Immigration position outlined by League

After two years of studying legal and illegal immigration, the national League of Women Voters organization outlined its position in detail.

On Monday, members of the Henderson County chapter presented that position with an audience of about 40 people, as well as a list of solutions the League would support, from increasing personnel at the country’s borders to allowing undocumented persons with no serious criminal history to stay.

The league is a non-partisan group that studies issues, takes a position and tries to educate people, said Lee Luebbe, who chaired the local study committee. The national organization began studying the issue in 2006, and in 2007, local committees were formed across the nation. Local committee members met for two hours every Friday for four months to conduct and share research, Luebbe added, and Monday’s presentation was the first of several planned in Henderson County.

At the beginning of the process, Luebbe said she asked committee members to shift from being a “know it all” to a learner, be vulnerable about what they believe, have humility and think globally, and to not just observe but participate, do homework and research.

They have done a lot of work and are still learning, she added, but are ready to present what they know, and will take comments and questions from the audience back to dig deeper into the issue.

They prefer to use the terms “undocumented” or “unauthorized” instead of “illegal aliens,” added committee member Brian Evers. The word “illegal” has a negative connotation, whereas “undocumented” is non-judgemental.

While researching, committee members found that immigration is currently tied to the weakness or strength of the American economy, Luebbe said.

A decrease in the American birth rate has affected the amount of work available and the number of immigrants, Luebbe said. Another factor they discovered is that the increasingly educated American workforce tends to look down on trades such as construction, which immigrants are likely to look at as a step up in life, she added.

Quotas for cyclical workers have not been adjusted to meet today’s labor needs, she continued, as the need for immigrant labor is greater than the number of immigrants allowed into the country legally. Farmers across the nation say they can’t find enough American or migrant workers to fulfill their needs.

Also, more people are retiring than are entering the workforce, she added.

The visa application process is lengthy and bogged down in buracracy, Luebbe said.

Two-thirds of all immigrants enter the country under the sponsorship of a family member. Some face up to a 20-year wait. Those who meet the entry requirements and have a lot of money to invest, however, are granted visas more quickly.

“If you are really desperate for economic improvement in your life, how long can you wait?” Luebbe asked.

Currently, there are 12,000,000 undocumented persons in the U.S., Luebbe said, and 400,000 are in North Carolina. Immigrants qualify for entry through a family member; for employment; for investment; through a diversity lottery; and through the registry.

The U.S. allows 40,000 professors holding advanced degrees into the country each year, and there is no backlog there, Luebbe said. Another 70,000 are allowed entry for humanitarian reasons, which do not include natural disasters.

The diversity lottery targets immigrants from countries that do not have a high number of citizens leaving for the U.S., and 55,000 are allowed in under this category.

There are some benefits of immigration, she added, as the need for skilled workers in the U.S. is growing. The country also does not have enough engineers and mathematicians, and more than half of U.S. Nobel prize winners are foreign born, she said.

After the two-year study was complete, the national organization came up with its position on what criteria should be used for admission into the country, said local committee member Brian Evers.

Immigrants should be allowed for family reunification with spouses and minor children; flight from persecution and humanitarian crises; to fill economic, employment and business needs; and to study at universities. No one with a serious criminal history should be allowed.

As far as economic reasons, Evers said 56 million jobs need to be created to maintain prosperity. Allowing students in to study also opens doors for American students who also want to study abroad, and benefits U.S. colleges and universities who get top dollar for tuition. College graduates also add to the American labor pool if foreigners become citizens, and if they return home, they will help promote trade and improve the economy of their country.

Another point of the study was to determine what methods of administration and enforcement the league would support.

Topping the list was due process for all regardless of citizenship status, such as the right to free legal counsel and the right to appeal, Evers said. This is based on the argument that our constitution applies to everyone, he added.

The league supports improving technology to help employers verify the status of their employees. It also supports efforts to create identification technology such as facial, voice, thumbprint or retinal recognition programs to verify the identity of those presenting documents such as status cards and work permits.

The league supports improved technology for sharing information between federal agencies. Significant fines and penalties for firms who hire unauthorized workers is on the list, as well as more effective tracking of individuals who enter the U.S.

The league also supports increasing personnel at the country’s borders and creating programs for workers to enter and leave the U.S. to meet seasonal needs, as the current ones are unrealistic.

The league supports creating a system for immigrants to earn citizenship by paying taxes, learning English and studying civics, Evers said. It does not recommend deporting immigrants with no history of criminal activity, however.

He ended the presentation by saying that eight research papers and other materials used in the study are available at the league’s Web site, www.lwv.org.