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(This notebook
contains messages on selected topics, to be used when discussing AILA’s
priority issues with Congress and the media.)
AILA
MESSAGE NOTEBOOK:
ISSUE
MESSAGES ON SELECTED
AILA TOPICS
American Immigration
Lawyers Association
1400 Eye Street, NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 216-2400 Fax: (202) 371-9449
Table of Contents: What’s in the AILA Message
Notebook?
1.
Introduction: How to Use the Message Notebook
2.
The Heart of the Matter: Why Do We Need Messages?
3.
Who is the Best Messenger?
4.
When to Use Messages
5.
Communicating with Congress
6.
Working with the Media
7.
Basic Immigration Messages
8.
Essential Worker Messages
9.
H-1B Messages
10.
IIRAIRA Messages
11.
INS Reorganization Messages
12.
NACARA Parity Messages
13.
Registry Date Messages
14.
Section 245(i) Messages
15.
Restrictionist Messages
INTRODUCTION
HOW TO USE THE MESSAGE NOTEBOOK
Your local newspaper runs an editorial denouncing immigrants. A
television or radio producer calls you and asks you to discuss an immigration
news story. A reporter asks your opinion of a recent court decision. The board
of education wants you to give a speech on the value of immigrants. What do you
do?
This notebook will help you. It contains messages on selected
topics. Use these messages when discussing AILA’s priority issues with
Congress and the news media. You will be better prepared with a structured
message (such as those in this book) that hits three or four points again and
again. By using these messages, you should be able to put AILA, immigration and
immigrants in a good light – whether you are writing a letter to the editor,
an article for the local newspaper, talking with a member of Congress or the
media, or debating restrictionists.
Please do not use this notebook in a vacuum. The AILA Media
Advocacy Handbook--which includes numerous tips on how to deal with media, write
letters to the editor, draft and distribute op-ed articles and hold press
conferences--is a companion volume. This notebook reviews AILA’s messages on
immigration issues.
When advocating with Congress, the media and the general public
on issues as complicated as immigration, it is important to package each issue
into three to five main messages. The
messages should be worded as simply and strongly as possible. Use these messages
when discussing our issues. You should start with the overall theme, and hit as
many of the messages and sub-messages as time permits.
Remember: these themes help you connect with people who do not know as
much about the topic as you do. The
messages may seem simplistic to subject experts like you, but they are crafted
so that you can make your point using emotion and fact, enabling people to grasp
both the problem and the solution.
Remember any media and advocacy training you have had, along
with tips from the Media Advocacy Handbook: incorporate key messages (or overall
themes) in everything you say or write. Don’t get into a give and take;
rather, always focus on the points you want to make and how you are going to
make them.
Standing alone, message points are effective.
They are even more effective when you add case examples. You, your
clients and their stories provide the strength behind our messages. Talk about
your work as an immigrant lawyer. Talk about how the issue is helpful or
harmful. Be as specific as possible. Talk about what is at stake for your
clients, others like them, your community, and our nation.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER:
WHY DO WE NEED MESSAGES?
Message points help communicate complicated immigration issues
in a way that politicians, the media and the general public can understand.
People react to information on two levels: emotionally and
intellectually. In order for people to grasp your point, you first must appeal
to their gut instincts (emotions) and then to their mind (intellect). The
message points contained in this notebook are designed to do that.
You will notice that the messages contain an overall theme, and
then many sub-themes. We need both because immigration law is extraordinarily
complicated. But it is also because AILA’s position on immigration issues
cannot be explained in a few phrases.
We want due process for immigrants. We want fair, efficient and
effective adjudication. We believe that immigrants of comparable circumstances
should be treated similarly. We want to increase the cap on H-1B visas and allow
essential workers into our country. We want fair enforcement policies. We want
INS reform that has someone in charge with clout that coordinates INS
enforcement and adjudications, and adequately funds adjudications. These are but
a few of our issues and positions.
How can you jam all of that into a single message? You can’t.
AILA needs a framework for discussing the issues in which we are involved.
That’s why the message points are broken down into sub-themes.
TELL YOUR OWN STORIES
AILA’s main work is to be a forceful voice for our members,
their clients, immigrants and immigration in general. Presenting a coherent
message on issues is an important first step in that direction. Weaving your own
stories and those of clients into the message is the next important step. You
know what is happening to real immigrants. You’ve been a part of efforts to
improve both the INS and immigration laws. You know how the INS works and
doesn’t work. You know immigrants who have made contributions to your
communities. It is your job to communicate those stories to the press and
public.
The way to do that is by using messages as a communications
tool. Take the messages in this notebook and make them come alive with anecdotes
from your practice. Tell reporters, audiences and the public about the people
and companies you have helped; the contributions your clients have made to the
nation; the way INS delays and the immigration laws have hurt the people and
companies you represent. Relate your stories through terms people understand,
such as fairness, justice, American principles and tradition. Explain how
immigration is central to our continued economic well - being. Use examples of
how the law affects people, families, communities and, ultimately, this nation.
WHO IS THE BEST MESSENGER?
So, you have decided to respond to an editorial, write a letter
to the editor or op-ed, or get out in front on an issue. The next questions you
should ask yourself are: Who is the best messenger?
Who is my audience? In other words, which person or organization will not
only be the most credible to the audience, but also with whom will the proposed
audience most relate?
Deciding on the best messenger is not an easy thing to do.
Sometimes the person who is most credible may not be the most articulate,
especially when it comes to television or radio, or may not be the most tactful.
Choosing the best messenger requires walking a tightrope between saying what you
think needs to be said, and saying what the audience is willing to hear. It also
requires an in-depth knowledge of the issue, the audience, and AILA’s message
points. The message points help to phrase a complex issue so that the average
newspaper reader, television viewer or radio listener can comprehend the message
easily and quickly, and identify with our position.
A quick and dirty rule of thumb when deciding on the best
messenger is: If you are responding to a point of law, an AILA member may be the
best person. If you are putting out our message on a business immigration issue,
you may be the best messenger, or it may be a prominent local business person.
You, along with a client, likely are the best faces to put forward on IIRAIRA or
another family based immigration issue. If you’re trying to promote immigrants
or immigration in general, the best messenger may be a prominent citizen, such
as a business leader, elected official, or even a sports or entertainment star.
There are no easy answers. It depends upon the circumstances.
Call the AILA National advocacy staff if you are having trouble
deciding on the messenger.
WHEN TO USE MESSAGES
You should use AILA’s messages anytime you are talking about
immigration issues, whether you are meeting with a U.S. Senator or
Representative, being interviewed by local or national news media, giving a
speech to a local high school or debating a restrictionist before your Chamber
of Commerce. The following section provides you with some tips on using messages
when communicating with Congress and the news media. For more information, see
the Advocacy 2000 Handbook or the AILA Media Advocacy Handbook.
Communicating with Congress
One of the easiest ways to contact Congress is by making a
quick phone call. Contacting
Congress by phone also is an easy activity to encourage other members and your
clients to do. In fact, phone calls
are most effective when an office receives a number of calls about a particular
issue in a relatively short time period. Use the messages in this notebook to
convey your thoughts to Congress.
·
Writing a Letter
A letter is probably the most popular way to communicate with a
congressional office. AILA has
sample letters on many issues. If you want to write your own letter, please use
the sample as a guide and keep it to one page and one issue. State your purpose
for writing in the first paragraph and use examples to support your position.
·
Meeting with Elected Officials
Fact-to-face meetings are the most effective way to influence
your legislators. You and your
clients can meet with them either in their district offices or in Washington,
DC. If you are unable to see your
legislators in person, you should still meet with their staffers. Staff members work on legislation, regulations, and policy
issues every day and greatly influence their bosses’ positions and votes.
Present your concerns simply and directly. GIVE BACKGROUND:
Explain the issue in the simplest terms possible. DESCRIBE THE IMPACT:
Explain how the issue directly affects your community or client. GIVE A
RECOMMENDATION: Indicate what you
would like your legislator to do.
Working with the Media
Local, regional and national media can help to generate
pro-immigration views, develop support for specific issues, and make you known
in your community as an immigration expert. The more visible pro-immigration
positions are in your local media, the more visible you and your issues will be.
·
Writing Letters-to-the-Editor
AILA has sample letters to the editor on many issues. If you
want to write your own, please use the sample as a guide. It is important to
reply to negative press.
·
Writing Op-Eds
Contact the editorial page of your local newspaper. The
contact information is usually in the Op-Ed section.
Explain what you want to write about and why it is news-worthy. Use
AILA’s sample op-eds. If you want to write your own, please use the sample and
the message points as a guide.
Contact the program manager of your local news and radio
station with a story that reflects the real-world impact of our immigration
laws. They are always looking for a
human-interest story. Even if
they do not pick up your story or interview you after your initial contact, you
have at least begun the process of building a relationship with the media.
Answer the first question with information that conveys the major points
(no more than three) that you are trying to make.
Don’t allow the opposition to define the issues.
Keep the debate on your terms. Return
to your message by using bridges, “The real issue is . . .” Gather anecdotal
evidence that will resonate with the audience. Let no charge go unanswered and
correct erroneous information immediately.
BASIC IMMIGRATION MESSAGES
In addition to AILA’s messages on specific issues, this
Handbook also provides you with our general immigration messages. These
messages, which you will find on the next page, promote the positive
contributions of immigrants. They also are designed to refute the negative myths
perpetuated by restrictionist groups such as the Federation for American
Immigration Reform. You should incorporate AILA’s basic immigration messages
in any op-ed or letter to the editor you draft. You also should use them when
responding to anti-immigrant organizations or their messengers.
BASIC IMMIGRATION MESSAGE POINTS
How to Use the Message: Use these messages when discussing
general immigration with Congress and the news media, as well as when you are
addressing specific issues. You should start with the overall theme, and hit as
many of the messages and sub-messages as possible and appropriate. Remember
these themes help you connect with people who do not know as much about the
topic as you do. The messages may seem simplistic to subject experts like you,
but are crafted so that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that
people can grasp both the problem and the solution.
·
Immigration is central to our history as a nation.
·
We are all immigrants, children or descendents of immigrants.
·
Immigration reinforces basic American principles such as law,
fairness and family values.
·
Immigrants bring new ideas and skills that contribute to our
social, economic and cultural growth.
·
Immigrants reinforce our values about family and work.
·
Family reunification is a highly valued part of our history.
·
Legal immigrants come to join close family members.
·
Our immigration laws tightly regulate family reunification.
·
The law allows only close family members to join loved ones here
in U.S.
·
Immigrants work hard and create jobs; they don’t take away jobs
from Americans.
·
Immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in benefits.
·
Immigration can help solve America’s severe worker shortage
predicted to last for the next 20 years.
·
Immigrants allow employers to fill needed positions and produce
more in goods and services.
·
Without immigrants, there will be more retirees than workers;
fewer people will be paying into retirement and medical benefits than will be
receiving Social Security & Medicare. Thus, without immigrants, we will have
to slash benefits, increase the retirement age or hike payroll taxes.
·
Immigration makes social sense
·
Immigrants have contributed positively to our education system:
during the current wave of immigration, high school graduation rates,
standardized test and college entrance scores all have increased.
·
Immigrants are well educated. Nearly two-thirds of recent
immigrants have a high school degree.
·
Immigrants are healthy. Studies show that children in immigrant
families have better health than do children in U.S. born families.
ESSENTIAL WORKER MESSAGE POINTS
How to Use the Message: Use these messages when discussing
essential worker issues with Congress and the news media. You should start with
the overall theme, and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time
permits. Remember these themes help you connect with people who do not know as
much about the topic as you do. The messages may seem simplistic to subject
experts like you, but are crafted so that you can make your point using emotion
and fact, so that people can grasp both the problem and the solution.
OVERALL THEME: Keep America Working! With unemployment at a three-decade low, America needs
immigrants now more than ever!
·
America has a long-term worker shortage
·
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2006, America will
have 10 million more jobs than people to fill them!
·
Independent economists report that the worker shortage will last
for the next 20 years because it is based on demographics, not just skills
training.
·
Recent unemployment rates have reached 30-year lows, at one point
hitting 3.9%. These rates are another indicator of the worker shortage.
·
The worker shortage is hitting the service sector particularly
hard. Jobs in essential occupations (semi-skilled and unskilled) are going
unfilled.
·
The worker shortage is hurting business and could endanger our
current economic boom
·
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan repeatedly has testified
before Congress that the worker shortage poses a threat to our continued
economic expansion.
·
The Federal Reserve Board and business executives report that
corporations have halted expansion plans due to a lack of workers.
·
Numerous newspaper articles report that businesses have curtailed
services because they do not have enough workers.
·
Employers have tried other initiatives, but the pool of available
workers must grow.
·
Businesses – including restaurants, hotels, nursing homes and
foundries -- have increased wages, increased benefits, provided signing bonuses
and relocation pay.
·
Businesses have led the way in developing Welfare-to-Work programs
and hired extensively from welfare rolls.
·
Businesses have developed partnerships with local high schools and
colleges, and created their own high school and college-level training programs.
·
But the shortages still exist.
·
Immigration is part of the solution.
·
The current system is unworkable and outdated. It places the
employer and the employee in a bureaucratic morass of regulations and red tape
that means years of frustration. It
has not been updated since 1990, before the current economic boom began.
·
The system does not allow many employers to legally hire essential
workers in a timely manner. The
short-term category is of limited use and the wait in the permanent (green card)
category is more than 10 years.
·
Congress should create new, regulated visa initiatives that meet
short term, long term, and permanent needs.
·
Congress should carefully craft programs to allow the existing
workforce to obtain valid, legal status.
·
Congress should repeal employer sanctions because they are causing
instability in the workplace.
H-1B MESSAGES
How to Use the Message: Use these messages when discussing H-1B
visas with Congress and the news media. You should start with the overall theme,
and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time permits. Remember these
themes help you connect with people who do not know as much about the topic as
you do. The messages may seem simplistic to subject experts like you, but are
crafted so that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people
can grasp both the problem and the solution.
OVERALL THEME: The
H-1B cap is a cap on America’s economic growth.
·
There is a shortage of skilled professional workers.
·
Federal Reserve Board reports that companies across the country
have difficulty in finding and retaining qualified professionals.
·
All sectors of the economy are affected – manufacturing,
technology, small business, education and state and local governments.
·
88% of manufacturers report difficulty in finding qualified
candidates for a myriad of jobs.
·
The U.S. Commerce Department says up to 190,000 high-tech jobs are
going unfilled.
·
Hospitals across the country are having a hard time getting health
care professionals
·
Colleges, universities and school districts across the country
cannot obtain qualified instructors.
·
H-1B visas are part of the solution.
·
Temporary foreign professionals are a small part of the solution
– representing less than 0.1% of the U.S. labor force.
·
U.S. companies continue to invest in the America’s
workforce--$210 billion in training and education each year.
·
H-1Bs allow companies, colleges, universities and school districts
to hire temporary foreign professionals.
·
H-1B applicants can only be hired for jobs requiring the
equivalent of a bachelor’s degree.
·
H-1B visas cover professionals, such as accountants, doctors,
engineers, health care professionals, researchers, professors, teachers, and
computer professionals.
·
H-1B professionals do not hurt U.S. workers -- employers must
protect wages and working conditions, first recruit in the U.S., and cannot
displace American workers.
·
H-1B employees create additional jobs in the economy.
·
The H-1B cap is a cap on American economic growth.
·
The current H-1B cap is 115,000 visas this fiscal year; it will decrease
to 107,500 next year, and will go down to 65,000 the following year.
·
The cap has been reached early in each of the last three years.
·
American companies cannot obtain needed professionals, who are
being taken by our foreign competition.
·
Companies tell the Federal Reserve Board they have cut back on
expansion plans due to the shortage of professionals.
Some companies have moved operations overseas.
·
Chairman Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve notes that without
immigration our economic growth could be threatened.
IIRAIRA MESSAGES
How to Use the Messages: Use these messages when discussing
IIRAIRA reform with Congress and the news media. You should start with the
overall theme, and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time permits.
Remember: these themes help you connect with people who do not know as
much about the topic as you do. The
messages may seem simplistic to subject experts (like you), but are crafted so
that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people can grasp
both the problem and the solution.
OVERALL THEME: The
horror stories of how people are affected by these laws are un-American, and it is
happening here. IIRAIRA
violates key American principles of law and family values.
Right the wrongs -- Fix ’96!
IIRAIRA violates American principles of law, justice and
fairness.
LAW
·
IIRAIRA denies people their day in court.
·
Low-level immigration officials have the power to act as judge and
jury.
·
People are being deported with no appeals.
·
Courts cannot review, let alone correct, INS decisions.
·
This lack of judicial oversight is unprecedented.
JUSTICE
·
IIRAIRA denies people a second chance.
·
IIRAIRA often deports people for minor offenses & youthful
indiscretions.
·
Americans believe in second chances and redemption.
The 1996 laws provide neither.
·
INS and courts cannot take into account work, business ownership,
good behavior, family responsibilities, contribution to the community, military
service, or length of time in the U.S.
·
IIRAIRA requires the INS to lock people in prison even after they
have paid their debt to society, and allows people to be held in prison
indefinitely without ever talking to a judge.
FAIRNESS
·
IIRAIRA changes the rules mid-game
·
IIRAIRA applies
retroactively.
·
Offenses that weren’t grounds for deportation now are.
·
People who already paid for offenses are now paying again by being
deported.
·
IIRAIRA tears
families apart.
·
Many people being deported have been in the U.S. since they were
small children.
·
Many have married American citizens and their children are
citizens.
·
Many American spouses and children are forced to go on welfare
when the family is broken apart and the main breadwinner is deported.
·
IIRAIRA hits the wrong targets.
·
IIRAIRA was meant to target criminals and terrorists, but the law
went too far.
·
Law-abiding people are being deported.
·
INS goes after known immigrants who have been law-abiding for many
years, not terrorists and criminals.
INS REORGANIZATION MESSAGES
How to Use the Messages: Use these messages when
discussing INS reorganization ith Congress and the news media. You should start
with the overall theme, and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time
permits. Remember: these themes
help you connect with people who do not know as much about the topic as you do.
The messages may seem simplistic to subject experts (like you), but are
crafted so that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people
can grasp both the problem and the solution.
OVERALL THEME: Support true reform. Support measures that
provide strong leadership, coordination, and adequate funding. Oppose false
reform measures.
True reform needs strong leadership
·
S. 1563 and H.R. 2680 both provide for a single person in charge
with clout to run national immigration policy, and provides that person with the
staff needed to do the job.
·
H.R. 3918 does not provide for a single person in charge with the
clout to set national immigration policy.
·
H.R. 3918 does not provide for a single general counsel or policy
advisor.
True reform needs coordination
·
S. 1563 and H.R. 2680 both provide for permanent coordination
between enforcement and adjudications.
·
H.R. 3918 does not provide for coordination between enforcement
and adjudications.
·
H.R. 3918 effectively guts coordination between enforcement and
adjudications by allowing the Attorney General to abolish the Office of Shared
Services.
·
S. 1563 and H.R. 2680 both provide adequate funding for
adjudications, and a firewall between adjudications and enforcement monies.
·
H.R. 3918 does not provide funding for the single person in
charge.
·
H.R. 3918 does not provide adequate funding for adjudications, or
a firewall between adjudications and enforcement monies.
Support true reform. Support measures like S. 1563 and H.R.
2680 that provide strong leadership, coordination, and adequate funding. Oppose
false reform. Oppose measures like H.R. 3918 that do not provide strong
leadership, coordination, and adequate funding.
NACARA PARITY MESSAGES
How to Use the Messages: Use these messages when discussing
NACRA parity with Congress and the news media. You should start with the overall
theme, and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time permits.
Remember: these themes help you connect with people who do not know as
much about the topic as you do. The
messages may seem simplistic to subject experts (like you), but are crafted so
that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people can grasp
both the problem and the solution.
OVERALL THEME: Passing
NACARA parity makes economic sense. It is fair. It helps U.S. foreign policy.
Passing NACARA parity makes economic sense.
·
The U.S. has a severe worker shortage.
·
This shortage is affecting all sectors of the economy, especially
in the service sector.
·
Many immigrants who would be covered by NACARA parity are working
in the service sector. It makes no sense to not allow these employees to
regularize their status.
·
Congress should help stabilize the workforce by passing NACARA
parity.
Passing NACARA parity is fair and equitable.
·
NACARA granted certain people fleeing civil conflicts the right to
become permanent residents.
·
People from other countries faced similar circumstances but were
not allowed to become permanent residents.
·
Both the beneficiaries of NACARA and those who were left out are
long-time U.S. residents with families, jobs and community ties.
Passing NACARA parity would help U.S. foreign policy.
·
Central Americans living here remit significant amounts of money
back to their home countries.
·
Losing that income would be devastating for the struggling
democracies of Latin and Central America.
·
Not allowing long-time U.S. residents to become permanent
residents would force Central America to absorb more workers at a time of high
unemployment.
·
These dramatic changes would destabilize Central America and,
thus, hurt U.S. foreign policy.
REGISTRY DATE MESSAGES
How to Use the Messages: Use these messages when discussing
updating the registry with Congress and the news media. You should start with
the overall theme, and hit as many of the messages and sub-messages as time
permits. Remember: these themes
help you connect with people who do not know as much about the topic as you do.
The messages may seem simplistic to subject experts (like you), but are
crafted so that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people
can grasp both the problem and the solution.
Overall Theme: Updating the registry date is fair, makes senses
and is good policy: it would right
some wrongs of 1996, help our economy, and continue a long-standing American
tradition.
Updating the registry date is the fair thing to do.
·
It allows long-term residents to adjust their status.
·
It keeps families together.
·
It recognizes long-time residents’ contributions to our society
and economy.
Updating the registry date rights some wrongs committed by
government bureaucrats and Congress.
·
President Reagan, in 1986, allowed long-time residents one year to
become legal permanent residents.
·
The INS misinterpreted the law and denied hundreds of thousands of
applications. Federal courts (up to the Supreme Court) repeatedly ordered the
INS to process these applications.
·
Congress slammed the courthouse door in the face of applicants in
1996 by stripping federal court authority to review cases.
·
Updating the registry date will grant these long-time residents
their long overdue legal right to become permanent residents.
Updating the registry date makes economic sense.
·
The United States is in the midst of a severe worker shortage that
economists predict will last 20 years.
·
Experts predict major shortfalls in retirement and healthcare
programs due to the worker shortage.
·
Long-time residents who would be helped by registry date update
work, pay taxes and have strong ties to their communities.
·
Updating the registry date will allow employers to retain needed
workers, will bring in more taxes, and let the INS devote limited resources to
fulfilling their enforcement and adjudication responsibilities.
SECTION 245(i) MESSAGES
How to Use the Messages: Use
these messages when discussing restoring Section 245(i) with Congress and the
news media. You should start with the overall theme, and hit as many of the
messages and sub-messages as time permits.
Remember: these themes help you connect with people who do not know as
much about the topic as you do. The
messages may seem simplistic to subject experts (like you), but are crafted so
that you can make your point using emotion and fact, so that people can grasp
both the problem and the solution.
Overall Themes: Section
245(i) is pro-family, pro-business, fiscally prudent, and makes sense. Restore
Section 245(i).
Section 245(i) would allow families to stay together.
·
It would allow people who can receive green cards to apply from
within the United States.
·
Without Section 245(i), people must return to their home countries
and will be forced to stay outside the U.S. for between three and ten years.
Section 245(i) would allow businesses to retain valued
employees.
·
Section 245(i) would allow employers to request permanent resident
status for workers.
·
Without Section 245(i), workers must leave their U.S. jobs before
applying for permanent status.
·
Businesses can be without valued employees for up to a decade.
Section 245(i) would be fiscally prudent.
·
Applicants paid a $1,000 processing fee.
·
It generated almost $200 million in annual revenues for the INS in
FY97, at no cost to taxpayers.
·
Without the revenue from Section 245(i), INS had huge
adjudications backlogs due to lack of funding.
Section 245(i) would make sense.
·
It would give no special rights or status to people.
·
It would apply only to people who are eligible for green cards,
and have passed screenings.
·
It helps families stay together, helps businesses retain key
workers, and provides funding to the INS without raising taxes.
Support common sense and fiscal prudence. Restore Section
245(i)!
RESTRICTIONIST MESSAGES
Anti-immigration groups such as the Federation for American
Immigration Reform are using these messages to advance their cause. We present
them here with our proposed responses.
Restrictionist Allegation: Immigrants cause loss of American
identity.
AILA Response: America is a nation of immigrants.
·
Immigration is central to our history as a nation.
·
Immigration reinforces basic American values, such as law,
justice, fairness and family.
·
Immigrants bring new ideas and skills that contribute to our
social, economic and cultural growth as a nation.
·
Immigrants reinforce our values about family and work.
Restrictionist Allegation: Immigrants lead to overpopulation,
overcrowding, urban sprawl.
AILA Response: America has a low population density and plenty
of space.
·
The Census Bureau says that, even with immigration, the U.S. by
the year 2020 will have less than one-quarter the population density of Great
Britain.
·
The current level of immigration is one-third the level
experienced during the early 1920s.
Restrictionist Allegation: Immigrants cost Americans jobs.
AILA Response: Immigration makes economic sense.
·
Leading economic studies show that immigrants create jobs by
providing goods and services that Americans purchase; and by creating small
business that employ Americans.
·
The U.S. is suffering a severe worker shortage, which economists
predict will last for the next 20 years.
·
Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan says the worker shortages pose
the greatest threat to our continued economic expansion.
·
Without immigration, the shortages would have been even and will
be more severe.
Restrictionist Allegation: Immigrants hurt low-skilled American
workers with less education.
AILA Response: Immigrants fill employment needs and create
jobs.
·
Rather than taking away low-skill jobs from Americans, many
immigrants are executives, administrators and managers.
·
Those that do take low-skill jobs are helping fill employment
vacancies in crucial industries, according to the Federal Reserve.
Restrictionst Allegation: Immigrants cause educational decline.
AILA Response: Immigrants help raise our educational standards.
·
Almost one-third of recent immigrants have a high school diploma.
More than 70 percent of immigrants are over the age of 18. They don’t use our
elementary or high schools.
·
During the 1990s, which critics note had high immigration rates,
high school students recorded the highest-ever increase on college placement
exams. The 1990s also saw dramatic increases in elementary and high school
student achievement in math, science and reading tests.
·
During the 1960s and 1970s, when immigration was lower, college
entrance tests fell.
·
Immigrants account for 30% of college graduates; 40% of graduate
degrees; and nearly 50% of advanced degrees.
Restrictionist Allegation: Immigrants hurt the environment.
AILA Response: Immigration is not an environmental issue.
·
Our environmental challenges are not caused by immigrants. The
basic problem is our behavior.
·
Who is to blame for our dirty air, immigrants or Americans and our
fabled love of the automobile?
·
Who is to blame for urban and suburban sprawl, immigrants our
America’s culture of the shopping mall, strip mall and big-box retail?
Copyright
© 2000, American Immigration Lawyers Association
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