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December 2006Diversity and the Lawby Beth Barrett Bloom And Henry Cruz The Washington State Bar Association is committed to increasing diversity in the legal profession. The WSBA partners with our state's numerous and dynamic minority bar associations to provide the column content for this feature. This month's column offers a viewpoint article sponsored by the Latina/Latino Bar Association of Washington (LBAW). The full version of this article, including all citations, may be found at http://www.lbaw.org/. LBAW represents the concerns and goals of Latino attorneys and the Latino community in Washington. LBAW considers immigration reform one of the major issues affecting Latinos today. What Are They So Afraid Of? Facts and Myths About Immigration Myth 1: Undocumented immigrants are "illegal." The term connotes criminality and, more importantly, assumes an individual's very existence can be unlawful. The fact is, the term "illegal" does not exist in immigration law or in any other U.S. law. In fact, unauthorized presence in the United States is a civil offense, not a criminal one. While someone can have an unauthorized presence by entering the U.S. without inspection, an act that is a crime, other forms of unauthorized presence (e.g., visa overstay) can result from non-criminal activity. Myth 2: Immigrants cause a rise in crime. In fact, studies show immigrants have the lowest rates of imprisonment for criminal convictions in the United States, and U.S. nativity is the stronger predictor of incarceration. One study found first-generation immigrants (i.e., foreign-born) were 45 percent less likely, and second-generation immigrants were 22 percent less likely, to commit violent crimes than were third-generation Americans. Myth 3: Immigrants don't pay taxes, yet come here to take welfare. Undocumented immigrants are large contributors to rather than recipients of Social Security. In one study, two percent of undocumented Mexican immigrants had ever received public benefits or Social Security payments, yet 84 percent paid taxes. Moreover, undocumented immigrants use public services much less than others do. A 1997 study found a negative association between the anticipated value of public benefits and illegal migration. Myth 4: Immigrants take away jobs from Americans. Most economists will tell you that immigrants do not take jobs from Americans. On the contrary, most Americans have received significant wage gains from immigration. The overwhelming data show that immigrants bring skill, capital, and entrepreneurship, which create a net boon (nearly $10 billion annually) for the U.S. economy. Recent studies have found that immigrants are starting businesses at a higher rate than Americans. Myth 5: Immigrants are a threat to national security. In the Secure Fence Act of 2006, signed by President Bush on October 4, 2006, undocumented immigrants are classified in the same group as terrorists. The fact is, the restrictions and other measures targeting immigrants in the name of national security thus far have resulted in no successful terrorism prosecutions. Most security experts will tell you, and as the British have recently shown us, it is good intelligence that helps prevent terrorist attacks. Perhaps the mosaic of the United States is turning a bit too brown for some? But make no mistake about it most undocumented immigrants do not want to break the law; they come here to be with their families, to work, and to get an education. The problem is the law itself: arbitrary numerical visa quotas, artificial allocations that give the same number of visas to every country, and archaic work visa allotments. The solution is not a wall; it is comprehensive immigration reform that includes a reduction of the visa backlog, legalization, and a humane guest-worker program. If one looks at the facts, one must wonder what the motivation is behind these myths. Henry Cruz is an immigration attorney with the law office of Rios Cantor, P.S. He is also a member of the LBAW Board of Directors and co-chair of its Subcommittee on Immigration. Column Editor Beth Barrett Bloom is a 2005 WSBA Leadership Institute fellow and president-elect of QLaw. Ms. Bloom is a labor and employment attorney with Frank Freed Subit & Thomas LLP in Seattle. For feedback, e-mail: bbloom@frankfreed.com.
The Cardozo Society www.jewishinseattle.org/JF/About/Attorneys/Attorneys.asp Filipino American Legal Society Jesie R. Castro, 253-589-6598 Korean American Bar Association http://www.kaba-washington.org/ Latina/Latino Bar Association of Washington http://www.lbaw.org/ Loren Miller Bar Association http://www.lmba.net/ Northwest Indian Bar Association http://www.nwiba.org/ Pierce County Minority Bar Association www.orgsites.com/wa/pcmba QLaw: The GLBT Bar Association of Washington http://www.q-law.org/ South Asian Bar Association http://www.sabaw.org/ Vietnamese American Bar Association http://www.vabaw.com/ Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wash-ADG Washington Women Lawyers http://www.wwl.org/
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