Enacted on November 6, 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status; made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit unauthorized immigrants; granted amnesty to certain seasonal agricultural illegal immigrants; granted amnesty to illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously. About three million illegal immigrants were granted amnesty.
Some employers ended up discriminating against workers that appeared foreign. I feel like this Act is a precursor to E-Verify. The requirement of E-Verify in the hiring process damages the businesses’ productivity instead of improving it. Fortunately, employers know the positives and negatives of having the program. Even in Arizona, “nearly a third of [new hires] don’t get vetted by E-Verify” (Pagliery).
Another concern employers face is the accuracy of the program. E-Verify has a high accuracy rate, but it’s not perfect. Although it has a low percentage of inaccuracy, people are still suffering under the mistakes and need to take another step to contest it, thus prolonging the hiring process for employers more. In 2011, Pagliery finds through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that “more than 46,000 [people] were incorrectly flagged and had to contest the results” (Pagliery). Whatever E-Verify’s accuracy rates are, 46,000 is a large number and if all of the other states were to use this program to the extent like Arizona, at least two million people suffer under that statistic. E-Verify also cannot detect people who are using the credentials of a citizen’s. If employers hire illegal immigrants that are using other credentials and Homeland Security, for example, were to investigate, the employer would face serious sanctions under Romney that could end up devastatingly. Arizona’s punishment for hiring illegal immigrants are: a suspension of a business license on the first offense and a revocation of the business license on a second offense. If employers do not thoroughly research each new-hire, they could possibly lose their business. Imagine if all the states were required to use E-Verify. There are about 311 million citizens in the United States and with E-Verify’s 3% chance of error; nearly 10 million people would need to contest their citizenship statuses. The productivity of businesses would be damaged while denying US citizens work.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Chapter 12: From the New World - Mexicans and Puerto Ricans
Mexican immigration is a widely discussed issue because of the aftermath of the 2012 election. Romney didn't really have much of a plan (I'd call it a temporary excuse for the next guy if he won) and Obama had more of a comprehensive immigration reform plan that makes sense. Romney is too rich and out of touch. He probably doesn't even know a Mexican person.
When people think about Mexican immigration, the first thing that comes to mind is illegal immigration. Mexicans are not the only ones who illegally immigrate! People from all parts of the word do this whether by jumping a high-tech fence or overstaying his or her visa. However, it's interesting how Mexican Americans have the lowest naturalization wait.
I honestly don't know much about Puerto Rico other than it's an US territory. Even as labelled as an "US territory," I still couldn't define what that would mean. I know that Puerto Rico is petitioning to become the 51st state of the United States. According to the book, Puerto Rico sounds like a small poor island that everyone who's from their loves, since not many people migrate. I'd like to go to Puerto Rico one day. From what I've seen on TV, Puerto Ricans love their country and take great pride in it. A bright sun everyday doesn't hurt either!
When people think about Mexican immigration, the first thing that comes to mind is illegal immigration. Mexicans are not the only ones who illegally immigrate! People from all parts of the word do this whether by jumping a high-tech fence or overstaying his or her visa. However, it's interesting how Mexican Americans have the lowest naturalization wait.
I honestly don't know much about Puerto Rico other than it's an US territory. Even as labelled as an "US territory," I still couldn't define what that would mean. I know that Puerto Rico is petitioning to become the 51st state of the United States. According to the book, Puerto Rico sounds like a small poor island that everyone who's from their loves, since not many people migrate. I'd like to go to Puerto Rico one day. From what I've seen on TV, Puerto Ricans love their country and take great pride in it. A bright sun everyday doesn't hurt either!
Chapter 11: Migration in Prosperity, Depression, and War, 1921-1945
The first few pages had too many numbers listed in each paragraph. However, looking at the tables, I wish I knew the population of the US during that time so I could understand the context.
Although the Great Depression was a very desolate time for many people, it did achieve what nativism was looking for: more immigrants leaving, than coming to the US. I guess there was an upside, but perhaps people were too sad and poor that they didn't care about immigrants.
It's kind of funny that FDR created the War Refugee Board (WRB) but it didn't bring refugees into the US. The term, "European Jewry" isn't heard much these days, at least in a social setting. I've never heard this type of terminology until this book.
"Although the United States fought against totalitarianism and racism in World War II, one of its most significant acts on the home front was to adapt one of the institutions of its most feared opponent - the concentration camp - for use against Japanese Americans" (Daniels 302)
It's sad that Japanese Americans generally had no connection with Japan, especially since many of them were born in America. People today sometimes have a hard time distinguishing Asians and Asian Americans even these days. WWII in America was full of ironies and hypocrisy. For example, German enemy soldiers were treated better than black soldiers all because of their skin colors. A false depiction of what WWII was like through a movie was Captain America. In the movie, the soldiers are shown as one diverse group when in reality, they were all in separate groups.
Although the Great Depression was a very desolate time for many people, it did achieve what nativism was looking for: more immigrants leaving, than coming to the US. I guess there was an upside, but perhaps people were too sad and poor that they didn't care about immigrants.
It's kind of funny that FDR created the War Refugee Board (WRB) but it didn't bring refugees into the US. The term, "European Jewry" isn't heard much these days, at least in a social setting. I've never heard this type of terminology until this book.
"Although the United States fought against totalitarianism and racism in World War II, one of its most significant acts on the home front was to adapt one of the institutions of its most feared opponent - the concentration camp - for use against Japanese Americans" (Daniels 302)
It's sad that Japanese Americans generally had no connection with Japan, especially since many of them were born in America. People today sometimes have a hard time distinguishing Asians and Asian Americans even these days. WWII in America was full of ironies and hypocrisy. For example, German enemy soldiers were treated better than black soldiers all because of their skin colors. A false depiction of what WWII was like through a movie was Captain America. In the movie, the soldiers are shown as one diverse group when in reality, they were all in separate groups.
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