Immigration: A Catholic Response Part I: U.S. History of Immigration

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Immigration A Catholic Response Part IU.S.
History of Immigration
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For generations, our families have migrated
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Statue of Liberty

• Give me your tired, your poor,
• Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
• The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
• Send these, the homeless,
  tempest-tossed to me,
  
• I life my lamp beside the golden door.
• Emma Lazarus

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Immigrants satisfy a U.S. demand

• In the 1990s over half of US workforce growth
  was from immigrants.
  
• 2000-2005 immigrants accounted for 86 of
  increase in US employment (about 50 were
  Hispanics of which 50 Mexican).
  
• For next 20 years, no net increase is predicted
  in the number of prime working-age natives (ages
  15-54).

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Push to U.S. Immigration

• 1840-50 Irish Potato Famine mostly Irish
  Catholics come.
  
• 1850 U.S. seizes 1/3 of Mexico
• Mexican border relatively open until 1920
• Mexicans come and go freely
• 1910 Mexican Revolution seizes land
• 1920 Cristero Movement repressed

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Push to U.S. Immigration

• Chinese rush to U.S. in 1840-1870
• 1839-42 Opium War with Britain
• Loss of Hong Kong to Britain
• Taiping Rebellion 1850-64
• Agricultural crisis and rice shortage

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Push to U.S. Immigration

• 1890-1924 Period of greatest immigration
• Ellis Island 1892 1924
• 5000 enter daily, maybe 1 in 50 rejected
  
  
• 12 million had entered by 1954 when closed
• WWI generates Italian, Slav, Greek, Polish,
  Jewish immigrants (Southern Europe)

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Historic Pull of Immigrants

• Immigrants satisfy US economic needs
• 1864 1st comprehensive federal immigration law
  to work frontier (RR, mining, farming, e.g.,
  Chinese recruited for Calif gold rush
  1848-1882).
• 1870s Companies recruit in Mexico in part to
  replace Chinese, but mostly seasonal.
  
• 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, denies more entries,
  no return if leave, sponsoring relatives and
  citizenship denied.
  
• WWI Government, industry and agriculture
  contract Mexican labor.
  

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U.S. Limits Immigration

• Limits usually accompanied by anti immigrant,
  xenophobic campaigns e.g., anti Chinese movement
  in midst of 1870 US depression.
  
• Up to 1850s 85 of immigrants were English,
  Scotch Irish, and German all other groups
  suspect because Not like us.
  
• After WWI door slammed shut
• 1900-1915 15 million enter U.S.
• 1915-1930 5.5 million enter U.S.

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U.S. Limits Immigration

• 1917 Literacy Act very exclusionary
• need to write or speak English and another
  language
  
• aims to exclude southern Europeans Jews
  excluded all Asians, including Indians,
  Malaysians, etc. Even though 12 of US Army is
  Italian.
• 9th Proviso exception for farm workers, mostly
  Mexicans.
  

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U.S. Limits Immigration

• 1918-1921 Red scare aggravates fear
  anti-immigrant reaction.
  
• 1921-1924 Quota Law 1st time numerical limits
  uses 1910 proportion, favoring north Europeans.
  
• Border Patrol created Mexican border becomes a
  tangible reality, though still permeable.
  

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U.S. Limits Immigration

• 1924 Immigration Act severely limits
• because
• Racial superiority of Anglo Saxons
• Immigrants cause lowering of wages
• Do not assimilate
• Threat to national identity unity
• Limits immigrants to 2 of their national group
  in 1890, thus against south east Europeans
  

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Mexican immigrants recruited

• 1900-1910 49,000 immigrants enter,
• 50 are Mexicans.
• 1920 500,000 Mexicans emigrated
• Poverty unrest in Mexico before 1910
• Restrictions on Japanese, like Chinese
• Demand for labor in RR, agric, mines
• Waiver of 5 head tax
• Seen as temporary, not staying
• Will work in undesirable jobs locations

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Mexican immigrants deported Depression

• Mexican immigration slows to trickle
• Emigration exceeds immigration 3-1
• Violent reaction against Mexicans as cities
  states round up and deport them
  
• Many leave on own out of fear
• In 15 month period in 1931, 2 million Mexicans
  leave.
  

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Pull of Mexican immigrants

• WWII (1942-1964) Treaty with Mexico to contract
  workers (Bracero Program)
  
• Private contracts but feds help recruit
• US demand initially small, but soon outstrips
  visas so in early 1950s growers recruit
  undocumented.
  
• 1942-1946 4.6 million braceros admitted
• 1950 67,000 braceros to 450,000 in 1956
• Same time 5.2 million illegal immigrants
  arrested.

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Pull of Mexican Immigrants

• US knew Bracero program would foment illegal
  immigration e.g., cut Border Patrol
  
• Undocumented benefit government private
  sector.
  
• Government need not pay cost of 450/worker
• Owners save 25 bond on each, 15 contracting fee
  other restrictions.
  
• Early 1950s Prosperity pulls poor Puerto Ricans
  (U.S. citizens) others.
  

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Historic Pull Limiting

• Recession increases arrests in 1950-1956
• 1934-43 10,000/year
• 1944-54 277,000/year
• 1954 1,090,000 (Operation Wetback)
• 1956 30,000
• Illegal immigration issue disappears

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History of Immigration

• European immigration slows in early 1950s due to
  McCarthyism scare.
  
• 1952 McCarran-Walter Act against communist
  subversives
  
• - Creates INS moves it from Labor to
  Justice
  
• - Establishes 4 category preference system
• 50 to more educated
• 50 to 3 preferences for family of citizens
  residents 1st time
  

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History of Immigration

• 1959 U.S. receives large numbers of Cuban
  refugees.
  
• 1960-65 JFK LBJ try to eliminate
  discriminatory national quotas
  

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 1964 Civil Rights movement highlights abuses of
  braceros
  
• 1965 Amendment to Civil Rights
• Asian immigration restrictions eliminated
• Asians immigrants explode in 70s 80s Vietnam,
  Laos, Cambodia bring families.
  
• Together with Latinos 85 of all immigrants
  till 1990s
  

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• Readjusts quota system 20,000 for each
  non-Western country regardless of size
  
• 170,000 visas for Eastern Hemisphere,
• 75 for family of citizens y LPRs
• Only 120,000 for Western Hemisphere, which
  creates backlog of Mexicans
  
• 1965-1976 300,000 backlog of West requests
• Annually Mexicans used 40,000 of 120,000 visas
• US wrongly gave 150,000 Western visas to Cubans

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 1975 Law disallows woman with child born in U.S.
  to apply for LPR child may apply when 21.
  
• 1976 US cuts Mexican visas to 20,000
• 3rd preference of married sons/daughters of
  citizens 10 years
  
• 4th preference of bros/sisters 12 years
• 1979 After Pres Carter appoints Fr Hesburg to
  commission to review policy, receives
  recom-mendation for employer sanctions (an idea
  rejected since 1870s) and broad legalization.

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 1986 Immigration Reform Control Act (IRCA)
• 2 step legalization process, legalizing 2.5
  million (amnesty), less than expected, who
  fulfill restrictive criteria.
  
• Employer sanctions
• Outlaws unfair immigration related employment
  practices
  

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
  Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) hastily passed on eve
  of threatened government shutdown (9/30).
  
• Harshest law in U.S. history
• Retroactively increased grounds of deportability
• Greatly limited judicial review political
  asylum
  
• Mandated 10-year bar to return for residing
  illegally in U.S. for a year or more.
  
• Permanent bar for false claim to U.S.
  citizenship
  
• Greatly restricted waivers.

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 2001 Pres Fox receives standing ovation when
  calls for broad legalization before joint
  Congress
  
• 9/11 Hope-filled meeting between Fox and Pres
  Bush for 9/13 canceled. They never meet.
  
• Severe tightening of immigration procedures
• 2003 Homeland Security takes over INS role
• Immigration takes on anti-terrorism flavor
• All applications take much longer to process

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 2005 Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduces
  controversial bill, passes House in 7 days
  
• Felony to aid undocumented people
• Felony to enter U.S. illegally
• Felony to overstay or violate a visa
• March 10, May 1 2006 2007 Largest
  demonstrations in U.S. history
  
• 1/2007 Strive bill introduced as more
• compassionate alternative, but strong opposition
  from the right, forces Senate to drop efforts in
  summer. Senate passes stronger enforcement.
  

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 2005 Harsher rulings on waivers
• Of 300,000 applications for Cancellation of
  Removal, 99 denied and there is no appeal.
  
• Those applying fulfill the following
• In U.S. for 10 uninterrupted years before arrest
• A person of good character, no crime
• Has spouse, parent or child who is US citizen or
  PLR
  
• Would suffer extreme hardship if deported.

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• Increased enforcement in 2007
• Congress approves 700 miles of fence, more for
  border patrol officers and technology
  
• Deportations escalate, 270,000 in FY 07, most in
  history.
  
• More detention space funded, detention soars to
  27,000.
  
• Minutemen created as vigilante force.

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• 2005 Harsher rulings on waivers
• Of 300,000 applications for Cancellation of
  Removal, 99 denied and there is no appeal.
  
• Those applying fulfill the following
• In U.S. for 10 uninterrupted years before arrest
• A person of good character, no crime
• Has spouse, parent or child who is US citizen or
  PLR
  
• Would suffer extreme hardship if deported.

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Contradictions of Push, Pull Limiting

• Municipalities states pass strict laws
• Oklahoma harshest law making any aid to illegal
  immigrants a crime. Tulsa Archbishop denounces
  it.
  
• Waukegan many other cities require police to
  ask for ID and if none, to turn over persons to
  ICE.
  
• Arizona law fines and then cancels business
  licenses of those caught hiring undocumented
  people.
  

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The Future?

• 2007 Save Act stays alive in House, focusing on
  enforcement only.
  
• 2008 Presidential campaign creates limited
  debate
  
• Democrats shy from the issue
• Republicans emphasize enforcement

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Rise in of legal immigrants

• 1950s 2.5 million
• 1960s 3.3 million
• 1970s 4.5 million
• 1980s 7.3 million
• 1990s 9.1 million biggest decade

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