Immigration auto-pilot
Over the past few weeks, about 457,000 people declined an exclusive offer for an expense-paid trip abroad. Nationwide, eight people did sign up for "Operation Scheduled Departure," the Department of Homeland Security's self-deportation pilot program. For others, though, the prospect of voluntarily abandoning their lives in America didn't seem worth the price of flying back on the government's dime.
Immigration authorities had hoped that the friendly approach would entice immigrants with outstanding deportation orders to just ship out, no questions asked.
Reform advocates predicted the initiative's failure, noting the vast numbers of undocumented immigrants who are firmly rooted in the economy and their communities. Groups like the National Immigration Forum say immigration policy should work within that reality, rather than continue to deny it in vain.
Yet the government is bouncing back from its folly by returning to kicking people out the old-fashioned way.
So what might compel an undocumented immigrant to go home? Here on Long Island, oddly enough, there are signs that the undocumented population is declining somewhat. And the main driving force may not be raids and crackdowns, but a more subtle threat. Immigrant workers like day laborers have been hard hit by the economic slump. Some community members have observed that immigrants who came to work have been discouraged by scarce job opportunities and Long Island's high cost of living.
Official data also suggest a dip in undocumented immigrants, but the numbers are notoriously hard to verify, and experts differ on whether illegal immigration is actually fading. Nonetheless, it's clear that unemployment and financial instability don't discriminate by citizenship status. For all the futile attempts to push out the undocumented, could the most effective deterrent to illegal immigration be economic crisis? And if the social factors hurting undocumented immigrants are shared by all workers, legal and illegal alike, maybe it's time to recognize that while individuals can move across borders, the global problems that set them in motion are here to stay.
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Comments (9)
It's editorials like the one above that exacerbates the problem of illegal immigration. In effect acts of lawlessness are rewarded while those playing by the rules are punished which seems okay to the Newsday editorial board. By the simple act of going after businesses who hire these illegals, often at below minimum wage, and the draw will dry up.
If more workers are needed I say raise legal immigration limits and these newcomers are welcome.
There is NO excuse to be here ILLEGALY !! They made a concesious effort to break our laws !!! The fact that only 8 showed up proves they could care less about what you've got to say and they'll do as they damm well please , with the support of rag newspapers and vote hungary politicians ( until November ). They have NO FEAR of deportation , this Shadow thing is a joke , They're walking down the middle of Main St. U.S.A. flipping you and the rest of America the bird !!! If you elect these pandering Long Island Congressmen (not King) and Senators again you deserve it !!! And don't believe for a minute that their numbers are decreasing , there's more than ever and with the Welcome mat out in N.Y. and other Santuary States they'll still comming in droves , Who needs a job when you can get it ALL with an ANCHOR BABY ???
Once again, Newsday and their opinion people blur the line between legal immigrants and illegal aliens. And the most effective way to get the illegals to return home is to come down hard on the businesses that employ the illegals. Heavy fines, imprisonment and confiscation of assets for those managers and owners who employ the illegal aliens should be implemented.
So your point is that illegal immigration is here to stay. News flash! It has always been an American phenom. Wanna start checking the immigration status of those who immigrated around the turn of the 19th century? Many a fine family has an ancestor who arrived here without the proper paperwork and then worked to make a life and begin the assimilation.
It's hypocritical to talk about illegal aliens the way we are doing.
The ones being hurt by illegal immigration are the poor. Illegal immigrants take jobs away from the poor, and they supress wages for the poor. Illegal immigration even hurts poor hispanics who came here legally. I can't understand why a liberal newspaper like Newsday can't see this.
So your point is that illegal immigration is here to stay. News flash! It has always been an American phenom. Wanna start checking the immigration status of those who immigrated around the turn of the 19th century? Many a fine family has an ancestor who arrived here without the proper paperwork and then worked to make a life and begin the assimilation.
It's hypocritical to talk about illegal aliens the way we are doing.
You're a joke! I researched online and found my ancestors handwritten "Check in". That's all people are asking - check in, get tested for diseases, verify who you are and where you are going, and pay for the things we all have to pay for. There should be a checklist for our federal and state income tax forms- check "yes" to adopt an illegal and pay for their schooling, medical, and other social services, check "no" if you have a brain in your head!
When my landscaper showed with a truckload of illegals last week, I fired him on the spot and told him why. He groveled and promised that he and his brother would be the only ones to come in the future. I told him it was too late and that he couldn't be trusted to do the right thing. I also told him that I didn't appreciate his contributing to screwing up my country. If everyone did the same thing once, we wouldn't have an illegal problem. This is the second time I had to do something like this. The previous time was at the local bagel shop where I got a look at what was working in the kitchen. Take action folks, if you don't, the problem will only get worse.
i think that it is important to note that the author did not take a stance or make a value judgement about immigration issues until the last sentance of the article.
this article is largly comentary on recent immigration trends, failed attempts to export undocumented immigrants and the faltering economy.
i agree with the author in that the current economic downturn is affecting everyone. but i would also encourgae recongnition of the fact that there were huge numbers of undocumented immigrants here during times of economic prosperity and record breaking low-unemployment as well.
long island benifits from immigration. without new immigration the long island population would be decreasing and economic stagnation would increase.
we need federal immigration reform and practicle local solutions which help everyone prosper now.
BS, longlivelongisland. You demand for illegals is based on your feeling of entitlement to not pay prevailing wages to citizens. It's no different than those who rationalized slavery.
It's been proven that illegal aliens do not help the economy, they destroy it like parasites. They demand lower wages, but then demad that the state subsidize them. They incur larger charges to the taxpayers, because citizens wage standards allowed them to not rely on weflare, food stamps, housing subsidies and medicaid. They are given subsidies illegally, which means they aren't subjected to the documentation and verification citizens would be, so they can be supported by us, so they can send more money out of the US in remittances.
We have much higher rates of unemployment than the statistic cited, it's up in the two digits, because unemployment isn't tracked honestly these days. Our citizens jobs are outsourced, and then those jobs that remain, are given to those who enter our country illegally, and others to those who are given visas. We have a declining pool of jobs, there is not a worker or skills shortage. Illegals have destroyed the jobs that used to lift citizens out of poverty.
The reason why malnutrition, anemia and other illnesses brought about by dire poverty (larger now than during the great depression) have increased is because citizens are increasingly forced out of work, or seeing their wages gutted.
We have to close our border, aggressively deport all illegals, and prosecute, jail and heavily fine all employers who hire them. Demand that of your politicians, and don't stop.