More Immigration Facts

Human Events ^ | April 5 2006 | Linda Chavez

[Reagan Man]

As the Senate continues to grapple with immigration reform, it's time to clear the air of some broad misconceptions in the current debate. Since writing about this topic over the last few weeks, my inbox has been flooded with e-mails raising questions.

Some critics seem especially rankled by my arguments that many illegal aliens are "otherwise law-abiding" members of their communities. Most detractors point out that illegal aliens can't pay taxes since they aren't entitled to work. But that's only half right. Confusion and ignorance on the immigration issue abound, so, here are a few facts worth considering.

First, illegal aliens are not currently criminals. They have committed a misdemeanor civil offense under current law by entering or remaining in the United States once their visas expire, but the House-passed immigration bill would automatically make these offenses criminal felonies.

Second, illegal aliens, by definition, broke the law to enter the country, but the way they got here doesn't differ all that much from the way most immigrants came in previous eras. Until the success of the immigration restriction movement in the 1920s, people who wanted to immigrate simply showed up at U.S. ports, or in the case of Mexicans and Canadians, just walked across the border.

There were laws in place governing naturalization, which varied over time from requiring that an immigrant live here as little as two years to as long as 14 years before being eligible for citizenship. Indeed, laws requiring registration of immigrants were set up to ensure that immigrants met the naturalization residency requirements.

Unless they were from Asia (Chinese and, later, other Asian immigrants were barred or severely limited from immigrating between 1862 and 1952), immigrants had merely to show themselves to be free of "loathsome or contagious diseases"; demonstrate that they were not likely to become dependent on public assistance (still required to gain admission today); attest that they were not polygamists, convicts or prostitutes; and, later, pay a small fee. These requirements were met after the immigrants were already on U.S. soil -- in fact, the huge numbers of people immigrating in the early 20th century led to the creation of Ellis Island off Manhattan to process the entrants.

Today's legal immigrants face a lengthy, sometimes decades-long, process, must have close relatives already living in the U.S. to stand any realistic chance of being admitted, or must possess unusual skills much in demand and have an employer ready to hire them.

Third, the overwhelming majority of illegal aliens pay taxes, including Social Security, Medicare and property taxes, not to mention sales taxes. The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration estimates that three-fourths of all illegal aliens have Social Security (and Medicare) taxes deducted from their wages. How? It's simple.

Since it is illegal to hire someone who does not present a Social Security number (and show other documentation of legal residence), many illegal aliens use phony numbers or cards to get jobs. In 2002 alone, the Social Security Administration reported it had collected $7 billion in payroll taxes and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes from workers who could not be matched with valid Social Security numbers.

In addition, illegal aliens pay property taxes just like everyone else, either directly, if they own homes (and surprising numbers of illegal aliens do), or indirectly through their landlords' property taxes in the form of rent. Most illegal aliens pay income taxes -- since these, too, are automatically deducted -- but they fail to claim any refunds since they are fearful of drawing attention to their illegal status.

Do these facts mean we ought to ignore the problem of 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States? Of course not. It's bad for all of us when laws are so wantonly flouted. Those who have entered the country should pay some price for having violated the law -- a heavy fine, for example, which is the usual penalty for misdemeanor offenses.

The more difficult question is how to stop more people from coming here illegally -- and the best way to do that is to increase border security and change our current, inflexible laws to make it possible for more people to come here legally.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Problem is, the IRS grants a quasi-legal status after 31 days: "Resident alien. A resident alien is an individual that is not a citizen or national of the United States and who meets either the green card test or the substantial presence test for the calendar year. Green card test. An alien is a U.S. resident if the individual was a lawful permanent resident of the United States at any time during the calendar year. This is known as the green card test because these aliens hold immigrant visas (also known as green cards). Substantial presence test. An alien is considered a U.S. resident if the individual meets the substantial presence test for the calendar year. Under this test, the individual must be physically present in the United States on at least: 31 days during the current calendar year, and 183 days during the current year and the 2 preceding years, counting all the days of physical presence in the current year, but only ⅙ the number of days of presence in the first preceding year, and only ⅙ the number of days in the second preceding year." http://www.irs.gov/publications/p515/ar02.html#d0e962

[Luis Gonzalez]

Some did have visas.

It's cheaper to get a visitor's visa and a plane ticket from Mexico city to Houston, than paying a smuggler to bring you in.

Since 9/11, it's become more difficult to obtain the visas, and more expensive to have the smuggler bring you in.

Some of the illegal aliens in the country today, came in with visitor's visas years ago.

All the 9/11 terrorists entered the country legally, and overstayed their visas.

[abigailsmybaby]

I heard on a radio news report last night that the Border Patrol is getting reports from illegals they've caught the past few days that the media in Mexico is telling their citizens that an amnesty is imminent and they should start for the border. The next wave is on its way.

[Bigg Red]

I had now trouble finding a housekeeper = I had NO trouble finding a housekeeper

Jeez! Gotta slow down with my typing and my thinking today.

[Bigg Red]

misdemeanor's aren't crimes?

**
Excellent points!

[Bigg Red]

Come get your education firsthand. On the New Mexico Border itself!

&&
All good points. See my post #6.

[stephenjohnbanker]

"The problem today is centered around open borders and illegal immigration. To deny that truth is absurd. The majority of illegal aliens come to the US not to assimilate into our society and culture, but to undermine the US employment system, our liberal social welfare system and to steal from the American people."

Stop right there!You just said it as clearly as anyone in the last ten years. BRAVO!!

[brytlea]

Well, I didn't know about getting visas from Mexico to the US. Thanks for that info. I guess I wasn't thinking about visa overstays for others. I posted without thinking. Darn, I hate when I do that!
susie

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Years ago I remember seeing Linda Chavez on some television program and they had a roundtable discussing immigration issues. One of the speakers, can't recall his name said something to the effect it was imperative the US remained an English speaking country along with a continuing respect for its constitutional traditions and Chavez gave him the dirtiest look, staring at him for about 10 seconds. I thought she was going to choke the guy. :)

[AnnoyedOne]

"The problem is NOT immigration, illegal or otherwise. Linda Chavez is correct -- America is built on immigrants. "

Who says immigration is not the problem? Just because something was good for this nation at one time in the past does that mean it is good now and forevermore? Slavery and Child Labor were once beneficial to the economy and growth of our nation.. so should we continue with those? It could most DEFINITELY be argued that military expansion of our territories were economically beneficial to our nation.. so should we not continue that? Is there ANY population level in which you immigration advocates will say enough is enough.. that we do not NEED any more people here? 500 million? 1 billion? 5 billion?

When the nation was expanding it's boundaries, and we had vast areas of wilderness, we had plenty of room for more people. Now we are simply dividing the pie into smaller and smaller pieces for everyone. Immigration benefits only immigrants, and the profit margins of Big Business.. but screws the working class citizen. His taxes are increasing, while his wage scale is being depressed due to an over-abundance of workers. There is NO job that an American will not do.. just jobs they will not do at 1975 wage scales.

If Illegal aliens were paying a fair proportion of taxes, then why did my taxes just increase so that we can pay for larger school, due to our student population doubling, which is due to illegal immigration. If Illegals were paying their proportionate share, then it would follow that while there are more students, there are more taxpayers, so on a per taxpayer basis, no additional taxes should be needed.

[TigersEye]

We don’t need an ‘immigration’ bill. We need and want a border security and illegal aliens bill. An immigration/guest worker bill can come after that is done.

This is not about workers rights or fair immigration policies. It has to do with international communist/socialist orgs looking to gain the political upperhand in the U.S..

Posted by JeffHead Jeff links to Mexica.org's 'after protest' pic fest. You can see there what the marchers thought they were marching for.

A poster for Friday’s march. March 31. This poster lists the Latino orgs that are promoting the protests. They are all communist/socialist front orgs.

Here is my analysis of what is going on behind the scenes.

Here is some evidence that 'amnesty' increases illegal entries. These people knew before the demonstrations that the time was ripe.

Smith Act of 1940 This is the U.S. statute that ought to apply to the organized gathering of tens of thousands of foreign nationals calling for the overthrow of our country.

H.R. 4437 At this link you will find a good exegesis of the only bill that doesn't offer some type of amnesty/pathway to citizenship/excuses for illegal entry. It is harsh on employers but has reasonable protections for employers who verify documents that are later shown to be false. It explains that the databases necessary are already in place. It provides for border security.

Understand that the provision that the protesters say is 'racist,' that makes illegals felons, was inserted by the Dems a short time ago. That clarifies why Hillary happened to discover the immigration issue a week before the marches. Why she demonized Republicans as "making Jesus a criminal."

Keep in mind just who organized these protests. Who provided the tens of thousands of T-shirts, the thousands of professionally made signs, the hours and hours of promotion on Spanish language radio and TV stations. It has been noticed that Islamic orgs names and logos appear on some of these signs as well. Remember that NEA teachers and adminstrators are the ones who have assisted the march organizers by providing bussing for their students, hoisting Mexican flags at school and overlooking the truancy.

Don't forget that the last two Presidential elections were nearly 50/50. Think about how our Congress is looking for a way to appease these foreign nationals through legilation. No election necessary. The outcome of legalizing 11 million illegals and encouraging more to come will be a solid lock for the left forevermore in national elections.

Mexico is Rich- Mexican wealthy play American taxpayers for suckers

Good thread for any that missed it. It should really make you mad.

Every dollar spent in U.S. taxes for social services for illegal aliens frees up additional cash to be sent south as part of the annual remittances which provided $20 billion in 2005. According to the CNN news show Lou Dobbs Tonight (3/21/05), "Remittances, as they're called, are expected to become Mexico's primary source of income this year, surpassing the amount of money that Mexico makes on oil exports for the first time ever."

Mayans in Chiapas Region Convert to Islam

[Reagan Man]

Good post. Thanks. HR4437 is what needs to pass out of Congress and into law. Secure the borders and enforce employer sanctions. After thats done, then and only then should the Congress consider a temporary foreign worker program.

[TigersEye]

Thank you. Here is another good bill that can serve as a starting point for the Senate. Send a copy to your Senators.

Senator Reid's '93 bill.

[Reagan Man]

Heard Rush mention that today. Dingy Harry strikes again. LOL

[TigersEye]

The link I gave is the thread Rush was referencing. There are at least two other threads on Dingy's old bill. One is an article comparing his old stance with his new one. Use the keyword 'immigration' to find them.

[TigersEye]

Since it is illegal to hire someone who does not present a Social Security number (and show other documentation of legal residence), many illegal aliens use phony numbers or cards to get jobs. In 2002 alone, the Social Security Administration reported it had collected $7 billion in payroll taxes and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes from workers who could not be matched with valid Social Security numbers.

The ACLU would like to straighten that out.

ACLU demands end to Employment SS verification program

[meema]

You forgot the 'Barf Alert' tag after your title.

So much for Ms. Chaves...another one those Pubbie ELITES!

[CowboyJay]

"The problem is NOT immigration, illegal or otherwise. Linda Chavez is correct -- America is built on immigrants"

Incorrect. Less than 5% of all Americans either currently living or dead were foreign born.

[old republic]

First, illegal aliens are not currently criminals. They have committed a misdemeanor civil offense under current law by entering or remaining in the United States once their visas expire, but the House-passed immigration bill would automatically make these offenses criminal felonies.

---

I thought that you might be interested to know that if an illegal alien sneaks into the US again after having been deported, they have committed a felony under current US law.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Thanks for the info.