigrants out of their native land and into the United States. However, the current state of the American economy might be part of the reason for a decrease in immigrants entering the United States. Most immigrants are not drawn to the jobs or US benefits, but are forced out of Mexico due to lack of opportunity, under employment, and poverty. What most anti-immigrant forces fail to bring up in debates is the fact that most Mexican people would prefer to live in their own country. “Their family, language, culture, identity, and happiness is Mexican-yet sheer economic survival requires so many of them to abandon the place they love.” (Hightower, 16). Most immigrants go to America to make money and send most of it back to Mexico to their families. Immigrants hope to make enough money to create a better life back in Mexico, where the US dollar goes a long way. Immigrants send 25$ billion dollars a year back to Mexico, making it Mexico’s largest revenue source. Only about 10% of Mexicans don’t have work, but most of the Mexicans that have jobs, can not prosper or advance because their jobs pay minimum wage of 5$ a day. Some Mexicans, who do not live in desperation and poverty, also come to the US because the money is just so much better, and the opportunities, even for university educated people, are much more ample in the US. (Seiler)

The Mexican and American economies are dependent on one another, and NAFTA has proved to be an uneven agreement, which is greatly damaging to the Mexican economy while beneficial to the American economy. In 1992, NAFTA was proposed and just as Clinton did in the US, Mexican elites promoted it as the magic power that would create growth, jobs, raise wages, and eliminate the surge of Mexican migrants into the US. NAFTA was signed January 1, 1994 and it might have had the positive results it was supposed to have if the devaluation of the peso didn’t happen just 11 months later. In December 1994 Mexico’s then president Ernesto Zedillo devalued the peso almost by half. This is called the Mexican Shock or the “error de diciembre”, the December Mistake. The currency devaluation of 1994 was the big hit that caused even more immigrants to surge into the USA and since then, things haven’t changed much. If there hadn’t been the “error de diciembre”, immigration might have remained lower and legal and illegal immigrants in the US might have returned to a better Mexico, economically speaking. Unfortunately, the promises that Clinton and the Mexican government made concerning the positive impact that NAFTA would have, never came true. Since the implementation of NAFTA, many Mexican businesses have gone bankrupt and predatory US chains have taken over. US corporations now control 40% of the country’s formal jobs- Wal-Mart ranking as the number one employer. 19 millions more Mexicans live in poverty today than when NAFTA was passed. Since 1994, the economy in Mexico hasn’t grown substantially and the benefits of any growth are still going to the wealthy families of Mexico. Since NAFTA, Mexico has created less than 1/3 of the jobs needed; the labor force is way too big for the economy in Mexico. Also, factory wages have dropped more than 5% under NAFTA. Unskilled workers are paid 5$ a day. US agribusiness corporations have more than doubled their shipment of subsidized crops into Mexico, devaluating the price that indigenous farmers got for their products and displacing some 2 million peasant farmers from their land. Giant agribusiness operations, many owned by US investors, now control Mexican agricultural production and pay farm workers only 2$/hour. Thus, Mexicans are loosing their livelihoods and are being paid 2$ and hour to work for an American invested corporation. Even if the Mexican economy growth rate is increasing slightly; it is not enough to match the labor force growth rate. From 1994-2004 the economy grew at half the rate of the labor force. In 1991, 946, 167 legal Mexicans entered the US. In 1992, 213,802 immigrants came to the US, and in 1993, 126, 561 came. In 1994 the US strengthened their relationship with Mexico by passing the supposedly beneficial NAFTA. It doesn’t quite make sense then, that in 1994 just when the US has just gained trade rights with Mexico, the US also decides to let only 111,308 legal immigrants enter the country. It seems that the US was benefiting from Mexico while simultaneously denying the Mexican people the opportunity to benefit as well. The “free market” and huge corporations are hurting Mexico’s grass roots economy. Immigration reform must start with labor and trade reform. The elites in both Mexico and the US are making it impossible for the poor people of Mexico to flourish. Mexico’s government denies hard working Mexicans the possibility of prospering economically. Since 1994, “Mexico’s longstanding system of sustaining its huge population of poor citizens (including self-sufficient farms, jobs in state-owned industries and subsidies for such essentials as tortillas) has been scuttled at the insistence of US Banks, corporations, government officials, and “free market” ideologues. In the name of “modernizing” the Mexican economy, such giants as Citigroup, Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, and GE- in cahoots with the plutocrats and oligarchs of Mexico- have laid waste to that countries grass roots economy, destroying the already meager livelihoods of millions.” (Hightower, 17 )

The only way to solve the problem of immigration in the long run is to fix the economy in Mexico. No number of border control or fences will stop the immigrants, they will only stop coming once the Mexican economy can offer them similar wages, opportunities, and standards, as the US does. This will take at least 10-15 years but is the only real solution. The wage difference between Mexico and the US is so large that even if a Mexican is employed, they would probably still come to the US. Fixing the Mexican economy begins with reform of the government and redistribution of the nations wealth. Mexico is controlled by a select group of elitists that live in luxury while overwhelmingly; the rest of the population struggles to make a decent living or suffers in poverty. Heritage Foundations Index of Economic Freedom produces annual indexes which give a rough view of the control that the national government has over their economics. The countries with the best scores, which are the ones with the most economic freedom, usually have the most successful economies. Based on the 2008 index, Mexico has the 44^th freest economy in the world with a rating of 66.4 which is described as “moderately free”. The United States is the 5^th freest economy with a ranking of 80.6 which is described as “free”. It is clear that free markets, stable currencies, and low taxes promote economic growth, which Mexico doesn’t have. It is also clear that economic growth attracts workers. The taxes and bureaucracy are inhospitable to most Mexicans. The high taxes and overall hostility to business create the anti-job creation climate in Mexico. The problem is not that the Mexican people do not work hard, because research shows that Mexican American’s businesses are flourishing in America, but can not flourish in Mexico. It is nearly impossible to start a small business in Mexico because the federal government holds too much control. The promotion of small businesses in Mexico is growing, but there are still numerous problems; Heritage reported “The judiciary and local police still have problems of unprofessionalism, inefficiency, and corruption. State enterprises like Petroleos de Mexico (PEMEX) still need to be privatized and the Mexican economy must create enough jobs to meet the number of new workers entering the labor force each year.” (Seiler, 11) About 1 million people enter Mexico’s work force each ear. About 1/3 of the million seeks jobs in the US, 1/3 find jobs in Mexico’s growing informal economy, and the last 1/3 of the million find jobs in the formal job sector where they pay taxes and get public health insurance. Mexico’s baby boom began in the late 1970’s and ended in the early 1990’s. After 2015, the number of young adults entering the workforce should decline. (Seiler)

It is the United States duty to terminate or revise NAFTA so that large American corporations do not steal the jobs from the native Mexicans. The elitists that hoard all of Mexico’s potential wealth are the big corporations in both Mexico and the USA. Analyst Fredo Arias-King states the situation perfectly, saying that President Fox “could have cut the Gordian knot of bureaucratic red tape, monopolies, obstacles to foreign investment, the Byzantine tax code, criminal networks in government, a bloated public sector and the lack if property rights. Instead, the elites won’t let the pie grow, and the economy is still chocked by monopolies and oligopolies.” (Seiler, 25). The Calderon Administration needs to fulfill the promises that Fox made but only started to complete. America must work with Mexican authorities to open up its markets. However, President Bush and the future president of the United States must be careful in its actions to help reform Mexico. Past Mexican interferences such as the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 and the interference of President Wilson beginning in 1913 didn’t go very well. Since the immigration debate is one of extreme complexity and emotion, Mexican and American authorities must work together in a peaceful and understanding manner, as to keep the tensions to a minimum and create an honest solution.

On a whole, the increased border security has proved to be damaging and ineffective. The trip illegal immigrants make across the Mexican American border is becoming increasingly more dangerous. Since the introduction of more border security in border cities like San Diego and El Paso, immigrants have been forced to enter less inhabited and much more dangerous terrain in order to cross the border. Immigrants are entering more remote areas with more drug smuggling, dangerous weather, and trafficking. This has resulted in the deaths of 498 immigrants in 2007 that were fleeing from the poverty of Mexico and trying to make a better life for their family in the US. “Illegal immigration traffic is like air in a balloon; as you tighten the grip on one part of it, you get a bulge somewhere else.” (Murray, 2666). Under the Bush Administration there has been an increase in fences, night vision scopes, sensors, cameras, patrol vehicles, and aircrafts. Immigrants have little or no knowledge of the desert, the heat, insects, wildlife, and rugged terrain. At least 1 person dies a day trying to cross the US Mexico border.

Ms. Martinez was a 29 year old woman from Tepetlan Mexico, four hours northeast of Mexico City. When she decided to enter the US illegally, her family urged her not to and begged her to stay, but Martinez was committed to giving her four children a better life. She wanted to make more money and give her children a house. The $2,000 dollars it costs to make the trip goes to the smugglers. She went on the journey with her 17 year old cousin, Mr. Diaz. It took her and her cousin 3 days to reach the Mexican side of the border. They stayed in a room at the border with 15 other crossers. A smuggler gave them each 2 cans of tuna, a bag of tortilla chips, and a gallon and half of water, before setting off into the inhospitable desert. Mr. Diaz said that the smugglers assured them that it would be a day or so of walking through the desert to reach the city. After walking a day and a half, a smuggler gave the weak and exhausted Ms. Martinez a carbonated energy drink and caffeine pills, but that only made it worse. She was about 10 miles past the Mexican border when she passed out and died. She died early in July, 2007 in the Sonaron Desert in Arizona. Ms. Martinez’s family blames the smugglers for telling them they would only have to walk a day and a half, when Border Patrol Agents say the walk from the border is more like a 3-4 day walk. The tragic story of Ms. Martinez happens at least once every day. This was Mr. Diaz’s second attempt to cross the border and even after loosing his cousin, he says he might try a third trip later on. (Archibold, At the US Border, the Desert Takes a Rising Toll)

The flow of illegal immigrants entering the USA has indeed declined, but research shows that the decrease is due to the slow down in the American economy, not the additional security at the border. The additional security at the border is ineffective because all the money spent on it is not worth the rising number of deaths it has caused at the border.

Entering the US as a legal immigrant is not as easy as it might seem; reforming the immigration policy to streamline the application and distribution processes of visas would help solve the problem of illegal immigration. Visas are categorized into two broad sectors, family visas and business visas. While family visas are helpful, the business (including work) visas are imperative. The USA must give out more temporary work visas in order to satisfy the demand that US employers have for labor. According to estimates by growers associations, more than 70% of farmers in the fields of the USA are illegal immigrants. The US government must either grant amnesty to illegals already in the US or issue more temporary work visas. The situation is complicated however, because the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 40%-50% of the illegal immigrants in the USA in 2006 entered the country legally, either with a tourist or work visa, or a border-crossing card. The reason that the immigrants didn’t return to Mexico after their visa expired is because they feared that they wouldn’t be issued another visa. The difficulty to get a visa forces immigrants to over stay their visas in the US and therefore become illegal. If the United States granted more visas or made the process easier, then maybe more immigrants would return home and apply for another visa instead of staying illegally. The United States needs immigrants in order to reach its maximum capitol potential. The Department of Labor (DOL) is trying to modernize the H-2A agricultural seasonal worker program to provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow if legal workers. This is an imperative action that the Bush Administration must make because agriculture is the single most part of the American economy that needs the flow of legal workers most right now; the agricultural department in the US is experiencing labor shortages. The DOL is also working on reforming the H-2B visa program for non-agricultural seasonal workers. They hope to make the H-2B application process more efficient and simple. They are also making plans to reform the visa program for highly skilled workers. If the United States issued more visas, illegal immigration would decrease. Mexicans would rather enter the USA legally than risk their lives crossing the border. In order for a Mexican to apply for a visa, they must have money in a Mexican bank account, own property in Mexico, or have a full time job- this shows the embassy that the Mexican has reason to return to Mexico after working or visiting the USA. (Improving Border Security and Immigration)

Immigration has both good and bad affects on the American economy. However, the good influence it has strongly outweighs the bad. It seems that in the recent years of the United States turbulent economy, anti-immigrant forces have found the perfect scapegoat for all problems-immigrants. These forces are blaming all economical problems on them, so it is important to know what is true and what is fiction. Even anti-immigrant forces can not deny that the Mexican labor force is what the United States needs to meet its potential capital. Anti-immigrant forces complain that immigrants lower the wages for American citizens. Research shows that immigrants might lower the wages by 5% at most. If Americans had a 5% decrease in their wages, they would only be loosing a little and it would have very little effect on their lives. A low skilled worker in America can make $9.35/hour. A low skilled worker in Mexico could make $2.56/hour. Thus, the Mexican worker gains tremendously by migrating north while Americans only loose a little. Gordon Hanson of the University of California estimates that illegal immigration costs native born residents about 0.07% of the GDP. This possible 0.07% does not outweigh the economic gains that the labor supply provides in the USA. Illegals make up about 24% of farm workers in the USA, 17% of cleaners, and 14% of construction workers. Not only does the USA benefit economically, but millions of poor Mexicans are receiving more money. Also, the 0.07% price, if it even exists, is much less than what it would cost to keep illegal workers out. President Bush’s 2008 budget for illegal immigration proposes spending $13 billion, which would cost the native born American about 0.1% of their GDP. Immigrants might bring wages down slightly, but the businesses who hire them benefit as well as the consumers. More and more Americans are getting an education, making unskilled labor scarcer. Thus, immigration has been a good match for US employers. So, we could increase the illegal immigration budget, stop illegal immigration, have a shortage of workers which would greatly damage our economy, make the American people pay more taxes, and deny the Mexican people an opportunity to make better money and a better future. Or we could, control illegal immigration and greatly promote legal immigration, decrease the immigration budget to lower American’s taxes, supply US employers with a hard working labor force to boost the American economy, and help Mexicans create a better life for their families. (The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration)

Anti-immigrant forces also claim that illegal immigrants take up government benefits and that they don’t pay taxes. This is not completely true as many illegal immigrants pay taxes, such as property tax and even social security. (Alvarez) Immigrants might not pay as many taxes as American citizens, but if they had been able to enter the country legally, they would probably be happy to pay the taxes. It is not that they will not pay the taxes; it is that they can not pay the taxes because they are hiding from US government and society. If the United States would issue more visas, then immigrants could come illegally which would ensure that they are paying taxes.

Critics of immigration often claim that immigration to the US, and growth of Latino population is growing out of control. They claim that immigration is rising; they do this by averaging the immigration numbers from years 1995-2006 and then ignoring the turndown after 2000. The annual flow of new immigrants appears to have peaked back in 2000. (Immigration: Long Term Trends and America’s Future Arrival Rates, Integration Patterns, and Impact on an Aging Society) They also claim that immigrants are not contributing or benefiting society like the immigrants did in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. The January 2008 Immigration Policy Center report by demographer Dowell Myers illustrates that immigrants are “climbing the socio-economic ladder and becoming increasingly more important to the US economy as workers, tax payers, and home buyers, supporting the aging baby boom generation.” Immigrants and their children are helpful as many of the baby boom Americans are retiring and they help to maintain the labor-force growth, care for the aging Americans, and sustain the Social Security system. Immigration will help when between 2010 and 2030, the ratio of seniors to working age adults will soar by 67%.

Anti-immigrant forces also complain about immigrants not speaking English, or not conforming to the American ways. It is important to realize that immigrants bring the culture and diversity that the United States is known for. Also, immigrants are the fastest growing minority in the US, but their assimilation patterns are the same of the immigrants who came in previous centuries. How to anti-immigrant forces condemn immigrants when their own ancestors were immigrants? Just like previous European immigrants, today’s Latin American immigrants are overtime, learning English, earning higher wages, buying houses, and trying to integrate into the US society. Most Mexican immigrants entering the US do not speak English well, but they do grow and progress while living in the US. It is hard to see the progress that immigrants are making in cities were new immigrants keep coming in. Studying California, where immigrants have settled for a longer period of time, can show that immigrants are capable of learning English, and integrating into American society. Among foreign born Latinos in California who had been in the US for less than 10 years, about 33% spoke proficient English. Latino residents of 30 or more years claimed 73% proficiency. If the US would abolish the recent “anti-immigrant climate”, it would be easier for Latinos to come out of their communities and try to integrate into American society. (Immigration: Long Term Trends and America’s Future Arrival Rates, Integration Patterns, and Impact on an Aging Society)

Another benefit of immigration is the positive influence it has on millions of Mexican families. It is sad that Mexicans have to abandon their homeland, but at least they have the opportunity to come to the US. Anti-immigrant forces might try to convince themselves that immigrants are damaging “but a poor peasant with dollars in his hip pocket or a landscaping job in Fresno needn’t bow to the Old World caciques who control his village. To the man who departs pesoless yet returns with cash to spend, the United States affords dignity, respect, and sweet vindication. Ignore the allure of that psychological boost and you miss a lot of the immigration story.” Americans must not forget that we are all humans and all humans deserve basic human rights. (Quinones, 8)

The George W. Bush Administration has enacted many laws and programs the have cracked down on illegal immigration and changed the immigrant experience on a whole. The 2007 comprehensive reform bill proposed by Bush failed in Congress in June 2007. The reform bill had few good aspects, but was largely impractical. The bill proposed that migrant workers can stay in the US for two years, and then they must return to their home country for 1 year before applying to return to the US. This is rather unrealistic because migrants would just stay in the US if they knew that they had to wait a year, or they would return to Mexico and come back to the US immediately, crossing the border as an illegal, which would defeat the purpose. The bill also proposed a $5,000 dollar fine that illegals already in the US must pay in order to begin the legalization process (also known as amnesty). The fine should be lower-around $2,000 or $3,000 dollars-which is what illegals pay smugglers to get them across the border. Holistically, the bill was just a band-aid. The problem will never really be fixed if the US just focuses on domestic policies because the root of the problem lies in foreign policy. The bill also proposed employer sanction laws, border patrol, fences etc. Again, these things will not solve the problem; the United States must try to convince Mexico to open up its economy, break the monopolies, close the gap between the rich and poor, end corruption, and better distribute power. (Archibold, At the US Border, the Desert Takes Rising Toll)

The Bush Administration has increased the budget for border security and immigration enforcement. The budget has increased from $9.8 billion dollars in 2001 to $12.3 billion dollars in 2008. The Administration has also expanded the number of border patrol agents. There were 9,000 in 2001 and by the end of 2008 it will be doubled to 18,000. The Bush Administration has also proposed the new Southwest Border Enforcement initiative in the 2009 budget. This will give $100 million dollars to better control crime on the Southwest border. It should increase the USA’s ability to arrest, detain, prosecute, and house violent criminals, drug offenders, and immigration violators. (Improving Border Security and Immigration)

The Bush Administration has prompted the construction of a 700 mile wall on the US-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is on track to complete 370 miles of the 700 mile fence by the end of 2008. This wall has caused rise of much opposition. The wall costs an initial $1.2 billion dollars and will end up costing $60 billion dollars over the next 25 years to build and maintain 40ft high rows of reinforced fencing that spread 150ft and goes for 700 miles. This is rather appalling and is not what is expected of a leading democratic nation. Many believe it sends out a bad message and will certainly not help the US’s relationship with their friendly neighbor, Mexico. Physical barriers have not proved to be the best way to handle such situations. In 1983 under Regan, a test fence was built. It was 17ft tall and toped with barbed wire. It was built at the outpost of Terlingua Texas. Not soon after its construction was the “Terlingua Memorial over, under, or through the Mexican Fence Climbing Contest”; the winning time was 30 seconds. The wall the Bush Administration is constructing unfortunately shows the blunt failure of our policy makers. People living on both sides of the border oppose the wall. 73% of Texas Latinos think a wall along the border is an ineffective idea. The Bush Administration did not study the economic or environmental impacts that the wall will have; they simply just started building a wall. Instead of the wall 63% if Latinos in Texas believe a pathway to citizenship is the best way to address illegal immigration. (Barreto and Manzano) Environmentalists are opposed to it because of the ecological damage it will do. A 2005 federal act authorized Bush’s Homeland Security Secretary to “suspend any laws that stand in the way of building the wall.” (Hightower, 12) The current Secretary Michael Chertoff has already used his unprecedented authority to ignore various laws such as the Endangered Species, Clean Water, and National History Preservation Act. Many say the wall is the wrong approach and is not worth all of the money and the damaged relationship it will cause between the US and Mexico. Governor Janet Napolitano said “show me a 50-foot wall and I’ll show you a 51 foot ladder.” (Hightower, 13) People die everyday trying to get into the US; a wall will not stop them.

The Bush Administration has introduced and spread the E-Verify program, enabling employers to better verify the legality of their workers. Almost 200,000 businesses use E-Verify now. Currently 2,000 employers are being added each week. More than 3.7 million hires were processed through E-Verify in 2007. As more states like Arizona require local businesses to use E-Verify and the federal government begins to require federal contractors to use the program, it will become increasingly more difficult for illegals to find work, which should weaken the lure that immigrants feel to come to the USA illegally. (Improving Border Security and Immigration)

The Bush Administration proposed the “No Match” Employment Eligibility Verification regulation. The DHS has issued this regulation in order to help employers make sure their workers are legal and help the government crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. The regulation is currently held up by litigation. The “No Match” Employment Eligibility Verification regulation should be revised and put to use this year, 2008. (Improving Border Security and Immigration)

The Bush Administration has cracked down on illegal immigration by enforcing stricter punishments for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Employers, especially in agriculture and low wage industries are worried and do not like the new laws. Employers are given about 90 days to resolve discrepancies between the identification the employer has and the records of the employer in the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration sent out about 140,000 “no match” letter to employers in 2007, which covered more than 8 million workers. Critics of employer sanction laws and the “no match” policy say that the crack down will only cause illegal immigrants to use more forged goods. The market for forged and fake goods would grow. Also, immigrants might leave their job and relocate illegally with another job. However, the law remains, and if workers documents can not be found, employers must fire them or risk thousands of dollars in fines. Some employers say they just can not handle this. The criticism from employers might force Congress to reconsider granting legal status to illegal immigrants instead. (Preston, US Set for a Crackdon on Illegal Hiring)

In the Fiscal Year 2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed about 1.2 million illegal immigrants from the USA. As the number of deportees has surged, so has the number of families that are being torn apart. Deportees are leaving behind their children and spouses in the US. The ICE has quintupled the number of teams that remove “fugitive aliens” from the US from 15 Fugitive Operations Teams in 2005 to 75 teams in 2007. (Improving Border Security and Immigration)

During the past four years, both legal and illegal immigrants have been facing a surge of discrimination and hostility, causing many immigrants to describe the “anti-immigrant climate” in America. Calderon believes the conservative talk show hosts and others are creating a “hostile environment for all Mexicans in the US.” (Mexican President; Closing the border a mistake, 12) Immigrants live in constant fear of being deported. Since raids on illegal immigration have increased, families, even if only one person is illegal, live in constant fear. “They do shopping in towns distant from home, avoid parties, and do not take vacations. They stay away from stores, forgo doctor’s visits and meetings at their children’s schools, and postpone girls’ normally lavish quinceaneras.” (Preston, US Set for a Crackdown on Illegal Hiring) One man, Pedro Martin, has seen most young men and women in his small village in Mexico depart for the USA and he said “Up north, even though they pay more, you’re not necessarily living as well. You feel out of place. Here you can walk around the whole town and it is comfortable. Life is easier” (Hightower, 15)

A 37 year old naturalized citizen who was born in Central American but grew in Waukegan Illinois has decided to stay away from her home town even though her mother still lives there. She fell in love with an illegal immigrant from Guatemala and they were married in 2004. Even though she was a citizen, it would be hard for her husband to become legal because he would have to go back to Guatemala to apply for legal status, and there was not guarantee that he would be able to return. This is evidence to prove that the high level of difficulty in order to attain a US visa is promoting immigrants to remain illegal instead of entering the application process to become legal. The 37 year old woman from Fearing Deporation but Clinging to Life in U.S. says “I know everything about Waukegan; it is my town. I know the high school, the first Mexican restaurant. I should feel free to go in and out whenever I want to. But I do not have the same freedom anymore.” (Preston, Fearing Deporation but Clinging to Life in U.S.) Immigrants are saving their money in case they are deported back to their country. Miriam M. is a US citizen married to her illegal husband. They have four children from previous marriages, all US citizens. They own their own landscape company and pay business and property taxes. Now, her husband avoids being seen or going out in Waukegan. Immigrants avoid the police and even avoid reporting crimes. American citizens who are married to illegal immigrants feel like fugitives. L. Gomez is a 36 year old woman on her way to becoming legal. Since the crackdown and increase in raids, she had avoided the police even when her violent husband threatened her. Even with all of the fear that the raids instill in illegal immigrants, many of them choose to stay in the USA. (Preston, Fearing Deporation but Clinging to Life in U.S.)

Latinos have been leaving Arizona since the crack down in illegal immigration. Apartment complexes are becoming vacant, schools report enrollment drops, business have to close down because there isn’t enough business. Cartwright Elementary School District has lost 525 students in 2007. In previous years, enrollment had grown or remained stable. The Mexican consulate in Phoenix has experiences and unusual five-fold increase in parents applying for Mexican birth certificates and other documents that give hints of moving to Mexico. Juan Jose Araujo 44, lives in Arizona legally but his wife is illegal. His wife wants to go to Mexico because of the difficulty of finding a job and the “anti-immigrant climate” Mr. Araujo said that he has lived in the US for 24 years and doesn’t have family or anything in Mexico. Even though he would know where to go in Mexico, he has to consider it. This shows how many immigrants that are leaving are legal, because if one family member is illegal, the whole family will move. (Archibold, Arizona seeing signs of Flight by Immigrants)

Dawn McLaren of Arizona State University thinks the Arizona might have problems for a year or more due to slowing of the economy, lack of immigration, and employer sanction law. However, McLaren points out that history shows it is difficult to stop illegal immigration as long as the US jobs pay better than their home country. Once the Arziona economy comes back up, the illegal and legal immigrants will return, no matter what the laws are. (Archibold, Arizona seeing signs of Flight by Immigrants)

Many immigrants have been fired due to the new employer sanction laws. Many employers are complaining that they need the workers and are worried about what they will do when they must fire them. Frank Sharry, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum from Border Games said “many employers don’t think hiring illegal immigrants is a crime. The crime of the immigrants is that they want to work hard. The crime of the employers is that they want to help the economy” (Murray, 2667) Arizona has strict employer sanction laws. Starting in March 2008 the law will punish employers who hire illegal immigrants. Already in February 2008, employers have dismissed workers who could not provide legal papers to work. Employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants get a 10 day suspension of their business license for 1^st offense. For 2^nd offense their license is revoked. (Archibold, Arizona seeing signs of Flight by Immigrants)

Their have been many negative effects since the introduction of the employer sanction laws, increase in deportation, and over all crackdown on illegal immigration. Employers say that immigrants both legal and illegal are essential to their business. Many businesses have been forced to close since immigrants have started living a more secluded life because they fear being deported. This has a negative effect on the economy. The immigrants are still in the United States, now they are just not spending money or taking part in community life. Families have been ripped apart with record number of deportations in 2007. 672,593 immigrants have been deported for crimes since 1996 and have left at least 1.6 million spouses and children, many of whom are US citizens. The crackdown that President Bush has imposed has caused long time legal residents to be swiftly deported for negligible violations. (Constanti)

While analyzing the numbers and laws of the immigration policy, it is also important to have insight into the journeys and minds of the actual immigrants. The stories of three Mexican sisters, Raquel, Veronica, and Irma show the heart-wrenching struggle that immigrants face as they are torn between the money in the US and their heart in Mexico. The sisters grew up dirt poor in Mexico with an abusive father. When they were younger, they sometimes had to beg for food. Now, Raquel Rodriguez has moved to the US and is legal. She leads a decent life but she does not feel settled because she constantly feels the need to help her brothers and sisters, none of whom are legal. She used to bring toys and clothes back to her home town of Monterrey when her brothers and sisters still lived their. Raquel said that she was not drawn to Texas by the “American Dream”, she was driven to leave Mexico by the pain of the past. When she decided to leave Mexico she told her mom “I’m going to work hard ma, so I can have something. So we will not have to ask anybody for anything, like we did when we were children.” (Preston, Making a Life in the US, but Feeling Mexico’s Tug) She has made economic gains that she could have only dreamed about in Mexico, but she wonders if the family made the right choice because now they have more money, but they are divided. Raquel has helped bring her siblings to the US. When they first arrived to Texas, they slept on her floor while they established themselves. She visits Mexico often and she leaves her husband and children in Texas to celebrate Christmas in Mexico with her mother and the rest of her siblings. She works in a cafeteria but knows that that job will not be satisfactory for her whole life. Her American friends urge her to learn English and get a high school degree, but each night when Raquel comes home, she is too exhausted and worried about the bills to learn English. This shows that immigrants to make an effort to learn English, but the circumstances of the opportunistic put capitalistically competitive American economy make finding time to practice English rather difficult. (Preston, Making a Life in the US, but Feeling Mexico's Tug: Three Sisters)

The second sister, Veronica has lived in the US illegally for six years. Her children are on honor roll in school and her husband makes $15 an hour. This is a huge wage difference compared to Mexico, where you might only make $5 dollars a day. She entered the US on a tourist visa, extended it, and has remained since. She is extremely cautious; she does not go anywhere where they will ask her for cards she does not have-credit cards, social security card, insurance card, greed card. She has a close cousin in Houston but does not dare to drive the 200 miles to visit her because she is afraid of being caught by the police. It took her five years to get a drivers license because she heard it was unsafe for someone “sin papeles”, or “with out papers” to apply, and you have to use a computer which she had never used before. When she goes out of her house she quickly waves to her neighbors and that is all. Her neighbors have learned to look way. Veronica and her husband always follow the rules despite the fact that they are illegal. She says she tries to fit in to the society the best she can, but she often feels unwelcomed and never forgets that she is illegal. Once, she went to the store with her husband to return a faulty microwave. The employee would not take it back because they were immigrants. She had to convince the employee that they were paying customers and were not looking for free things. Her husband had to call his American boss who talked to the store manager, and the microwave was finally exchanged. Veronica says she does not feel discrimination from just Americans, but from other immigrants as well, even Mexicans. Mexican American cashiers pretend not to speak Spanish when they see that Veronica can speak little English. She describes it as “power play” among Spanish speakers, and is designed to haze and embarrass new immigrants. This proves that while Mexican immigrants do not have the road to success paved in Mexico, it is not easy to make it in America either. Even though Veronica lives a secluded life, she appreciates her opportunity in the US. She said that the local charity sends Santa Claus to her house each Christmas and the people in hospitals treat her well even though she doesn’t have papers. Veronica had finally gotten a good paying job in the US but, her son who was in day care was secluded and fed scraps by the woman who watched him. Her son became anemic and she was forced to quit her job. These are the common types of trials and tribulations that Americans must take into account when assessing the immigration debate and deciding the future of these immigrants. Veronica is grateful to be in the US even though it is challenging. Another thing that upsets her however is when she hears Americans complaining about illegals not paying taxes. Her property tax bill is more than $1,800 dollars and her home insurance bill is $713 dollars a year. Social security is deducted from her husband’s paycheck, even though he bout his social security card on the black market. When her husbands father died in Mexico, he could not go back to put flowers on his grave because he would not be able to re-enter the US. Her husband had his own mechanic shop in Mexico, but he still could not pay the bills; the reason Veronicas family could not make it in Mexico is not that they did not work hard enough. Veronica prays regularly in a small Mexican church, the only place she does not feel scared. She hopes the new president of the US will open up a way to make it easier for her to become legal. (Alvarez, Fear and Hope in Immigrants Furtive Existance: Three Sisters)

The story of the third sister, Irma, is the most heart wrenching. Irma crossed the border with her sister Raquel and three of her four daughters. Life was going fine in the US, until two of her daughters got pregnant. Her daughters were growing up and were going to move in with her boyfriends; suddenly there was no place for her. She returned to Mexico with her youngest daughter. She now lives in Mexico and regrets her decision to go back home. She had grown accustomed to the US standard of living and wages; she now has no many, no refrigerator, and no sink. She misses her daughters and her sisters in the US, but has no way to get back. She does not have money to pay the smuggler to get across the border illegally and she does not have a full time job or own property in order to get a tourist visa. (Alvarez, Fear and Hope in Immigrants Furtive Existance: Three Sisters) )

Mexicans in the United States have been deported to Mexico. Some of these Mexicans grew up in the US and do not even speak Spanish or have any family or place to go in Mexico. Carlos Martinez was deported from the US and left at the border city, Matamoros in Mexico. He is a 30 year old New Yorker who had left Mexico as a baby and doesn’t speak Spanish. He went to prison and the DOL deported him. He landed in Mexico with no money and no place to go. He was terrified and he explained how it was just a big joke to the US immigration officials to have this Mexican who doesn’t speak Spanish. Eventually a fellow deportee invited Martinez to his family home in Santa Maria Zoyatla, a poor village. Martinez has been a limo drive in New York and did not know how to work the fields in Mexico. He moved to a nearby town to sell clothes in a Markey. Since the immigration crack down, many deportees have been arriving to Mexico with little connection to their homeland. Many of these deportees have nothing more than the clothes they are wearing and have no family links or knowledge or the country and they don’t know where to go. Because of this, Calderon has created the “Human Repatriation” Program. The program organizes refugee centers at the border, provides transportation to hometowns, and jobs for the venerable deportees. The program is designed to help the deportees make a place for themselves in society and to start a new life in Mexico. People who work at the border cities who receive the deportees say they appreciate the government help that Calderon has given in the form of the “Human Repatriation” program. The deportees arrive with out basic Mexican identification, so Mexican governmental aid and coordination is essential. However, some say that Calderon’s programs might be more ideological than actually helpful as there has been no special budget approval in 2008 for aid going to the deportees. The program also claims to help deportees find jobs, which may be wishful thinking since the deportees just came from the USA and the minimum wage in Mexico is $5 dollars a day. Most of the deportees are trying to return to the US. They have family in the US and are accustomed to higher wages. Some immigrants hope to get back to the US by walking or swimming. Martinez hopes to return by fighting his case in the court; his case has so far failed. Martinez said his stay in Mexico has been hard but the people have been helpful. Martinez from Mexico Tries to Help Deportees said, “I’ve become proud of my country and the way the people here lend a hand. I bet if I were dropped in the US, no one would help me out.” (Grillo, 15)

Is the solution to this complicated immigration debate deportation or amnesty? They both have their pros and cons, so a compromise seems most beneficial. Anti-immigrant forces promote deporting all 12 million illegal immigrants. This is an unrealistic option. It would actually hurt the US economy because the US needs the immigrant labor force. If all illegal immigrants were deported, the American economy would go into a deep recession because there would be no one to fill the jobs for businesses, and American capitol would plummet. Even more families would be torn apart. It is ok to crack down on illegal immigration, but it is important that the American people do not abandon their morals; ripping families apart is not worth it. Mexicans understand that the US needs the Mexican work force, and they also enjoy immigration because of the $25 billion dollars they receive in remittances from immigrants in the US. Therefore, if the US deported 12 million immigrants, tensions in the US-Mexican relationship would sky rocket. (Hightower)

A path to citizenship or a path to attaining a visa would be beneficial in the short run. Illegal immigrants should have to prove basic knowledge of the English language and should have to pay a reasonable neutralization fee. It is necessary to grant amnesty to some illegal immigrants already in the US, but that must not be the only action taken. If the US simply charged a fee and granted amnesty to all illegal immigrants and did nothing else, illegal immigration might actually increase. Illegal immigrants could come out of the shadows and start living real lives again, which would boost the American economy. Illegal immigrants would not have to hide, they would receive papers, and would start to pay more taxes and contribute to the American economy. Also, the 500,00 immigrants who sneak across the border every year could receive a guest worker visa that would last for two years and could be easily renewed three times. While the immigrant work force is imperative, it is also important to help unite immigrant families. The US should accelerate the process to allow foreign children and spouses to legally reunite with their family in the US. (Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration)

It is almost as if there is a “close the border” panic or hysteria in the United States. Instead of blaming the immigrants, the key is to look at both the US and Mexico. As mentioned earlier, foreign policy is the only way to truly solve the immigration problem, not domestic. Calderon is happy that “the most radical and anti-immigrant candidates are out of the 2008 election race” (Mexican President; Closing border a mistake) President Bush is happy to work with Calderon and believes he is making very good efforts to secure the border. Although not much was actually accomplished in regards to immigration under the Bush Administration, we can hope that the next president of the United States does continue trying to work with Mexico to create a comprehensive compromise. A recent program called “Directo a Mexico” is one that shows hope and promise that the US and Mexico will make strides in the immigration problem if they work together. With “Directo a Mexico” the Bank of Mexico and the America’s Federal Reserve Bank are working together to lower the cost of transferring money from the USA to Mexico. Rates have already fallen from 9.2% in 1999 to 3% in 2007. However, even 3% can be a lot of money for some communities. With this program, there will be an overnight transfer from the American bank account to the Mexican one. Only $0.67 will be taken from each transfer, no matter the size of the transaction. Many poor Mexicans receiving the money do not have bank accounts. A Mexican government bank, Bansefi, allows people in America to open up bank accounts in Mexico for their relatives. But banking has not just grown south of the border. 70% of immigrants in the US have American bank account, which proves that immigration causes banking to grow in both nations. (The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration)

A long term comprehensive immigration form is necessary if the United States truly wants to fix immigration. The United States must aid Latin American, Mexico especially, in reforming their government and economy so that natives have more incentive to stay in their country. The Bush Administration and the next American president must continue to work with the Mexican president to create a program that equally benefits both nations. The process of legal immigration must be made easier and more effective so that Americans do not feel threatened by immigrants, but also so that employers have enough labor to produce more capitol and strengthen the US economy. It is clear that the US needs the immigrants, so the US must grant more work visas. The immigrants are not going to stop coming until the Mexican economy sky rockets. (The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration) Thus, it would be better to streamline the application process than to have desperate immigrants dying in the desert. The United States must also create a path for amnesty for the illegal immigrants already in the United States. The US should also stop increasing the budget on border control and immigration enforcement. If the US just gave out more visas, the illegal immigration flow would greatly decrease, and the US could cut their federal spending. Americans must understand that immigrants should not be the scapegoat for all economic problems in the US. The government of the United States needs to stop blaming the Mexican immigrants, when the US is the ones exploiting the Mexican people and forcing them to come to the USA for a better life. Both the Mexican and American governments need to admit that they are at fault in some way fueling the immigration problem. Calderon and Bush are currently working together and Calderon is dedicated to maintaining a friendly relationship with the US. Rightfully, Calderon wants to work on changing the perception that Americans have of the Mexican people, just as he wants to work on changing the perception that Mexicans have of the American people; the US and Mexico are two democratic nations in the 21^st century, and they should be friends, not enemies. (Mexican President; Closing border a mistake) Although it will take a lot of work, and probably even more time, taking these steps would help to solve the immigration crisis in the long run in a peaceful, honest, and understanding manner.

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