English 100 Advocacy "Misplaced Blame" Progressively over the last decade, immigrants both, legal and illegal have been blamed for the ever increasing problems, that face the U.S. and most notably California. I have heard an array of statements not based on fact but prejudice. A week after the Northridge quake, our Governor Pete Wilson was quoted as saying "That illegal aliens are sapping the economic vitality of our state, and should not be eligible for earthquake relief funds." A Grand Jury In Orange County has stated in a letter to the U.S. senate that "Immigrants are linked with: rising welfare costs, crime, drug trafficking, spread of disease, deterioration of our schools, and a decrease in property values." When I look at both statements I can clearly see that this group of authority figures of supposed credibility are using undocumented immigrants as a convenient scape goat for the problems of our nation and state. Who could possibly be better choice to blame than a group who has no voice in government? (1) English 100 Advocacy This is simply an example of what many people in the establishment are using as a excuse, to cover up the fact that our country is in financial crisis because of mismanagement, not immigrants. The claim that immigrants are a negative influence on our society is completely false. After four weeks of research on the subject, I found a huge collections of such claims, but little fact to back them up. Though, I did find fact after fact, supporting my view, that: Immigrants are for the most part a positive influence on American society. Undocumented immigrants fill jobs that other local workers will not accept, they stimulate the local economy by expanding the overall level of employment, and they help lower the cost of locally produced goods and services because of the reduced wages which they receive . Pete Wilson has said that immigrants don't pay taxes and should not be eligible for public relief funds. This statement is wholly untrue. (2) English 100 Advocacy Immigrants do pay taxes, and contribute more to the state and local government than they receive. In a report on the fiscal impact of undocumented aliens residing in San Diego County, it was stated that "Of the 200,000 undocumented immigrants that resided in San Diego County in 1992, 176,810 are in the work force, and 87,875 of them had taxes withheld from pay. It was also found that undocumented aliens generated $60,490,124 in state and local government fees, last year. The break down is as follows:" Total State and local Tax revenue collected from undocumented immigrants within San Diego County Payroll tax revenue.........................................................$18,913,026 Sales tax revenue..............................................................$29,148,956 Income tax revenue............................................................$994,697 Excise taxes(alcohol and tobacco)........................................$457,441 Lottery ticket purchases......................................................$966,807 Gasoline taxes.................................................................$3,560,545 Vehicle license/registration fees.........................................$6,498,652 __________________________________________________________ Total state and local tax revenue......................................$60,490,124 (3) English 100 Advocacy It seems, Pete Wilson conveniently forgot all about these taxes and fees that are paid by illegal immigrants state wide. When his approval is rating is as low as our governor's, he has to point his finger some where. Pete Wilson has chosen his target, and that target is immigrants. Immigrants are people who are looking for a better life for themselves and their families. It's not the social programs, or the quality of public services that motivates most immigrants to come to the U.S., but the need for a job. The situation is usually so bad in their nation of origin that many immigrants will risk both life and limb to get here. Even when the majority of them know that they will be subject to prejudice and possible extradition. Most immigrants live below the poverty level, and work menial jobs for low wages, and contrary to popular opinion only a fraction of illegal immigrants have ever received welfare benefits or have been (4) English 100 Advocacy convicted of a felony. The California Penal System has reported to the State Senate that,"Undocumented immigrants have no higher of a proportion of felons than any other segment of the general population." The United States Census Bureau has also reported "Approximately one-half of the respondents are married, but only 4.4% have their spouse with them in the United States. Among the undocumented, 71.4% have children (mean number of children 2.5), and 15.8% have their children with them in the United States. Most respondents (51.4%) indicated that they plan to continue coming to the United States indefinitely. Few have ever received welfare (2.5%), and only 27.2% have ever visited a United States doctor. Respondents indicated that they work an average of 4.3 days per week and that, over a two week period, they earn an average of $262. 00. Whereas 49.7% have taxes withheld from their pay, and only 19.0% of the undocumented workers actually file income tax returns. (5) English 100 Advocacy Weekly, they spend $51.19 on groceries and $40.04 on other necessities. To the extent that there is money remaining after these expenditures, 88.9% of the respondents indicated that they send excess funds to their relatives living outside of the United States." Some have stated that illegal immigration is associated with a decrease in property values and the deterioration of our schools. This statement is completely erroneous and has little merit. When you have an influx of people into an area, a greater demand for housing causes property values to rise. So why would the addition of immigrants into a population be the exception? The probable reason would be white flight. But let's face it, how many undocumented aliens would have the money to buy even a moderate home worth $125,000. Immigrants may raise the overall cost of education but they certainly have no more of a part in the deterioration of schools. (6) English 100 Advocacy Increased enrollment numbers within the public school system means more funds from the federal, state, and local governments. A person claiming that immigration is linked to the deterioration of a local school, is making a statement of value and not of fact, making the claim ring false in my mind. Immigrants are an underprivileged group for the most part. A group that doesn't need the prejudices of others to make matters worse. They are a positive influence on American society, as they have been in the past. Even though today's politicians and bureaucrats would like the voting population to believe the problems they themselves have created are due to immigrants. I believe that eventually the American public will come to realize that the answer to this problem doesn't lie in increased border security or more strict immigration laws. But, the answer is to use American industry to increase employment by opening companies within (7) English 100 Advocacy those nations that show they have a high number of people fleeing to our country. This way we get the benefits of cheap labor minus the cost of social programs that we would otherwise be paying for. Bibliography (Congressional Hearings) congressional hearing on migrant and seasonal farm workers. Nov, 1993, 100th congress (8) English 100 Advocacy Congressional Hearing on Illegal Immigration. October, 1993, 100th congress. Congressional hearing on the I.N.S. mission and pursuits. January-March, 1993, 100th congress Congressional hearing on the operations of the border patrol. March, 1993, 100th congress (News paper articles) (9) John Metaxas English 100 Advocacy Source: Orange County Register Article Name: Immigration California' Demise Author: Helen Stone Date: Jan 7, 1994 Source: L.A. Times Article Name: Wilson strikes back. Author: Harold Palmer Date: Jan 24, 1994 VID-KID (10)