GOP opposition to immigration reform

Since comprehensive immigration reform is now officially dead — President Obama all but declared this in a November 25th speech in San Francisco — it’s time for a new approach to energize noncitizens who want to live and work in the U.S.

A comprehensive approach is critical to immigration reform that’s workable, serious, and humane, but the current Congress won’t act on a so-called pathway to citizenship for those living here without proper documentation. Obama, during his 2012 campaign, claimed comprehensive immigration reform as a top domestic priority, but he’s apparently given up.

In San Francisco, the president said he’s willing to accept a piecemeal deal that does not include a pathway to citizenship, thus guaranteeing that we continue living in a bifurcated society with a permanent underclass of cheap labor — not exactly analogous to South Africa before 1994, but the comparison is too close for comfort.

So the best we’ll get from “noncomprehensive” immigration reform is more visas for highly skilled individuals (because wealthy, well-connected high-tech firms want this), more border security (because law-and-order Republicans in border states insist on this), and more funding for drones, electronic surveillance, and other such nonsense, because wealthy corporations that manufacture these gadgets (Raytheon, for example) want this.

Republican House members have been demonstrably hostile toward immigrants — particularly poor Hispanic immigrants, and their scorn for undocumented workers is easily documented.

Newly reelected New Jersey GOP governor Chris Christie’s 51 percent capture of the Hispanic vote should not be read as a reversal of Hispanics’ traditional alliance with the Democratic Party. The second- largest community of Cuban Americans resides in and around Union City, New Jersey, and they have traditionally favored more conservative candidates.

Many older, hard-line Cuban Americans still blame John F. Kennedy for the failure of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion designed to oust Fidel Castro. Thus, by extension they see Cuban communism and Kennedy as essentially synonymous. Miami’s Little Havana, where the largest concentration of Cuban Americans reside, is partially bordered by Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan Boulevards. Other streets in the neighborhood are named for George Bush and … Jose Canseco.

Of course, only Congress can pass a comprehensive immigration reform package, but President Obama, true to Democrat tradition, has folded too quickly. The fight must continue.

Census data from 2011 suggests that approximately 8.5 million people are eligible for citizenship. Many never formally apply, because the paperwork is daunting and intrusive, the fees are high, they must pass a civics test, and some people prefer to retain their citizenship of origin.

Lawful permanent residents can generally apply for citizenship five years from the date of receiving their “green card” — the document that certifies permanent resident status. Let’s build a national campaign in support of citizenship, a campaign to facilitate the process by which millions of people eligible for citizenship file the paperwork and take the oath of citizenship before a judge. People need support in this process, and the following three-part plan would help.

First, attorneys should set up permanent clinics at all of the nation’s law schools, particularly those subsidized by taxpayers, to help lawful permanent residents understand the paperwork, analyze their options, and offer legal guidance. Law students should earn academic credit for this pro bono work.

Second, teachers and translators are necessary to help permanent residents write their essays, prepare the documentation, and study for the civics test they must pass to achieve citizenship. Undergraduate and graduate students and other compassionate citizens could help.

Finally, we’ll need money. In 2007, during the administration of President George W. Bush, the fees to file the paperwork leading to citizenship increased from $330 to the current $680. For many, this fee represents an insurmountable burden.

The solution is simple. There are many billionaires out there — Bloomberg, Buffett, and Gates, to name a few — who have vowed publicly to give away at least half their fortunes during their lifetime. Lawful permanent residents who complete the forms, pass the civics test, and take the oath of citizenship should receive a full $680 refund from what I’ll call the BCI — Billionaires’ Citizenship Initiative.

Who could possibly be against this plan? One group comes to mind: members of Congress responsible for crafting the nation’s laws and who live in fear of voters who don’t look like them, speak like them, live in their neighborhoods, or earn (nearly) the same money.

This is an American irony that’s painful to consider but too tragic to ignore.

Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.

Laws written out of fear and anger are never good laws. Very few Americans are proud of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1789, the Prohibition amendment of 1919, and the Patriot Act of 2001. All were designed to curb the rights of American citizens but especially those of immigrants.

The pending new legislation on immigration, which passed the Senate this past week, focuses on border security and control and may, or may not, become the law of the land. Just as in 2007, when the hard right blocked President Bush’s genuine attempt at immigration reform, Republican fear, anger, and intransigence in the House now threaten to undermine reform by insisting on prohibitive, unrealistic “security” measures at the border.

To placate the hard right, Congress is considering spending up to $40 billion over the next 10 years to double the current force of 20,000 border patrol agents and complete a 700-mile fence project that was begun in 2006, never fully funded by Congress, and technologically flawed. Given that most undocumented persons in the U.S. overstay some type of visa, appropriating billions of dollars for a fence is wasteful.

Additionally, over the past couple of years, the U.S. has recorded a net loss of immigrants. This is because an anemic economy and a robust deportation effort under the Obama administration, combined with the foul mood of state legislators in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, et al., have created an inhospitable environment for immigrants.

Nevertheless, billions of dollars in unnecessary fencing seems to be the fulcrum upon which any potential reform of our outdated immigration system rests and may be directly related to U.S. military drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan, driving defense contractors to the border with Mexico.

Even with this giant “security surge,” many Republican legislators oppose the pathway to citizenship for undocumented persons who have been living in the United States. The vast majority of the undocumented workers have contributed to our communities and economy; many have been here since infancy and form part of the complex fabric of society. Rather than thinking of the undocumented via a one-dimensional narrative, why not look at the undocumented as human beings, workers, students, friends, neighbors? Let’s recognize their presence and value by focusing on the many contributions they make to society.

Republicans are putting up myriad barriers to prevent the undocumented from moving along a path toward citizenship. Insisting that the border be completely locked down and “secured” before anyone can move toward citizenship is a tactic designed to please the nation’s most conservative element — people who have historically opposed all programs and legislation designed to help immigrants, minorities, and the poor.

The fearful right refers to a pathway to citizenship as “amnesty for lawbreakers,” yet our immigration laws are so outdated, baroque, and unfair that we’ve pushed into the category of “lawbreaker” most people who come here without documentation or overstay a visa and who want to work in the U.S., save money, and support loved ones.

The hard right’s irrational focus on “security” and punitive policies reflects the demographic triple-bind in which they find themselves. Republicans know they’ll never win another national election without strong support from Hispanics. Republicans know that “Hispanic” is the fastest growing demographic category in the nation. They know the sun has set on the days of national political domination by white males, and so they’re in an existential fight for political survival.

The solution for Republicans is simple: Treat immigrants, legal and otherwise, like human beings, and support policies that are important to immigrants. A hike in the minimum wage, more money for public schools, better and strongly funded community health centers, money for English language classes, and public funds for day care would make for a good start.

Republicans have shown, though, that they would rather spend money on technologically dubious and expensive fence projects and 40,000 border agents.

No matter what happens — and we hope meaningful legislation emerges that can be signed by President Obama — Hispanics will remember the great Republican intransigence, the menacing, expensive fence, the fear and anger of the 2013 U.S. Congress.

Bryce Ashby is a Memphis-based attorney and board member at Latino Memphis, Inc. Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.