MCC Washington Memo

The immigration debate is often framed in statistics: 12 million undocumented immigrants, 4,000 border crossing deaths, 700 miles of fencing. But it is difficult to have a productive debate about immigration reform without looking at the faces behind the numbers.

The experience of Mennonite Central Committee workers in immigrant communities within the U.S. provides first-hand accounts of the effects of U.S. immigration policy. The MCC Washington Office works to translate those stories into good public policy recommendations.

One new immigrant interviewed for the MCC U.S. Immigration Listening Project explained why he risked all to come to the U.S.: “I have a son who is sick. To buy his medicine and pay for his treatment, we had to sell our house and everything of value that we owned and still it was not enough. I had to leave my sick son and my wife to come to the U.S. and work, with the intention of returning in a couple of years so I can see my son grow up.”

In order for us to model the compassion of Jesus, we must put ourselves in the shoes of an immigrant. Before crafting policy solutions, we must consider how those solutions will affect real people’s lives.

The office is currently working to update the MCC U.S. Immigration Policy Principles, last revised in 2007. The seven principles outlined below represent the proposed 2009 MCC U.S. Immigration Policy Principles. With each principle is included a small snapshot of a story. To read the complete stories, click here.

1. Ensure a legal pathway to citizenship for immigrants currently living in the United States, without requiring unworkable fines or “touchback” provisions.

West Coast MCC tells of a family who came to the U.S. from Indonesia, seeking asylum from persecution and violence. Their application for legal asylum was repeatedly denied. As undocumented immigrants, they were afraid of being deported, but even more afraid to return home. Because the legal pathways to citizenship are so mired in bureaucracy, many immigrants are forced to make this difficult choice.

2. Maintain the current family-based immigration system and increase the number of available family visas, so that families can reunite and immigrate together in a legal and timely way.

Former MCC Summer Service Worker Claudia Jiménez knows firsthand the difficulties of family separation. Claudia’s family moved to the U.S. when she was 6, but Claudia and her mother had to return to Mexico two years later to fulfill U.S. immigration requirements. Her father remained in the U.S. to work. It wasn’t until Claudia was 11 that she and her mother were able to move back to the U.S. permanently. Many families today wait several years to be reunited.

3. Create just and fair guest worker programs, along with appropriate oversight mechanisms, to protect labor rights such as fair wages, employer choice and due process protections. Provide the opportunity for immigrant workers to apply for permanent status and, eventually, citizenship.

One migrant worker told an interviewer for the Listening Project, “I am only supposed to work eight hours, but I have to work ten hours and I’m not getting paid for the extra time. I am being exploited, but I can’t complain because of my immigration status.” Many migrant workers are exploited, either because they don’t know their rights or because they fear deportation. Even those here legally have a slim chance of becoming citizens.

4. Ensure access to basic benefits and services for those lawfully present, while avoiding policies that seek to deter access to public health and safety services and lead to a culture of fear and isolation in immigrant communities.

Former Washington Office employee Krista Zimmerman met with a group of migrant workers in California in 2007: “All of the men talked openly about their fear of law enforcement officials and the unfortunate results of that fear. When the farm workers suffer crime, they rarely call the police. They worry about the immigration consequences should law enforcement officials discover one of their community is here without legal documents. Criminals know this fear exists and intentionally target them.”

5. Choose border security strategies that protect community rights, human dignity, and the natural environment while opposing policies that contribute to deaths and increased fear in immigrant communities.

Maria Lucia Martinez Nava, 26, was one of an estimated 328 people who died trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico in 2004. As the border becomes increasingly militarized, many migrants choose to cross in more remote areas. In addition to human deaths, border fences are also severing migration routes for endangered species and causing extensive environmental damage.

6. Address political instability and economic disparity in migrants’ home countries caused, in part, by U.S. foreign policies and trade agreements. Create incentives for sustainable development.

Aparticipant in the 2007 Migration and Trade Learning Tour (co-sponsored by MCC) described what he saw in an industrial park in Nogales, Mexico: “Together we stood on a hill and looked down on a community where most of the workers of the maquilas came from. As we looked over the hill we could see the poor community with its shacks for homes and meandering dirt roads.When we turned to the other side we could see a number of large maquilas, modern U.S.-owned factories and a row of nice houses for managers of the companies. Two communities stood in sharp contrast.”

7. End indiscriminate raids and detention for non-dangerous immigrants, while targeting enforcement efforts on drug, weapon and people smugglers.

Hiu Lui Ng, a computer engineer from China who was applying for a green card through his wife, was arrested when immigration authorities found he had overstayed a visa years ago. While in detention, Ng was repeatedly denied medical care for what turned out to be a fractured spine and cancer. Ng, 34, died last summer in detention.