Critical Background
According to most recent figures regarding the presence of undocumented immigrants in United States of America approximately 11.5 million of them were living here between the years 2000-2011 and are still in the country. These numbers might have increased since then. Mexicans account for 57% of the total population; 24% are from other Latin American countries; 9% from Asia; 6% from Canada and Europe and 4% from other parts of the world (Passel, 2005).
Usually, push pull factors create the medium through which people from poorer parts of the world migrate to developed countries believing that even at the lowest level it would provide them with a better quality of life through job opportunities. Further analysis of the undocumented immigrant population presently living in America reveals that a structural demand exists in all developed nations whereby undocumented immigrants are willing to take jobs for which legal residents are overqualified. As such, there is no competition between legal residents and undocumented immigrants for jobs on the American labor market (Flores, 2003).
Precisely, a widening gap exists between white-color and well-paying jobs, which require very higher levels of education/human capital. Native-born citizens and legal immigrants are usually qualified to fit these positions. Bottom-level jobs require no education and are stigmatized. They include harvesting, unskilled labor such as landscaping; construction, house-cleaning, busboy; maids; hotels and restaurants attendants. Undocumented immigrants fill these positions and they have no work permits to do so (Flores, 2003).
Importantly, further Pew research revealed that 79% of undocumented workers from Mexico do not have a high school diploma. They were willing to join a workers program that would allow them temporary legal work and release them after an agree period after which they work as undocumented immigrants. With this background of the need for unskilled labor in America and 11.5 million undocumented people walking the streets, in my opinion they should be given work permits instead of operating an underground economy under the guise that they are taking away jobs from American people (Massey et.al, 2003).
In fact then jobs they perform the high school graduate would prefer to go on unemployment before they do it. This refutes the policy implication contending that undocumented immigrants are lowering wages or stealing jobs from native-born workers so why not allow undocumented immigrants to legally fill the gaps between jobs legal and Native Americans would not take and those for which unskilled workers are needed. The structure of today’s American labor market is for skilled workers and high school graduates. After high school the potential worker must have a college degree to function within the society. Then the cry of no jobs emerges and US government has to pay out millions in unemployment benefits. Give undocumented immigrants work permits to fill those stigmatized jobs legal residents or citizens would not take (Briggs, 2009).
Analysis
- Congress Influence
After years of lobbying, brutality, humiliation and demoralization on 15th June, 2012 President Obama using his constitutional right as President of United States of America granted deferred action to undocumented minor immigrant children who came to America with their parents many of them legally, but lost their status when parents lost their legal status too. In 2010 a bill was passed in the house granting these children immigration relief, but failed to pass the senate. Elite Republicans are still contending that these youths will take away jobs of legal citizens and want this policy to be overruled ( ). True enough they have high school diplomas and college degrees because US government did not deport them as children. Instead US tax payers money was used to educate these minors. Therefore, what sense it makes keeping them in the society as aesthetics of American educational system without work permits? It makes no sense! They account only for 2 million of the 11.5 million undocumented people without work permits.
- Judicial System
The judicial system follows legislations. According to the immigration policy they are to prosecuted employers found guilty of knowingly employ undocumented immigrants. A fine of up to $5,000 is instituted and the undocumented immigrant placed in detention, which can last for deportation. Again this is a waste of tax payers’ money when instead of being years in government detention facilities these people could have been working on the farms or deported.
- Governmental agencies
Republican Texas Governor, Rick Perry, speaking with CNN supported the policy of work visas for undocumented immigrants. In reflecting it was clarified that while he does not support amnesty as a path to legalization, federal government should grant work visas to undocumented immigrants since to arrest and deport 11.5 million people does not seem realistic ( Fox News, 2011)
Evaluation of Interest groups
The Debate Club: A Meeting of the sharpest minds on today’s most important topics asked the question, Is Obama Right to Grant Young Illegal Immigrants Work Permits? On the forum Roy Beck, Founder and President of NumbersUSA described the policy as hurting an already struggling workforce. Mark Krikorain, Author of The New Case Against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal' and 'How Obama is Transforming America Through Immigration said that the announcement violates the American constitution. Colin Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring describes the decision as undermining Sen. Marco Rubio's bipartisan approach (The Debate Club, 2013).
Alex Nowrasten of Immigration Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute contend that President Obama is doing the right thing by halting deportations, but the actual effects of the policy remain to be seen. While Tamar Jacoby, President of Immigration Works USA said that the policy is great in the short term, but a more solid long term strategy is required. Fitz Marshall, Director of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress advances that Obama's immigration policy makes moral, economic, and political sense (The Debate Club, 2013).
Meanwhile the National Farm Workers Ministry contends that 6 out of 10 farmworkers are undocumented and they are essential to the US food system since they take up jobs the legal American would not do. Instead of granting them work permits to work legally by allowing farmers to apply for them they are criminalized and farmers fined for employing them. How sad for American Immigration Laws! ( National farm Workers Ministry, 2013).
Options
There are three options to deal with undocumented immigrants’ non work permit status and employers who still employ them. How can people survive in this American society without working? Now with E –verify there is no way for them to be smuggled into the workforce. As such, they are potential crime candidates or victims. It is either that the US Homeland Security devise a policy to deport 11.5+ million people back to their countries; place them in detention centers until congress agrees about sane immigration policies or grant them work permits to work legally.
Recommended Strategy
However, since there are numerous vacancies to be filled in the job market for which legal Americans are ashamed to accept since they require unskilled labor it would be sensible granting undocumented immigrants work permits to fill them if they want to remain in the country. The Approximately, two million undocumented minor immigrants who now have access to work permits will not reduce the potential of Americans holding top level jobs because they did not have access to higher level education as legal Americans.
References
Briggs, V. (2009). The State of U.S. Immigration Policy: The Quandary of Economic
Methodology and the Relevance of Economic Research to Know. Journal of Law,
Economics and Policy 5 (1): 177–193.
Debate Club (2013). Is Obama Right to Grant Young Illegal Immigrants Work Permits?
Retrieved on August 2nd, 2013 from http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-obama-
right-to-grant-young-illegal-immigrants-work-permits
Flores, V. (2003). New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural
Citizenship. Latin American Perspectives. 30(2): 87–100.
Fox News (2011). Rick Perry Supports Work Visas for Undocumented Immigrants In US. Fox
News
Massey, D. Durand, J., & Malone, N. (2003). Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration
in an Era of Economic Integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation
National Farm Workers Ministry (2013). Farm Workers & Immigration. Retrieved on August
2nd, 2013 from http://nfwm.org/education-center/farm-worker-issues/farm-workers-
immigration/
Passel, J. (2005). Estimates of the Size and Characteristics of the Undocumented Population
Pew Hispanic Center, Report
