undocumented workers at Brave New Films

KATU News on New Poll Numbers and Undocumented Workers

2008-10-10T20:20:32Z

KATU News reports on a poll showing that Jeff Merkley is now tied with Gordon Smith and a newspaper story revealing the employment of undocumented workers at Smith Frozen Foods.

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Republican Oregon Senator Smith Using Undocumented Workers in Company

2008-10-10T20:20:33Z

Local news station KGW covers the Willamette Week story on undocumented workers at Gordon Smith's company, Smith Frozen Foods. The clip features a response from Smith.

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Mississippi Undocumented Workers Feared Gustav Evacuation

2008-09-27T10:44:31Z

Recent major raids against undocumented workers along the Gulf Coast led many to fear evacuation during Hurricane Gustav.

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Inside USA: Big Agriculture's Exploitation of Migrant Workers

2008-08-28T12:59:07Z

The big business of farming in the US is booming but undocumented migrants make up more than half of the farming workforce. They are ripe for exploitation and face low salaries, substandard housing, risk of injury, pesticides and heat stroke. Some literally work themselves to death. In this episode, Inside USA investigates farming in the era of free trade.

Watch part 2 here.

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Inside USA: The State of Agriculture (Part 2)

2008-08-28T23:41:03Z

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Idaho Supreme Court: Residency not determined by Undocumented status

2008-06-23T16:11:16Z

The Idaho Supreme Court ruled today that an undocumented immigrant who was injured in Ada County was entitled to medical assistance from that county regardless of his immigration status, stating that "the concept of residency does not distinguish between citizens and those who have entered this country illegally."

The ruling reversed a board opinion and resembles the approach ten states have already taken to giving instate-tuition to undocumented students. Namely, residency and citizenship are two separate matters and defined differently.

A resident of Idaho as defined as "a person with a home, house, place of abode, place of habitation, dwelling or place where he or she actually lived for a consecutive period of thirty (30) days or more within the state of Idaho. A resident does not include a person who comes into this state for temporary purposes, including, but not limited to, education, vacation, or seasonal labor..."

Following that definition, most undocumented immigrants with the exception of seasonal migrant workers, are deemed residents by the county or state in which they reside. Their immigration status has no bearing on their residency.

The Supreme Court Opinion is here

The InALIENable rights of Corporations

2008-06-23T16:12:03Z

Once again, the actions of a federal district judge give credence to the belief that businesses and corporations are the ruling class of this country and above the law.

A U.S. District Court delayed the enforcement of parts of Oklahoma House Bill 1804 which passed in 2007 because it unfairly sanctions busnisses that do not comply with the law.

To clarify: Migrant workers who escape dire conditions in their countries--conditions that are created by the increasing proliferation of neo-liberal policies--and come here to find work (albeit, illegally) are criminalized, punished, put in detention centers, left to await death or deportation.

But businesses that encourage the incoming flight of these workers for the purposes of cheap labor and less stringent workplace regulations--profit-making tactics that are illegal (we may also call it the glocalization of indentured servitude), cannot be criminalized and sanctioned because it transfers the burden of the government onto businesses?

This is neither a victory for undocumented workers and their allies nor the constitution. It is a victory for scandalous businesses who reap the rewards of employing undocumented workers, exploiting them while driving down wages and weakening labor regulations.

U.S. Deportation System Inhumane

2008-09-16T18:45:31Z

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ICE Raids - Impact on American Children and Families

2008-06-17T03:32:49Z

The Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held hearings this past week concerning “ICE Workplace Raids: Their Impact on U.S. Children, Families, and Communities.” Witnesses explored how immigration enforcement could be improved in order to protect children, most of whom are American citizens.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Lynn Woolsey opened the hearing with a long list of ICE raids in immigrant communities, highlighting that 12 children arrested at the raids in Postville were children between the ages of 15-17, working at the plant in violation of child labor laws and that as of last Thursday, they were still in detention. (Why is the employer--Agriprocessors--still in business?)

We have 4.7 million children in households where at least one parent is undocumented. 3.1 million of these children are American citizens while many of the rest are our fellow DREAMers.

Postville, Iowa: A National Disgrace

2008-09-16T18:27:42Z

What's going on in the small town of Postville, Iowa is a national disgrace. Last Monday, ICE agents raided the Agriprocessors, Inc. kosher meat packing plant in pursuit of illegal immigrants. They arrested 300 undocumented workers—the largest single-site raid in the country—which has left the town of less than 3,000 people in utter chaos.

According to Nightprowlkitty at Docudharma (cross-posted at Daily Kos), families are unable to reach or receive any info about their detained loved ones. Lawyers can't access these workers either. Children are afraid to leave their homes to go to school. And to top it all off, federal authorities have the ability to ship these detainees across country for deportation without any notice.

Postville epitomizes the dire state of our national immigration system. You have undocumented workers who are subjected to inhuman labor practices because they can't come forward, can't unionize. And you have an ailing national economy that relies on the labor of undocumented workers, just like in Postville. You also have detainees being mistreated, even perishing, at the hands of grossly mismanaged private detention facilities, which make huge profits at the taxpayers' expense. Meanwhile, the families of these detainees (including children who are here legally by birthright) are left in the dark.

With an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in our country, is Postville what we're going to see from now on?

Daily Kos also has ways to send aid to the Postville families impacted by the raids.

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Iowa ICE Raids Solve Nothing

2008-06-07T09:37:00Z

The ICE raid of Agriprocessors, a meat packing plant, is the largest in the history of Iowa, leading to the arrests of about 390 workers on charges of aggravated identity theft, unlawful use of Social Security numbers and other related offenses. And yet again, the employers of these undocumented migrants, Agriprocessors Inc., would probably walk away scot-free, hiring more undocumented workers when the raids are forgotten. After all, Agriprocessors Inc. has a history of non-compliance with federal and state laws, and since the owner is a major contributor to the Republican Party, Agriprocessors has been allowed to operate with small fines now and then.

Rounding up migrant workers to arrest and charge them is not the solution to stopping illegal immigration. It rips families apart, spreading a climate of fear throughout the community, shutting down more businesses, while opening up jobs for a new pool of undocumented workers to fill up. Postville, Iowa, has turned into a ghostown—the raids putting the town into serious economic jeopardy according to residents. If ICE was serious about stopping illegal immigration, the agency would focus on reducing the incentives for undocumented migrants, which includes making it tougher for employers to hire them and getting UCSIS to resolve the issue of visa backlogs.

Are Americans losing jobs to foreign workers?

2008-06-13T15:30:23Z

The House Committee on Education and Labor held hearings this past Tuesday to investigate whether existing federal programs like H-2A, H-2B ensure that American workers are recruited before employers hire from abroad.

Of particular concern to us was the testimony of Bill Beardall, Director for the Equal Justice Center in Austin, Texas. His major premise was that due to the failure of our government in enforcing wage laws for ALL workers, employers took advantage and exploited undocumented workers, causing a downward spiral of wages, working conditions and job opportunities for American citizens. The best way to ensure labor protections and job opportunities for U.S. workers was to ensure that wage laws and labor protections are fully enforced for all workers regardless of immigration status. Instead of scapegoating undocumented immigrants, Beardall lays emphasis on the need for equal protection of the law in order to find a solution to scrupulous employers benefitting from cheap labor sources.

According to this scenario, the undocumented worker is not to 'blame' for Americans working for less wages and losing their jobs; rather it is the federal government along with scrupulous employers that are at fault. If all workers were treated equally in wages, working conditions and labor protections, we would not see a downward spiral of wages, and hiring an undocumented worker over an American citizen would not be enticing anymore. Consequently, this would also discourage 'illegal immigration' since the concept of 'cheap labor' for hire would not exist.

This take on policymaking makes more sense than raiding workplaces and locking up undocumented workers in our jails. What do you think about Bill Beardall's testimony?

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ICE Sends Chills Across Bay Area Communities

2008-09-18T13:53:28Z

The national security state has reached deep into our workplaces, homes and schools via the ICE, which feels especially compelled to terrorize Bay Area communities as of late. Citizen and non-citizen children alike are distracted and harmed by the military-type presence of ICE officers raiding our homes, workplaces and schools. This is when immigration federalism makes sense—our communities are supposed to be sanctuary cities, not open to raids for ICE officers.

What is more, the ICE uses euphemisms employed in war. For example, raids are now being called "collateral arrests," dehumanizing the devastating effects of ripping families apart, scaring young children and creating a climate of fear in our communities.

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From Immigration Rights to Immigration Raids

2008-09-08T16:48:21Z

Here is a great opportunity for American citizens in the Bay Area that are unemployed due to undocumented workers--there are 63 positions to be filled IMMEDIATELY at El Balazo Mexican joints across the San Francisco Bay Area. The good people of the Bay Area are missing our lean, mean El Balazo burritos. So please see your local listing for El Balazo and apply immediately.

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Stringent Immigration Laws Backfiring

2008-06-07T15:32:35Z

Arizona's experimentation in tough anti-'illegal' immigration law seems to have backfired as the very politicians who voted for tough sanctions against employers that hire undocumented workers are now proposing a state guestworker program to draw undocumented immigrants back to the state. Faced with the reality of business outcry due to labor shortages in agriculture, construction, hospitality and other propitious jobs, politicians in Arizona are willing to compromise on importing laborers from Mexico due to the incompetency of federal immigration legislation on guestworkers.

The now-famous Prince Williams County in Virginia may follow suit soon. Along with the $6.9 million annual cost of catching and apprehending undocumented workers, Prince Williams County is losing a significant sales, business and property tax base as undocumented immigrants are leaving the county. Already, the county is softening--now police officers can only interrogate criminal suspects about their immigration status after they are arrested as compared to the more stringent earlier rule that law enforcement had to check the residency status of anyone who is detained, no matter how minor the offense.

As more states come down hard on undocumented workers, it shall be interesting to study and document the effects of tough immigration legislation.

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Immigrant Rights are Workers' Rights

2008-09-18T13:47:07Z

MAY 1 2008 - Protests and rallies are underway in several dozen countries around the world to celebrate May Day, also known as International Labor Day. See some pictures from around the globe here.

Our parents are fundamentally workers--migrating to this country in search for better jobs, better pay and a better way of life. Migrant workers and undocumented students are not criminals--we have done nothing to merit ICE raids and imprisonment in detention centers. As U.S. Attorney Christie said earlier in the week "Illegal residency is an administrative matter"--not a criminal one. Lets stop treating undocumented migrants as criminals, undocumented students like a privileged lot, and depoliticize immigration.

VA County Paying for Illegal Immigration Crackdown

2008-05-12T17:47:18Z

Prince William County in Virginia is officially wounding itself due to its crackdown on "illegal immigration."

On July 10, 2007, Prince William County unanimously adopted a resolution to deny services to illegal or undocumented immigrants and enable immigration enforcement by local law enforcement. The "logic" behind the resolution was that illegal immigration was causing "economic hardship and lawlessness" in the County. Less than a year later, it is obvious that the resolution has backfired.

Undocumented Workers - Resource or Drain?

2008-05-12T17:47:11Z

Several new studies have been conducted in the past few months on the economic impact of undocumented workers, which is hotly debated across the aisles.

I have never been one for macro-studies that pretend to take a statistic common to a particular community and multiply it to make a generalized claim. See the immigration "fuzzy math" telecasted on CBS yesterday (done by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation), where the "scholars" calculate the fiscal cost of "illegal immigrants" by estimating that the average lifetime cost of an unskilled worker--two-thirds of whom are estimated to be illegal immigrants--is $1.1 million to the American taxpayer. In this case, the end cost is reached after making assumptions ranging from "illegal immigrants" as a homogenous group of unskilled workers to how much these unskilled workers pay in taxes compared to their use of social services homogenously across America. That is certainly fuzzy logic at its best.

Lets pay more attention to community and local economy focused studies that are academic, non-partisan and actually locate and address undocumented immigrants instead of trying to erroneously determine their percentage within another group.

Arivaca: Life on the Border

2008-10-10T20:30:45Z

Immigration is a daily reality in border towns of Arizona. But the anti-immigrant hatemongers don't speak for everyone in the state.

This video, a clip from the forthcoming documentary "Arivaca: Life on the Border," was the first-place winner for the first-ever Movement Vision Lab video contest.

Check it out, share it with your friends, and visit BuildingAmericaTogether.org to sign the pledge for policies that work for all of us, immigrants and citizens alike.

For more on immigration issues, check out A DREAM Deferred.

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Undocumented Workers Taking Jobs from Americans?

2008-04-04T08:17:12Z

Well, certainly not in this case.

Keith Eckel used to have one of the largest tomato farms in the Northeast. This year because of all the crackdowns on local, state, and federal level, he can no longer find enough laborers to run his farm. Mr. Eckel’s labor contractor said he could only hire 75 of the 120 men who had been working for him in the past. A lot of these men had been working for his farm for decades, but had either been deported or were too scared to return.

So Mr. Eckel decided not to take the risk and will not grow any tomatoes this year.

For years Mr. Eckel went along. “But in the current political climate,” he said, “I just can’t take the risk of planting two million tomato plants and watching them rot in the field.”

“Over the last couple of growing seasons, farmers have been feeling a tremendous amount of stress over the way this issue has been playing out,” said Gary Swann, governmental relations director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. “And if people think all we have to do is raise wages and hire local workers, they are simply mistaken.”

Local workers will not do the job, Mr. Swann said.

These immigration crackdowns have done nothing to help American workers. It has not created more jobs for Americans. Local workers – Americans – won’t do the job, so farmers like Mr. Eckel are forced to close down their farms. The jobs disappear as the farms close, and the farm owners lose their source of income as well. This in turn will also cause an increase in the price of tomatoes and other crops all over the United States, as less crop yield is being produced.

So is anyone benefiting from these immigration crackdowns? Not as far as I can see.

The entire article from the New York Times can be read here.

Stop saying "Illegal Immigrants Don't Pay Taxes!"

2008-09-09T12:16:26Z

...Undocumented workers are filing more taxes than ever before says the Internal Revenue Service.

We are not talking about regressive sales taxes. We aren't even speaking about how undocumented workers use fake SSNs and pay more than $7 billion into Social Security annually, thus keeping it afloat. Here, we are documenting how, along with American citizens each April, our 'illegal immigrant' parents file taxes with the IRS by using Taxpayer Identification Numbers.

The IRS began issuing these ITINs in 1996 to foreigners who did not qualify for Social Security numbers but earned income legally in the United States. Since then, more than 10 million of these numbers have been issued and although precise numbers aren't available, most ITINs used to file taxes belong to 'illegal immigrants,' according to a 2004 report by the Government Accountability Office. And the number of ITINs issued increases each year as do the tax returns filed using those ITINs.

The mainstream media hardly advertises this fact and the anti-immigration lobby plays like a broken record over and over that '"illegals are costing American taxpayers..." and "illegals do not pay taxes." When Congress was debating an economic stimulus package earlier in the year, Tom Tancredo was booming on about how the package would give rebates to 'resident aliens.' What he and the mainstream media failed to mention was that the rebates would be given since these 'resident aliens' were filing taxes using their own ITINs. We understand that it is hard to be so stoicly against those damned 'illegals' when there are stories about them following the law, filing their taxes and contributing to America but face the facts.

Immigration Control a Lucrative Business

2008-09-11T14:08:22Z

Undocumented migrant workers are making big business in America a lot of moolah, and not only by cutting down the costs of production. The Corrections Corporation of America, Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, and other smaller corporations that are part of the privatizing prisons industry stand to gain billions monthly from the detention of 'illegal immigrants.'

Undocumented in Mississippi

2008-03-18T09:31:55Z

Just yesterday I made a post about a bill heading through the Tennessee legislator which would make it a crime for undocumented workers to accept pay for working--with no mention, of course, of what would happen to their employers. Now, for another dash of insanity, we have lawmakers in Mississippi trying to pass a law which would make it a felony for undocumented immigrants to have a job. The bill also includes some punishment for employers, but let's make a comparison.

SAVE Act Saves Nothing

2008-09-18T13:49:21Z

There was this radio documentary I heard - it must have been on NPR, anyway, it was about this woman who had single-handedly destroyed the economy in her small town in Minnesota. How’d she do that? Long story short, this small town suddenly became the center of a large community of Mexican immigrants. Try as she might to include them in town activities, they weren’t interested. (I mean she did seem a little pushy) She held and ethnic fair, but was disappointed when two years in a row, no one showed up. They stayed in “their” part of town. They kept to themselves. So what did she do? She fought and fought and eventually got something similar to the “no match” law instituted in her town. I listened in horror as this selfish woman who was angry because none of the Mexican immigrants would be her friend, ruined her town. Suddenly stores were closing on the side of town where the immigrants had lived, there just wasn’t enough business and there weren’t enough workers. The town collapsed.

Congress is on a fast track to passing a seriously flawed, bill that could deny millions of U.S. citizens of their right to work. The "Secure America through Verification and Enforcement" (SAVE Act). It’s another really poor attempt at immigration reform. Another way to identify and deport undocumented workers. Another drain on tax dollars thrown at detention programs.

Undocumented Workers vs. Illegal Alien - Follow-up

2008-02-29T15:38:33Z

One of our readers had several points to make to my post on the political discourse surrounding the illegal immigration debate. While fash did a great job in responding to the comments, I would like to address some of the statements, expressed in bold in this post.

The author refers to "illegal" as a pronoun, but it's an adjective in "illegal alien."

Of course illegal is an adjective in "illegal alien" -- my point is that the term has been taken out of the context of "illegal alien" and proliferated into a marker, an identifying element. This point is not even debatable - "ILLEGAL" has become a PRONOUN for the many undocumented immigrants residing in the United States much like Criminal is a pronoun and identifier for those that commit crime. Have we not heard phrases like "He is Illegal" used to refer specifically to immigrants that are without or out of status? The fact that immigration discourse goes as far as to label human beings as illegal is problematic and it explicates the power of language to shape and represent us.

Also invoked is "xenphpobic" which conveniently glosses over the illegality involved in an effort to make it appear that opponents are opposed to immigrants, not just to those who have violated our laws.

I would really like someone to look at the historical timeline of immigration to the United States and seriously argue that immigration control policies are not xenophobic. Historically, immigration control policies have had little to do with legal or not legal. Just look at the term "Asian Invasion" -- does that convey people are against Asians migrating to the United States because they are illegal or simply because they are "different?" Would the American people really be complaining about "illegal immigration" if the "invaders" were coming from Western Europe (and in fact, we have visa overstayers from Europe but that fact is glossed over). Better yet, I will lay out a brief historical timeline of our immigration control policies in my next post that should show the VERY initiation of immigration control as coming out of a fear of difference and fear of the 'Other.'

I oppose relief for those who violate immigration laws (whether civil or criminal) based on a first principle of justice: no one should obtain any profit or advantage by wrongdoing.

Alright, even if I give in to this point whole-heartedly as a matter of opinion, that still plays into our lap. We DREAMers have NOT violated immigration laws and not done anything wrong under the law. We did not chose to come here or stay here illegally or violate any laws whatsoever. We had absolutely no agency while being played like a deck of cards or pawns in an elaborate game of chess. Should we not get relief based on your self-purported "principle of justice?"

"One-size fits all" is tunnel-vision. We need nuanced solutions, not outdated political and legal dogma if we are to seriously fix the immigration debacle in this country.