This article noted below was first published in September 2024. After reading or rereading this article, ask yourself how has the views of the migrant crisis changed? (April 2024)
Let Them Work: New York Migrants – Pros & Cons
The governor of a particular Northern state recently addressed the migrant crises by stating “Let Them Work.” Implying that the Biden federal government should provide migrants with work permits and increase federal aid.
However, has the governor’s cabinet examined what authorizing work permits for migrants would really mean? As well as, what an increase in federal aid to their state would mean for the federal budget, the debt ceiling, and the President’s effort for re-election.
Let’s examine what authorizing work permits for migrants could look like. Some, migrants have legal documentation from their home country to validate who they are, and some do not. As part in parcel of the process, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) scans their ID, obtains biometrics, fingerprints, take their photo, inquire for familial ties in the United States, determines where they will be housed whether it will be under state or federal jurisdiction, conducts a medical exam, determines if they need English classes, provides them with a monthly stipend until they get a job, and provides cultural and/or religious resources who can assist with additional resources. Then we could issue the individual with a work permit. This sounds like an efficient and effective process, or does it?
What are the pros and cons of issuing work permits to migrants? Pros and Cons are considered either way, depending on what side of the fence you’re on, whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or an Independent. But we’ll examine how issued work permits to migrants engenders pros and/or cons in the employment sector, citizenship-immigration, education, healthcare, law enforcement, housing, and race demographics.
In issuing a work permit, what type of jobs would migrants obtain? Jobs in the service sector, technology, education, or medical sector. With the employment rate at a record low they would be able to bring down the employment rate even further. Yet, record low rates also means citizens and migrants would be competing for the same jobs. This has always been an unnerving situation for citizens, who believe they’ve put in the effort of long hours, education, money, and sacrifice to earn employment than a migrant who just arrived to receive employment at whim. For Some citizens as well as individuals residing in the United States, they feel it is an unfair advantage. An unfair advantage they are willing to fight for via protest, ballot box, or even through extremes. Therefore, how are local governments going to reassure citizens and green card holders that there are enough jobs for everyone, enough job training, retraining programs, and financial grants that can be provided, and greater preference of migrants would not result in their loss.
Preference of migrants in the employment sector is of significant importance. There are fears employers would pay migrants cheaper, overwork them for longer hours, threaten migrants with deportation, physically, verbally, emotionally, and psychologically abuse them. How do governments prevent these abuses from occurring? Does immigration and labor law need to change?
In issuing work permits to migrants, could it lead to a pathway to citizenship and how would this effect voters and migrants perceptions of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. If work permits did lead to citizenship would redistricting in this Northern state and/or other states occur? Would this lead to more voters voting for the Democrats, as well would this mean more Senate seats.
If migrants decided to leave this Northern state, would there need to be a tracing system – a program aligned with their work permits? Therefore, once they’ve obtained their work permit and new employment, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could be aware of their whereabouts until their immigration status meets requirements. But what happens once they’ve settled, especially migrants with children.
In issuing work permits to a large group of people there is a strain on numerous systems. Migrants with children, in a modern-day childcare crises and teachers shortage, education will require the federal, state, and municipal governments to all play their part in funding the education system. If the education system is not funded adequately childcare workers, teachers, and teachers’ unions have the right to strike and/or voice their opinions of not being adequately compensated for their work.
Another system to consider is healthcare. With the recent strain on the system due to COVID, migrants entering the system with no health records adds an added strain to the healthcare system. Healthcare workers have to assess and evaluate for communicable and non-communicable diseases and mental healthcare. Without additional funding from the federal government for states and municipalities, which are stating they’re strained and/or underfunded, the adequate healthcare and mental care cannot be provided to migrants, leaving all persons citizens, non-citizens, and migrants susceptible.
Law enforcement with new immigrants and migrants has to be examined. With recent migrants not knowing the laws of the country, of diverse cultural experiences and understandings, some of a different race, some not knowing or understanding English, and some deriving from countries of war and unrest. Law enforcement training and migrant legal integration classes would be needed to familiarize and educate both parties. Law enforcement would require DEI training and language training to understand the relational dynamics, cultural competency and humility that is needed to interact with immigrants and migrants. Migrants would need legal integration classes to learn what American law entails such as their rights, liberties, and freedoms, and where they may be similar to their home country and where they may differ.
Another system to consider is housing. The housing system for the entire country, due to inflation increases has been hard on all of us. Citizens and non-citizens alike have had a tough time paying rent, keeping up with mortgage payments, have become unhoused or have decided to find more economical ways of living such as roommate living, just to have a roof over their heads. The migrant crises puts a strain on the housing system as well as places into question. If housing could be found for migrants, why isn’t there more of an effort to place the unhoused and those living below the poverty line in those same dwellings?
Recently, migrants have been housed in hotels, unused schools, and federal owned properties. However, housing migrants in unused schools in family neighborhoods have caused unrest and protest. The not knowing of who these migrants are, along with questioning what their backgrounds are like, how they were vetted, who determined where they would be housed, and what if they decided to leave the school to enter the community. These concerns and inquiries have fostered emotional and psychological distress for some community members. Community members did not think their municipal tax dollars for schools would go to housing migrants. The uncertainty the migrants project, without a town hall meeting or notification from all three levels of government to ensure the safety of these communities, with emotional and psychology ease of assurance, puts into question whether all three levels of government are listening to the people that put them in position.
In issuing migrants with work permits, what does it say to those individuals who proceeded with the legal route to obtain legal status in the United States. Where are they in the queue? Does the legal pathway even matter anymore? Is the legal pathway even necessary? What is the government and society at large saying about immigration policies and their validity.
We saw in 2016 when Trump stated his administration’s hard-line on immigration, resulting in droves of immigrants and migrants flocking to Canada. In issuing work permits to recent migrants with legal status or temporary status, what pressures and humanitarian obligations would arise once again for all three levels of Canadian government and its citizens?
On the other hand, could the United States, Canada, and Mexico collaboratively work out an immigration deal that would lessen the burden on the American people and its government by redistributing migrants, funding, and resources.
Issuing migrants with legal or temporary status with work permits, the elephant in the room hasn’t been explicitly addressed. The elephant in the room may be one of the root causes of emotional and psychological stress and burden for certain citizens. The elephant being race demographics and the fear of it shifting to favor the racialized.
White supremacists have historically purported the view that immigrants and migrants were taking over the United States or would eventually be the majority in the United States. This view has spewed into the consciousness of some Whites who are not supremacists per se but has also garnered attention and spewed into the psyche of racialized persons. Who both see the changing demographics and feel uncertain about their place in the racial, socio-economic, and voting hierarchy.
This theory does not hold water. However, certain political parties around the world including the United States have used it to justify their immigration policies, for certain migrants and not others. For example, in a Brookings Institute article ‘Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap’ dated February 27, 2020, by Kriston McIntosh, Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh. They highlight the wealth gap between Whites and Blacks, which indicated a typical White family’s net worth of $171,000 is ten times more than a Black family’s net worth of $17,150. This statistic not only highlights inequity, inequality, discrimination, and racism, imbedded into our systems and social structures. It also highlights power, representation, opportunities, citizenship, and the voting electorate body, with the greater concentration held by Whites. Identifying and indicating, it would take hundreds of years for Black people and other racialized groups to catch up or even surpass Whites due to the inequities in our systems and social structures and the discrepancies in intergenerational wealth. Therefore, it is unrealistic for Blacks and other racialized groups to shift the racial demographics to a majority in the United States.
At the end of the day, who pays for all of this? There is the assumption in issuing work permits the tax revenue from migrants would alleviate some of the financial burden. But realistically their tax revenue cannot alleviate the financial burden. As well, if the Biden administration is disbursing approximately six hundred million to the migrant crises, is it truly enough? 600 million has to be dispersed to states effected by this humanitarian crises, which entails funding for employment, citizenship-immigration, education, healthcare, law enforcement, and housing, while easing the notion there is no reality in race demographics shifting.
Yes, we all agree, our government has humanitarian obligations they have to meet as part of the United Nations. They must clothe, shelter, feed, educate, provide medical care, safety, and a level of dignity to migrants. Yet, with a debt ceiling in the trillions, we cannot burden this generation and the next because we assumed we had a blank cheque. We need to come up with a new way of dealing with such immigration crises. As per mentioned, developing an immigration policy sharing the responsibilities with other countries such as Canada and Mexico. However, we need to consider what our role is in creating crises, economic disparities, inequities, inequality, food shortages, and other disparities in countries migrants flee, that we have benefited from for our own comforts.
Source: ‘Let them work’: Hochul pressures Biden over New York’s migrant surge – Katelyn Cordero – August 24, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/let-them-work-hochul-pressures-biden-over-new-yorks-migrant-surge/ar-AA1fJu20
Source: Examining the Black-white wealth gap – Kriston McIntosh, Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, Jay Shambaugh – February 27, 2020
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Question: In April 2024 how has the view of migrants changed?
