More on Illegal Immigration
Plans for yet another round of pro-illegal immigration rallies are coming up here in Washington with some Muslim Organizations due to join in once again, in hopes that this will be a way of bringing more Muslim immigrants (A bad idea).
But I get the sense that they are also trying to do it to show solidarity against racism, because afterall, the debate has been framed in such as way that anyone against illegal immigration is a racist. And with that being the case who could possibly stand against this right?
There was an article in the Stanford Review that refutes the way this illegal immigration debate has been framed by those who are pro-illegal immigration, as well as provides reasons why it is not a good thing for our country:
The notion that the “Day Without Immigrants” was a defense of human rights is founded upon a false presumption that xenophobia is the only possible explanation for anti-illegal-immigration sentiment in the United States. Protestors justified the “Day Without Immigrants” as a human rights initiative by asserting that the native-born American population is incapable of drawing the line between illegal and legal immigration, but rather views each with equal animosity. This is simply wrong. According to a national poll conducted in March by The Pew Research Center, only 22% of Americans say that legal and illegal immigration are equally problematic, while 60% say that illegal immigration is a bigger problem than legal immigration. A whopping 80% of Americans believe immigrants from Latin America work very hard, and 80% believe immigrants from Latin America have strong family values. These figures are up from 63% and 75%, respectively, in 1997. It would be an understatement to say that the United States is tolerant of its immigrant population. Anti-illegal-immigration opinion is rooted in legitimate fiscal considerations, not xenophobia.
There was another article that also debunked the false way this debate has been framed by those who are pro-illegal immigration:
By the same token, those who raise legitimate concerns are reduced to “nativists” or “racists” to preclude a fair hearing of their often persuasive arguments. Change the language, and political change may follow.
It is time that open-border advocates use honest vocabulary and discuss the problem as a legal issue apart from race. When illegal alien protestors wave the flag of Mexico, or dictate proper policy to their hosts, the debate is Orwellian enough without distorting the English language as well.
The Stanford Review continues by giving some ways that illegal immigration hurts state and national economies:
In August 2004, the Center for Immigration Studies released a landmark study on the tax behavior of illegal immigrants. The study revealed that, in 2002, households headed by illegal aliens received $26.3 billion in government services, while paying a total of $16 billion in taxes. It doesn’t take a budget analyst to comprehend the significance of a $10 billion loss over one year. And with the rate of illegal immigration increasing from 2002 to 2005 to virtually no change in government policy, federal losses are inflating rapidly.
In 2004, the Washington Times reported that California’s 3 million illegal immigrants sap the state government of $10.5 billion annually. The largest contributor to this sum is the $7.7 billion cost of educating the children of illegal immigrants, who make up 15% of California’s total student population. Undocumented aliens pose a greater budgetary threat to state governments, which do not employ expansive methods of illegitimate resident tax collection such as the Individual Tax Identification Number system.
Here are some other interesting facts to also consider:
#1 - The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) enacted by Congress in 1986, requires all hospitals to provide treatment for emergency medical conditions and women in labor, “whether or not eligible for benefits under this subchapter”. Not saying that they should turn people away, but please let’s think of the massive costs to people who actually pay the bills. Anyone who has medical insurance knows what I’m talking about here.
In other words, the EMTALA, which was passed as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), allows people who are in need of emergency medical health care to get that care, regardless of citizenship, ability to pay, or legal status; there is no reimbursement provision.
So what this means is that LEGAL American citizens who are in need of medical assistance must worry about ILLEGAL immigrants over-burdening and crowding the same hospitals that they need for emergency care. Legal American citizens, rich and poor, pay the taxes that help run these hospitals. However, due to the overburdening of illegal immigrants getting free health care, many American hospitals have been forced to close for financial reasons. So the logical conclusion to the unrestricted and open borders argument is that EVERYONE will lose in the end, because SOMEONE has to pay for it.
#2 - State legislation such as Texas House Bill 1403 have provided educational benefits for illegal immigrants, like allowing them to pay in-state tuition at American universities, even when LEGAL American out of state students were forced to pay higher out of state tuition costs.
#3 - Most illegal immigrants end up in the same low performing schools that many African-American children are currently attending. That being the case, would it be fair to assume that illegal immigration hurts legal minority children more than anyone else when it comes to education? Is it not a further disadvantage to these children to have to attend class with children that can’t speak English and thus requiring extra attention in a classroom that is already packed to capacity and impeding their progress?
There are a lot of humanitarian concerns that drive the illegal immigration movement, but is wise to think of the humanitarian concerns of illegal immigrants at the expense of others? We would love to provide the best education and world class health care to everyone in the world all for free, but is that feasible?
Have the Muslim Organizations supporting this considered these things at all? Are these not valid points? Do we want to tax the system into bankruptcy? What are Saudi Arabia’s, Kuwaits, UAE’s and other rich Muslim countries’ reasons for not having an open borders policy?
Have we thought that perhaps we may kill the “golden goose”? After all is said and done, we may look good in the media and feel good about ourselves, but in the end we all lose. And Allah knows best.
Filed under: Changing World, Race
Assalaamu Alaikum, Tariq
I’ve been seeing your posts in the IWDM groups and decided to take a look this evening. First, let me say that I really enjoyed reading your material. Second, I’m going to make a statment and ask a question that I have not, as yet, taken the time to research, but the thought comes to mind and I wanted to comment on it while I have one of the few minutes that are my own.
Back in the day when all were welcomed with open arms, and Ellis Island was the staging area for coming into the US without reserve, the motto was “send us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.” During that time it was mostly Europeans who were immigrating. They were immediately put to work in sweat shops in the North. When more and more African Americans moved North, they took over those positions, as well as the ghettos that were built to house the tired, poor, huddled masses. Now that African Americans are demanding, and rightfully so, equality in the workplace, in the most true sense of the word, they are raising a standard. With that, away goes the cheap labor of the tire, the poor, and the huddled masses who lived in cramped, overcrowded living quarters because it was all they could afford, combined.
My question is, do you supposed that now, after all these years of closing the doors, they want to open them once again because there aren’t enough of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses to do the menial, demeaning positions that African Americans no longer feel compelled to take, because they are standing up for their rights as citizens?
You’re may be right, of course. In the end, all may lose the battle. However, I choose to believe that nothing happens except by the will of Allah. It is how we (and I’m speaking about Muslims, of all races and nationalities) choose to act and react to whatever becomes the reality.
Be blessed and be safe.
Peace,
Laila
wa alaykum as-salaam
One of the main problems with illegal immigration besides what I listed above is that it stagnates wages on the lower tier jobs. It is not that Americans in general feel that these jobs are demeaning, but that they pay too little. If, for example, a given city were to advertise garbage collecting jobs that paid $75/hour, you would see a long line of people willing to do that job. So it is not a matter that a person will not do the job, but that people (regardless of ethnicity) will not do it below a certain livable wage.
Problem is that I don’t see this situation changing, and African-Americans will have to make major changes and push their children to work hard to get a good education and make themselves marketable enough to compete for higher tier jobs.
Tariq,
You have to undertsand that MAS is trying to operate under a political coalition and this is an act in solidifying its part in the coalition.
Umar,
I understand that. That is my point about them doing this hoping to get their support when the time comes to support more immigration for Muslims and other issues.
However, they can step away from the coalition if they disagree. For example, many of the partners in that coalition are from fringe groups who support things like homosexual marriage, but obviously MAS will not support those kinds of things.
They see an advantage to having more Muslim immigration and personally, I don’t see that as a good thing as that would lead to even more cultural fracturing of the Muslim community here and America in general.
As Salaamu Alaikum,
First, I want to state my displeasure with support for illegal immigration. As citizens of this country we must support our laws. Secondly, the primary reasons illegal immigration continues to grow is economics. Yes, it is all about money. Large and small corporations exploit immigrant labor. They have become the new oppressee. Third, those who falsely purport anti illegal immigration is racism are totally incorrect. Anti illegal immigration is not racism. We are simply supporting our country’s laws. I challenge you to reflect upon this question. What would happen to America if all illegal immigrants were allowed to enter this country?
We would have chaos!
The proper methodology is to challenge immigration policy. This is democratic and Islamic tradition. Shura or debate is the best method.
El Hajj Rafiq El Amin
wa alaykum as-salaam
Thanks Brother Rafiq. Yes, they are seen as sort of indentured servants.
Assalaamu Alaykum
Masha Allah, you made outstanding points that I hadn’t even considered. I am kind of torn on this whole immigration issue and frequently change between being for and against Illegal Immigration. On the one hand I understand all the issues and problems that illegal aliens bring to this country but on the other hand I can’t get out of my mind all of the horror stories I see about the awful things that these people go through just to get to this country. Just yesterday I read a story about how 56 illegal immigrants were found locked in a refrigerator truck with no way out for 6 hours before they were finally found. I also read another article recently called “Women: new wave of illegal immigrants” and it talks about the risks women go through just to get to this country to make a better life for their families. Among the risks are beatings, rapes and even death.
“Rape has become so prevalent that many women take birth-control pills or shots before setting out to ensure they won’t get pregnant. Some consider rape “the price you pay for crossing the border,” said Teresa Rodriguez, regional director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women.
“Central American women face even more danger because they must first cross Mexico, where gangs and even immigration officials have attacked women, said Jesús Aguilar, a migrant-rights activist in El Salvador.”
How awful their life must be for these people to risk lives just to get to this country. Sometimes I feel like we’re being selfish and we’re turning our back on them but I guess you summarized it pretty well:
“There are a lot of humanitarian concerns that drive the illegal immigration movement, but is wise to think of the humanitarian concerns of illegal immigrants at the expense of others? We would love to provide the best education and world class health care to everyone in the world all for free, but is that feasible?”
Salaam ‘Alaikum
I am not pro-illegal immigration at all, but I think something needs to be done (other than making them felons, which seems stupid to me). All eleven million of them are not going to pick up and go home — if we could even “round ‘em up” anyway.
I also have to say, just as someone raising Latino children, that a lot of this more than reeks of general anti-Latino racism, and that’s why I’m just keeping my mouth shut and trying to avoid it. It’s going beyond being angry at people who enter illegally and getting into “beaner” jokes and the like. (Although IMO, some of the people who attended those marches in California did NOT help with signs that said, “This was ours and will be ours” and so forth). I might just be more sensitive to Latino stereotypes in the media, but this is the main thing that scares me about the anti-illegal people I’ve seen in the media or the websites I’ve been reading. (Alongside some of them being extremely anti-Muslim… not anti-illegal-Muslims, but just anti-Muslim).
At the same time, if the gov’t or people in society want to tackle the issue of illegal immigration, then we must tackle the issue of human trafficking (whether that trafficking is for labor or sex or something else… it is present here and it’s part of what we have to deal with — people who are exploited and helpless in our country and may be unable to go home b/c of what’s happened to them here).
WackyPaki:
wa alaykum as-salaam
Thanks for your comments. There are lots of other people around the world that are trying to come to the US as well.
Umm Zaid:
wa alaykum as-salaam
Yes, that is the problem now. Many of them can’t go home and more and more of them are coming everyday. All I’m saying is that at some point we are going to reach a breaking point. And do we let them “skip to the front of the line” ahead of those who have come legally?
I know that there are some on the anti-illegal immigration side that are racists, but the pro-illegal immigration side has portrayed everyone against it as being so and that is not fair. There are legitimate concerns about this
Some of the anti-illegal pundits have tried to use scare tactics by saying terrorists are coming over the border as well. However, just because they happen to be making an argument (albeit in their case upon a false premise) that doesn’t mean we automatically jump to the other side.
At the end of the day, I don’t think the elite (including the African-American elite) really want to tackle this issue and give up their cheap nannies, gardeners and so forth. They are getting better, harder working employees for cheaper wages. And being Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors, Journalists, Business Executives, etc, they face no threat for their jobs by this because the people with those skills tend to stay home.
Human trafficking again benefits the elite. Who can afford to buy “slaves”? I wouldn’t be surprised if many in the media had slaves. I feel like if illegal immigration is dealt with properly, then human trafficking will automatically be dealt with because there is a lot of overlap.
What do we do? With nothing looking like it is going to change, the best thing (especially for African-Americans) to do is to teach their children the virtues of hard work, get a good education and acquire higher technical skills to be able to compete and take care of future families, Insha Allah.
Tariq,
I understand the concerns, but for me they are targeted in the wrong direction. Basically I think this is more of the underprivileged fighting for the scraps that are left them. Instead of fighting over the little that is available, people need to fight for more. As a nation we have the ability to fund everyone in an appropriate manner. As the new “Land of Hope and Freedom” I think we should. This isn’t about the lack of resources, this is about priorities.
For the African American community, I think they should realise that there are always going to be a new immigrant group that will work for cheaper than they are. These immigrants come from countries where it isn’t unusual to live three, four, even five people to a single room, so they are going to work for wages that even a member of the American underclass will not. African Americans cannot compete in this sector and need to even stop trying.
What needs to happen is a wider and stronger push for education. If you cannot work for cheaper, put yourself in a position where you can offer services and expertise that others cannot. If segments of the African American community continue to try and compete with immigrant labour they will always be the losers. I think there is a large segment of the African American community that is in danger of making itself a perminate underclass.
Education is the key here. It is this education, access to which most immigrants do not have where they come from, that puts ALL sectors of the American populace ahead. There must be a large drive in the African American community to educate its community. Education is only becoming more important, yet the numbers of high school dropouts in the African American community is still very high.
I don’t think the US government really cares, if they did they would offer more in the way of education subsidies. But those in power and with wealth are getting their education, so that is all that matters to these people. Education is the key.
As to UAE, Saudi , Kuwait and others, you’ll find a lot of the reason they control their borders the way they do has more to do with open racism and nationalism than anything else. The Gulf countries are notorious for their racism and xenophobia. Look at the way non Arabs are treated in places like UAE and Saudi. As the people in these places don’t pay taxes, the reason for their tight borders is certainly not that.
Abu Sinan
I agree 100%. The African-Americans (ESPECIALLY the African American Muslims) are going to have to get their act together when it comes to education and COMPETE or continue to fall behind.
African-American Muslims are going to have to abandon bankrupt ideas that will only lead their children to grow up to be aimless and confused
I also wonder whether these organisations have really thought through the implications of taking such a stance. For many, I suspect it is simply that they have, for various reasons, adopted many of the positions and causes of the radical Left. Endorsing the standard Lefist canard about the supposed ‘rights’ of people who entered one’s country illegally and by stealth is simply a part of that.
One would also have thought that the Latino community would be the most opposed to illegal migration because these illegals will ultimately move into communities with large Latino populations and, by doing so, effectively drive down the minimum wage in those communities. Given a choice of hiring a ‘legal’ minority worker or hiring an ‘illegal’ minority worker for a lot less money and administrative overhead, it stands to reason that many employers would look to the latter — especially if they are being employed for a menial or other low-skilled role.
Assalamu Alaikum, brother Tariq.
I really enjoy reading your blog, al hamdulillah, and have learned a lot, and I hope to continue seeing more interesting posts come in the future as well, Insha-Allah.
I wasn’t sure where to post this comment, so I hope this is an appropriate thread. The whole illegal immigration issue is a very complicated and interesting topic, and I totally understand where you are coming from. As a Muslim, of course, simply from a fiqh-perspective, we should not be engaged in breaking the law anyway (no matter if it seems unfair at first sight), although I suppose this is also a tough call to make (refusing to sit at the back of a bus, for instance, might be an exception).
But at any rate, I wanted to throw out this link to give some more shades of grey to the issue and play the “devil’s advocate” :
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=10417
Saif.
Saif
wa alaykum as-salaam
Thanks for the comments. The article you posted in the link is very true. Not only that, but black slaves were also brought to Mexico as well.
Today you do not see many black Mexicans (if at all) because they have all but melted into the population.
They say that the average admixture of Mexicans is about 5% West African blood, however this was written out of their history. Hence when they mention “La Raza” (”The Race”
they mean the new race formed between Native Americans and Spaniards, but they leave out the West African contribution to “La Raza”
I suppose now that it is politically expedient to do so, some are now wanting to make this fact known.
To be honest, I am not anti-illegal immigration. I don’t think I really support anti-Latino racism either. They are trying to survive and work hard like we are. Nevertheless, I think that employers are simply willing to hire cheap labor. As It stands, I THINK THAT HARD WORK, DETERMINATION, AND EDUCATION are conducive to survival and community development whether we have a huge illegal immigrant population or not! Hard work, determination, and education can help African Americans and others of any class but African Americans are simply not hired in many cases because they are not hired. This fact is not used to excuse apathy in search for self improvement it is just stating an unpleasant reality. Abu Sinan made some insightful insights but he overlooks the fact that African Americans paricularly(and other Americans generally) are being shut out of high and middle income jobs as well. What explains this?To illustrate this example, East Indian Americans are losing their jobs to their East Indian immigrant counterparts. How do you explain this phenomenon when both groups value and have decent education and good high-tech skills. With outsourcing, deindustrialization, downsizing, etc…everyone is having a hard time surviving in this country whether illegal or not; and black people suffer because employers are reluctant to hire black workers and quick to fire them.More and more of the newer homeless that you see are college graduates in general. What explains this?! I am not against the right of immigrants but am I for the myths that blacks suffer MOSTLY because they are less hardworking, less determined, and less educated either. The problems that blacks face are not solely structural/systemic but they are not wholly evidence of cultural flaws and personal foibles either. It does not behoove African Americans to blanketly overlook or rely on any sector precisely because they have a greater chance of unemployment. The need for black self determination, self-help, etc. is long overdue regardless. The problems blacks face WILL have to be solved by blacks because they know their predicament better than anyone else and not one else will contribute to the solutions, but I don’t underestimate determination, hard work, and education of immigrants or blacks-or the selfishness, shortsightedness or greed of the employers. In Oakland, California when some Latino immigrant trash or Latino immigrant recycling worker struck due to the low wages they receive(yes they are increasingly disatisfied with and increasingly protesting cheap labor that does not change with or help them to support the rising cost of living) what type of workforce did this/these companies choose to hire-African American workers! Yeah, this is one strike, but with the rising militancy and rising expectation of Latino immigrant(whether illegal or legal) and American born Latinos, this may not be an uncommon phenomenon in the future. This phenomenon can be seen with other immigrants at the turn of the century as well There are no easy answers nor simplistic panaceas that will solve the quandary of blacks , Latinos or anybody else.
[...] but you make so much more on the coasts” which used to be true but that is no longer the case due to illegal immigration and is just a simple matter of supply and [...]
Salaam,
As a Latino Muslim and an Immigrant, I am not sure what to say about this topic, because I and my family came here illegally in the 80’s from El Salvador due to the cold war (that was kindle by US and Russia). It really sucks for me because I do believe we should honor the laws of this country but I can’t, honestly accept your anti-immigrant article.
I am an immigrant who was illegal, now legal, but yet I feel for the people coming from other countries, they leave their families, homes and friends,..they are not thinking about legality but survival and if thats a crime,….well…I will stop here before I curse….