Transcript Alianza Nacional de Comunidades Latinoamericanas y Caribenas

Needed, but unwanted:
The dilemma of migrants and
migration in the era of globalization
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT WWW.NALACC.ORG
It is a network of migrant-led organizations
from around the country, which seeks to
contribute to the achievement of a dignified
and sustainable way of life for our communities
in the U.S., as well as our peoples in our
countries of origin. We strive to represent our
communities in political spaces where key
decision affecting our lives are made. We are
also committed to enhancing the skills and the
knowledge needed to make migrant leaders
effective advocates.
A future Democratic candidate for the American
presidency may have to choose between getting
the union vote by opposing immigration, or
getting the vote of Latinos and other newcomers
by supporting it. Equally, a future Republican
candidate may have to choose between the support
of business, which is clamoring for workers, and
the vote of a white middle class that increasingly
opposes immigration.
Peter Drucker, The Economist, Nov. 2001
Though other generations, from the Greatest to the Millennial, may
mutter that it’s time to get over yourselves, this birthday actually
matters. According to the Pew Research Center, for the next 19
years, about 10,000 people “will cross that threshold” every day —
and many of them, whether through exercise or Botox, have no
intention of ceding to others what they consider rightfully theirs:
youth.
This means that the 79 million baby boomers, about 26 percent of
this country’s population, will be redefining what it means to be
older, and placing greater demands on the social safety net. They
are living longer, working longer and, researchers say, nursing
some disappointment about how their lives have turned out. The
self-aware, or self-absorbed, feel less self-fulfilled, and thus are
racked with self-pity.
New York Times, Dec. 31, 2010
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The make up of who has been coming to the
U.S.
The wealth and income distribution pattern.
The nature of the labor market.
The technology revolution, especially as
applied to transportation and communication.
The strength of the anti-immigrant
sentiment. Current recession has only fueled
it even more.
North America
(Canada)
8%
Africa
Mexico
1%
Other Latin America &
4%
Caribbean
11%
8%
Asia
8%
Europe
60%
Africa
North America
Other
4%
(Canada)
1%
2%
Europe
13%
Asia
27%
Mexico
30%
Latin America &
Caribbean
23%
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Good old manufacturing jobs where sent
offshore or these “services” have been
subcontracted.
As wealth has been amassed in the U.S., the
services sector of the economy grew far more
than any other.
Millions of jobs that require no to low skill
workers have been generated. U.S. has become
addicted to cheap labor.
Economies in countries of origin of migrants
were restructured and became addicted to
remittances.
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Transportation has become much more
commonplace and affordable.
Experiencing nationhood has become less
bound by physical borders.
Migrants today are connected to their
countries of origin like never before: Phone,
e-mail, chatting, texting, virtual newspapers,
etc.
Rejection of new migrants only reinforces
their connection to place of origin.
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For a nation that describes itself as a nation of
immigrants, we have never been really nice to
new comers.
The basic architecture of our current immigration
law has been the same since 1965.
In spite of the changes in the make up of the new
comers, we never enacted an immigrant
integration policy to facilitate their journey to
become new Americans.
Political forces motivated by xenophobia and
racism have effectively manipulated economic
insecurity to advance a hate-driven agenda.
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Our local and federal laws have become more
restrictive and punitive when it comes to
foreign born population.
Immigrant communities have been
systematically demonized. The use of
erroneous terms such as “illegal immigrant”
are common place.
Our still strongly segregated society does not
help in demystifying our fears.
Fear of immigrants is being used to move U.S.
society towards more control and less
individual freedoms.
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Let’s recognize the fact that migrants are not the
causing factor of our greatest challenges.
Let’s reject old recipes that are ineffective and
wasteful.
Migration, in today’s reality, cannot be reduced
to a domestic policy remedy. It requires a multi
disciplinary, long term and international
coordinated policy response.
Let’s not forget we are dealing with human
beings, not raw materials or commodities.
Let’s foster greater interaction between foreign
and native born members of our society.
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Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen
When Corporations Rule the World, by David
Korten
The Coming White Minority, by Dale
Maharidge
Impossible Subjects, by Mae Ngai
Winner Takes All Politics, by P. Pierson and J.
Hacker
Oscar A. Chacón
Executive Director
1638 S. Blue Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
Tel. 877-683-2908, ext. 1
E-mail: [email protected]