Immigration

Despite the fact that the United States is a nation of immigrants, immigration policy and aspects of American ideology have historically been ambiguous toward those seeking admittance into the country. As of 2000 an estimated 800,000 immigrants enter the United States legally each year, while roughly 300,000 overstay their visas or enter illegally. One out of every 10 Americans is foreign born—a demographic pattern not seen since the 1930s. An estimated 6 million illegal immigrants work low-skilled jobs in meatpacking plants; as farm labor; or in hotels, garment factories, and restaurants. This contrasts sharply with the decision made by Congress in 1999 to almost double the quota for highly skilled immigrants to fill labor shortages in high-tech industries.

The Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated the national origins standard, which had granted preferential quotas for those of Western European heritage. The most significant part of the Immigration Act of 1965 was that it restricted all nations to 20,000 immigrants annually, giving all countries equal standing. Under an amendment to this act, employers were allowed to hire undocumented workers without penalty. Continuing demand for low-wage labor throughout the 1960s led to an enormous increase in the number of undocumented workers.

By the 1970s, Congress realized that the 1965 act needed revision, especially as it related to illegal immigrants. Although Congress established a special committee to evaluate policies governing the admission of immigrants and refugees in 1979, the commission’s findings were not implemented. Various bills were proposed through the 1980s, but divisions along party, regional, and class interests stopped their passage. Not until 1986 did Congress pass the IMMIGRATION Reform and Control Act (IRCA), commonly referred to as Simpson-Mazzoli. Under this act, employers are prohibited from knowingly hiring illegal aliens by requiring the verification of an applicant’s eligibility for employment and identity prior to hiring. Illegal aliens who entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and maintained continuous residence were given amnesty under the terms of this act. The act, however, had failed to stem the flow of illegal immigration as of 2001.

The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the number of immigrants allowed into the country. It provided additional visas for those having particular skills scarce in the American labor pool. Europeans were guaranteed approximately one-third of all visas, and the status of undocumented Irish was legalized. The bipartisan U. S. Commission on Immigration Reform, also known as the Jordan Commission, after its chair, Representative Barbara Jordan, was authorized by the Immigration Act of 1990. In particular, the commission examined the implementation and impact of provisions of the act related to employment-based immigration, family reunification, and the program to ensure diversity for the sources of U. S. immigration. The commission issued a total of four reports that focused on controlling illegal immigration, and presented recommendations on family and employment-based immigration, refugee admissions, and naturalization or Americanization. Subsequent immigration acts have sought international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, promoted antiterrorism, extended the authorized period of stay within the United States for certain nurses and religious workers, amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt internationally adopted children 10 years of age or younger from immunization requirements, granted relief for torture victims, and extended into 1999 the visa processing period for “diversity applicants,” whose processing was suspended during 1998 after the bombings of several American embassies.

Conflicting views of the place of immigrants abound. America is touted as the nation of immigrants, and the achievements of the hardworking citizen are lauded. At the same time, many American regard immigrants with mistrust, fearing economic competition will illegal aliens and terrorist infiltration. Penalties are in place for those who

Legal Immigrants, by Region of Origin, Fiscal Years 1965 and 2004

Note: There were a total of 296,697 immigrants admitted to the United States in fiscal year 1965 and 946,142 admitted in fiscal year 2004.

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Hire undocumented workers, but enforcement is difficult, if not impossible. Business competition and lucrative profits make the risk of hiring illegal workers worthwhile.

Proponents of immigration argue that higher immigration levels increase the living standards of middle - and upper-income Americans. They argue that the post-1960s wave has contributed to urban renewal by providing low-wage labor, developing small businesses, and maintaining a population base necessary for economic growth. Despite the increase in technological jobs, unskilled and semiskilled labor is still in demand.

Critics charge that immigrants take jobs from native workers and drain social resources from impoverished citizens. American labor unions have historically viewed immigrants with suspicion, charging they drive wages down at the expense of native workers. Critics also assert that immigration erodes national identity and cultural cohesion. Governor Pete Wilson of California was reelected in 1994 after voicing his support of Proposition 187, which tried to bar illegal immigrants’ children from public schools. Two years later, Congress approved bills that prohibited legal immigrants from receiving federal disability assistance and food stamps, and retroactively required the deportation of legal aliens convicted of a variety of offenses.

Attitudes toward immigrants and immigration are shaped by the ECONOMY, and attitudes regarding personal job security. A Gallup poll in 1990 revealed that 44 percent of the respondents thought immigrants mostly help the economy, while 40 percent felt they mostly hurt. Asked the same question by Gallop in 1993, 26 percent said immigrants helped and 64 percent said they hurt.

Both Republicans and Democrats have sought out foreign-born voters. Both parties made strong efforts to win support among Hispanics, the fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Among Hispanic voters, immigration remains a salient issue. In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush drew 31 percent of the Hispanic vote, up from 21 percent for Robert Dole in 1996. In 2004 Bush proposed a guest-worker program for migrant workers who might otherwise come to the United States as illegal immigrants. Partly as a result, Bush significantly improved his standing with Hispanics, who gave 40 percent of their vote to Bush in his successful reelection bid in 2004. The guest-worker program aroused a great deal of opposition within the Republican Party. As Republican politicians and pundits criticized Bush’s immigration policy, the Republican share of the Hispanic vote dropped to just 30 percent in the 2006 midterm elections. That decline contributed to the Republicans’ loss of control of both houses of Congress. The Democratic Party remains generally a pro-immigration party and continues to attract a majority of the Hispanic vote. How large that majority

Continues to be will help determine the political fortunes of the two parties in the near future.

Under the William J. Clinton administration, lawmakers struck a compromise in 1999 to reunite 300,000 to 500,000 spouses and children with legal permanent residents. Clinton’s broader proposals were rejected, including granting legal status to immigrants who fled political chaos and wars in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, influenced the immigration debate by adding national security concerns to an already complex and divisive issue. In May 2005 the Senate attempted to deal with the immigration issue with the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, jointly sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). The act incorporated a path to legal status for illegal immigrants, the creation of guest-worker programs, and tougher border enforcement. The outcry against the bill, particularly among conservatives, was so strong that the Senate never voted on it. The McCain-Kennedy act did become the legislation most often referenced by supporters and opponents of a guest-worker component in any immigration reform. Supporters argued for comprehensive immigration reform that included a guest-worker program and a path to legalization for the illegal immigrants already in the United States, while downplaying the need for tougher border enforcement. Opponents derided such an approach as amnesty and insisted border security must come first before any guest-worker program would be established.

Congress attempted to enact comprehensive immigration reform again in 2006 and 2007 with legislation that was similar to the original McCain-Kennedy act. These attempts also failed, in spite of strong support by President Bush, owing in part to opposition from conservative talk radio broadcasters and listeners. Congress did enact the Secure Fence Act in December 2006. The act funded the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the U. S.-Mexico border, which, however, has yet to be built. The issue of illegal immigration opened a rift in the Republican Party, with conservatives favoring the border-enforcement-first policy and moderates favoring the comprehensive approach that allowed more undocumented workers to become legal residents and eventual citizens. Business leaders backed comprehensive reform. U. S. Chamber of Commerce president Thomas J. Donahue told the Senate Judiciary Committee that immigrants are “our best hope to curb chronic American labor shortages.” Senator Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) remarked, “There’s a reality out there that few recognize. They’re all here, and they’re necessary.”

The issue of illegal immigration will continue to play a key role in national politics.

See also Asian Americans; Hispanic Americans.

Further reading: Debra L. DeLaet, U. S. Immigration Policy in an Age of Rights (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000); Debra L. DeLaet and David M. Reimers, Unwelcome Strangers: American Identity and the Turn against Immigration (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998); Thomas Muller, Immigrants and the American City (New York: New York University Press, 1993).

—Michele Rutledge and Stephen E. Randoll