By JAZMIN CHAVEZ
In the recent months, immigration seems to be in the limelight of national and local politics. However, when looking at the “illegal” immigration problem, you only hear about Latinos and Mexicans. Why are we not addressing the number of undocumented immigrants from Canada, Poland, China, Vietnam, Hungary, Holland, etc?
It seems that we are going back in time and returning to the mid-nineteenth century, when xenophobia and fear of the “other” was normal. People now forget that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants, and supported by the wealth and labor of immigrants.
During the mid-nineteenth century, a new political movement captured the minds and passion of the “American” public. They were labeled the “Know-Nothings” and their unifying theme was nativism and patriotism. Sound similar? Today they might be called The Minutemen. This group felt that all of society's problems were caused by immigrants and that immigrants would be the downfall of America. At the time, the greatest numbers of immigrants were from Ireland and Germany. Today the largest numbers of immigrants are from Mexico and Vietnam. Often, the public is misinformed on the real issues and they are unable to discern the truth.
I shall now try to correct some of the myths about “illegal immigrants”.
Myth #1: “Immigrants don't pay taxes”:
Fact: All immigrants pay taxes. Income, property, sales or other. Studies have shown that immigrant pay between $90 and $140 billion dollars a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay close to $30 billion in income taxes per year, as evident by the Social Security Administration's “suspense file”.
Myth #2: “Immigrants take jobs and opportunity away from Americans”:
Fact: The 1900s saw the largest rise in immigrants. At that time, immigrants arrived during the period of lowest national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth. Immigrants actually create more jobs for U.S. and foreign workers. In 2000, Chinese and Asian Indian immigrants generated more than $19.5 billion in sales and almost 73,000 jobs. Immigrants are also more likely to be self-employed and start new businesses.
Myth #3: “America is being overrun by immigrants”:
Fact: No single decade has surpassed the influx of European immigrants from 1901-1910. Actually, the percentage of immigrants in the total population has decreased.
Myth #4: “Most immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy”:
Fact: U.S. Immigration laws require that new immigrants provide financial evidence that they won't be a burden, before they are allowed to enter the U.S. Immigrants are more likely to be employed, and save more of their earnings, than the native-born population. Once again, they contribute more to the U.S. economy than they receive.
Myth #5: “Immigrants come here to take Welfare”:
Fact: The ratio between immigrant use of public benefits and the amount of taxes they pay is favorable to the U.S. economy because they help support and maintain these programs. If it weren't for immigrants, Social Security would have fallen apart much sooner than it did. Immigrant taxes total $20 to $30 million billion more than the amount of government services they receive. Many times, they are not eligible and do not apply for theses programs.
As ridiculous as some of these myths may seem, it is the same rhetoric that was used against other immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century.
The idea that hurts our community the most is that undocumented students cannot receive access to higher education because they are “illegal”. These students are considered “illegal”, even though they have lived in the United States their entire lives. But they are often the top 10 percent, valedictorians, and All-Star athletes. Yet these students are not allowed to attend an in-state institution without being seen as out-of-state or international students. Data has also shown that immigrants are twice as likely as native-borns to hold PhDs.
As we have shown, these students and their families do not put a burden on America. Please keep these facts in mind before you enter the “illegal” alien debate. Immigrants respect the law as much as native-born Americans. If we are going to focus on immigration, then the general public must understand the history of immigration in the U.S., as well as the myths. If the public doesn't pay attention to the rhetoric, then it might fall into the category of “know-nothings” - because they choose to remain ignorant and scared.
Jazmin Chavez is the President of Pi Lambda Chi Latina sorority. The mission of Pi Lambda Chi is to create a strong sisterhood and educational support network for women on college campuses through an emphasis in teaching Latino culture and history, as well as achieve community service by promoting education in the Latino community.
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