Home > Our Blog > Reform Series: An Earned Path to Citizenship

Blog Post

Reform Series: An Earned Path to Citizenship

Posted August 18, 2009 by Ted Hesson
Categories: Federal Immigration Policy

This is Part One of a series on comprehensive immigration reform. Here’s an index of all of the entries in the series:

Introduction To Comprehensive Immigration Reform
An Earned Path To Citizenship
The Role of Law Enforcement
Undocumented Youth: The DREAM Act
Family Reunification
Border Security
Future Immigration Flows

At the beginning of each installment, we’ll summarize Long Island Wins’ position on the issue at hand. Here’s what we think about an earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants:

Comprehensive immigration reform must fix our broken immigration system and include an earned path to citizenship for the roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants who are already in the U.S. We expect that immigrants who are willing to play by the rules, work hard, pay taxes, learn English, pass a background check, and come under the umbrella of the law will get a chance to earn their way to citizenship over time.
Long Islanders want to work to enhance the contributions of immigrants, rather than undermine those contributions, and that’s the right thing to do, for immigrants and native Long Islanders alike. Long Island’s economy—and all Long Island residents— will benefit if we establish a practical, long-term pathway to citizenship that is fair and efficient.

But what are the practical benefits of an earned path to citizenship? Omar Chaudhry, Esq., an immigration attorney and board member of the Nassau County branch of the New York Civil Liberties Union, explains how these changes will help Long Island:

It’s clear how a pathway to citizenship will create opportunities for undocumented immigrants. But how will earned citizenship affect the rest of Long Island? From increased tax dollars to safer communities, a pathway to earned citizenship will improve the lives of all Long Islanders. Whether you’re looking at it from an economic, cultural, or social standpoint, it just makes sense.

Our founding fathers—some of the original immigrants—emphasized that our republic should rely upon the loyalty and labor of its individuals to keep the country safe and prosperous. But if you look at our current immigration system, we’re not utilizing that loyalty and labor to its fullest.

That’s why we need an earned path to citizenship, where honest, industrious immigrants can work towards becoming citizens. Let’s start by taking a look at the economic effects.

Just think about the tax revenues. Undocumented workers pay some taxes, but with full legal status, those workers would give our tax base a major—and much needed—boost. We can use the added tax dollars to improve our governmental programs and services, and there’s never a shortage of programs that need funding help.

Denying legalization to undocumented people would maintain an underground pool of exploited labor without any regulated tax revenue. It just doesn’t make sense. In addition to the added tax revenue, undocumented immigrants will be paying fines and back taxes as part of their journey towards citizenship. That means even more money for Long Island.

Another important aspect of an earned pathway to citizenship has to do with employers who hire undocumented workers. If immigration reform is passed, unscrupulous employers won’t be able to undercut salaries by hiring undocumented immigrants for less than minimum wage. Without this exploited labor pool, unethical employers won’t be able to ignore fair labor demands of citizen employees. As it stands, these employers will continue to exploit undocumented labor, making it difficult for citizen workers who are looking for fair wages.

Aside from the economic argument, there’s also the issue of safety within our communities. We want undocumented people to come out of the shadows, so that we can identify and track everyone within our borders. Without an earned path to citizenship, dishonest or dangerous people can hide amongst the honest, undocumented people. Not only is that a problem for local police, it’s a national security risk.

There are also public health benefits. If you’re undocumented, you may be less likely to seek out medical care because you’re afraid of deportation. Legalized immigrants will be more likely to seek medical care early on, making our communities healthier and saving on medical costs.

Lastly, creating a pathway to citizenship encourages honest undocumented people to cooperate with law enforcement both as informants and witnesses to criminal activity. Without the persistent fear of deportation looming over their heads, more undocumented people will assist law enforcement officials, helping to prevent crimes and solve criminal cases sooner. Under the current system, a fear of deportation causes undocumented immigrants to categorically avoid law enforcement officials.

Creating an earned pathway to citizenship—where immigrants pay fines, learn English, and pass background checks—benefits everyone on Long Island. While there is no magic pill to solve this complex problem, we can start by expanding the categories of people entitled to legalize their status.

Legalization based on an individual’s talents or time spent in America will create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of undocumented people living on Long Island who otherwise are ineligible under the current, highly restrictive family- and employer-based immigration categories. That would be a step in the right direction.

An earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is something that those immigrants will need to work for—paying fines, learning English, passing background checks—but all Long Islanders will be part of the payoff.

(Image courtesy of wordle.net)

Tags : immigration reform, immigration reform series

Permalink Comments