Lecture Immigration Flashcards
What are the two sides of the current immigration in the GOP party?
GOP hard line restrictionists
- anti immigration totally (build the wall etc.)
GOP pro-immigration “donor class”
- pro immigration donor class
- immigration reform
- amnesty for undocumented workers who are already here
- why would they want that? they are pro business and immigration are cheap labor
- attract latino voters to the Republican Party
“ICE vs. Inc”
ice - “deport them all”
ink - business people who want people to get these jobs down
What is the replacement theory?
theory that plays on the nervousness of some Americans on the so called “browning” of America that will replace (white) voting power and culture
This country will not be dominantly white for long - white people and black people are having less kids and more brown couples are having kinds
how many immigrants/year in the US?
~1 million
How much of the US population is white? What percent will that be in the year 2060 (with current immigration rates)?
2021: whites = 60%
2060: whites = 44%
Do low skilled/low wage immigrants take more than they give?
low skilled/low waged first generation may cost more than they contribute HOWEVER the second generation will more than make up for that
Do undocumented workers pay taxes?
Yes - taxes are automatically taken by employer
even if paid under the table they pay sales tax etc.
Do immigrants put a strain on federal programs and resources? Do they pay taxes?
- immigrants generally cost less than they contribute
- immigrants do pay taxes! even undocumented
- they don’t claim much in benefits (medicare, food stamps, unemployment etc.)
- we NEED them to keep Social Security afloat!
why do we need immigrants in this generation?
they play a crucial role in keeping social security solvent
Richard Brownsten article study boomers have been hitting retirement age in huge numbers and bc of longterm decreases in birth rate we do not have enough young people to keep social security afloat
“the projections show that we are going to be dealing with lower population growth and an aging population and the only way that we will keep our labor force growing and vital is through immigration, it is a matter or math” - William Fray
What are three historical events in immigration from Mexico?
- Mexican American War: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo & Mexican Cession (1848)
- 1942 Bracero* Program (*agricultural laborer)
economy was bouncing back because of the war - we did not have enough men (bc they were in the army) to fill the jobs so we created the Bracero program w/ Mexico. Basically guest worker program where they had to go back to Mexico after working. Generated tons of money bc of the cheap labor
- 1950s “Operation Wtback”: raids and deportations (about 4 million) - this happened after the Bracero program actually deported some American citizens because it was so unorganized
What is the ratio of retirees to working people? How fast is it growing?
27 seniors: 100 working age adults
with immigration cuts advocated by some that number would soar to 40:100 by 2050
most undocumented immigrants pay into the system through their paychecks or sales tax etc. but they never are going to draw that money back out. This creates a surplus in money, how much?
in 2005 that was estimated to be a surplus of over 7 billion per year
Are immigrants crime-prone?
overall immigration either has no effect on crime rates or reduces them
since 1980 immigrant population has increased and crime rates have decreased - this has been consistent in major cities study
sojourner
might settle permanently or might be planning on leaving the US
migrant
just someone who moves (within or outside boarders)
immigrant
migrant across national boarders
