August 2015 immigration news at a glance
Written by Kara DeDonato
This month’s news digest takes a look at the first GOP presidential debate and, in particular, at the immigration stance of the various candidates. The digest then provides some statistics and facts on immigration and undocumented immigrants highlighted in recent reports, before turning to immigration news here in New York.
The GOP and immigration
The first presidential debate amongst GOP candidates was held on August 6. The topic of immigration dominated much of the conversation, with several candidates defending their positions. No candidate endorsed comprehensive immigration reform. Even Marco Rubio, who helped introduce the unsuccessful 2013 bipartisan immigration bill, tried to distance himself from comprehensive reform.
Jeb Bush defended previous comments that immigrants traveling to this country without the proper documentation are doing it out of an “act of love.” However, his most recent immigration proposal has not received much support from the Latino community. The new policy contains six points, all of which entail strengthening border security and immigration law enforcement.
Ohio Governor John Kasich dodged questions on immigration during the debate but introduced his own policy proposal later in the month. The Wall Street Journal reports that the candidate does support a pathway to citizenship and a guest worker program to meet job demand.
Donald Trump continued to defend his previous statements referring to immigrants as criminals. His assertion that nearly all Mexicans are criminals has been largely debunked. Julia Preston, in this article of The New York Times, comprehensively dismissed Trump’s other claims by highlighting that much of Mexico’s drug violence has not spilled over into the US, with several border cities being the safest in the country, and that most undocumented immigrants are too afraid to take advantage of the public health system.
Some statistics and facts about immigrants in the US
A recent analysis of immigrant populations by the Migration Policy Institute shows that Mexican immigration to the US is declining in comparison to groups from Asia, Africa, and other parts of Latin America. Mexicans, both documented and undocumented, do however still make up the largest percentage of immigrants in the United States. Mexican and other Central American immigrants account for 71 percent of undocumented immigration to the US, while Asian immigrants are the second largest group of unauthorized immigrants.
For clarification about the immigration terms “undocumented” or “illegal” (and why we never use the latter), read this excellent article written by Sabrina, one of our bloggers, and Arielle, NWNY’s founder and director. New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin echoes our sentiments in his piece “Should I Use the Term ‘Illegal Immigrant’?.”
Voice of America also provided some immigration statistics in August, showing that contrary to common belief the high point for immigration in the United States came in 1890, when nearly 15 percent of the population was foreign born, slightly more than today’s 12.9 percent. Looking at the most common jobs held by immigrants, the article found that immigrants tend to work in unskilled positions requiring little formal education and paying low wages. However, most jobs typically assumed to be dominated by foreign-born individuals, including housekeepers, taxi-drivers, and janitors, are in fact filled mostly by native-born Americans.
Zooming in on New York immigration news
Laws protecting nail salon workers continued to go into effect during the month of August. In order to ensure appropriate wages for workers, most salons are now required to secure wage bonds. The wage bonds are intended to cover any wages that an employee is owed, even if the business conducted during that period does not generate enough revenues. Although this is a step in the good direction, workers will still need to assert their claim to owed wages, which might hinder the new legislation’s effectiveness. As Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, stresses, “coming forward to assert your rights is a big step – and one that, quite frankly, a lot of people who are the victims of wage theft are not willing to do, because they think they’re going to be blacklisted from the industry.”
On another note, twin sons of undocumented immigrants in Staten Island seek to help others by working with the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York.
Last but not least, New Women New Yorkers is launching two new series of the LEAD Program this fall in partnership with the New York Public Library, as its summer series draws to a close. The LEAD program helps young women immigrants acquire the skills they need to flourish in college and in the workplace.
