Lee's Blog

More immigration games

We continue to play these little games with immigration reform. Today the news reported “More than 1,600 illegal immigrants who are not considered security threats will be allowed to stay in the U.S.  after a review by the Obama administration…. But the administration is not offering any positive legal status to illegal immigrants permitted to stay.”

Although I support offering legal status to people who are here and follow the rules, I think it’s smart to not offer legal status to only those who got caught or else it would encourage people to report themselves to authorities to get legal status. It would be chaotic and the government wouldn’t have the resources ready to process correctly. We need an intentional and strategic system.

The AP quoted House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith as calling the policy "backdoor amnesty."

What is the only thing that anti-immigrants call any reasonable initiative that attempts to take a step forward in regards to reform? Amnesty!  It’ll encourage more people to come! If you grant in-state tuition or legal status to kids who graduate from high school so that they can go to college, then drones of people will start crossing the border!

I don’t think so, and even if it did encourage a few more people to pay the $5K+ a person and risk their lives to cross the border, it’d be attracting the type of people we want here – people who value and are willing to sacrifice for education. We‘d attract more people who risk their lives so that their children can have the educational opportunities that they themselves were never provided.

Amnesty isn’t a bad word, especially if it’s done in a smart and strategic way that is as fair as possible for everyone.  Whatever the word, an effort to do something is called a solution to a challenge. The other “solution” will never fly because a majority of this country will never support kicking out people who have established their lives here, work hard, follow the rules, and are willing to pay a reasonable fine for breaking a law that just a few years ago wasn’t as talked about or enforced.  Would a majority support deporting those who commit crimes? Yes, because deportation for breaking serious laws in many cases is a reasonable consequence. Would a majority agree that we should make it harder for people to come in following an amnesty? Yes, because we can’t just have open borders. But should we kick out good people who have been here since before we cracked down on immigration and are trying to do things right? I have faith that more than 50% of our country has too much heart to say yes.

What happened to 4 years ago when a Republican senator, who was later chosen as the Republican presidential nominee, co-proposed a bill that would have that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants? That was in 2007, not too long ago.

What the Republican presidential candidates are saying now is quite different, with the exception of Newt, who I’m still not a fan of. But the reasons for these changes aren’t there. Not many people can say that illegals have taken away their jobs because many of those jobs aren’t being taken by U.S. Americans when they leave, as evidenced recently in Alabama. Yes they have pushed down wages but simple wage laws could solve that. And crime rates for immigrants are not higher than that of U.S. citizens. I actually tried really hard to find statistics that say that immigrants commit crimes at a higher rate because I thought that it would be good statistic to use to promote my book “What Every Immigrant Needs to Know”. Immigrants commit more crimes because they don’t know the laws, right? I couldn’t find that evidence anywhere. Yes immigrants still commit crimes and my book will still reduce crime rates because the crimes that immigrants often do get in trouble for are laws they don’t fully understand.  

 

Another immigration reform idea

Here's the beginning of a new idea with lots of details that'd need to be worked out, but you'll get the idea. I think most Americans could probably support this one. This idea supplements a previous entry I wrote in August, so it may not make full sense if you haven't read solutions to immigration reform. I'm trying to think of new solutions because not doing anything is only making the situation worse, and I'm not seeing a lot of innovative, realistic solutions from either side. New ideas can't hurt.

What are the problems that this idea addresses? We lump all undocumented immigrants into one category, and it's overwhelming to think about providing an amnesty to all of them at once. How would that work logistically, and how would we prevent people from coming across the border to take advantage of an amnesty?

The idea is to be very intentional about the order in which we process the documentation of people who are most deserving. If we need to document 10M+ people we could do it in segments, starting with those who have followed the rules and contribute to society.

We could begin with multi-year tax-paying business owners with no criminal records who are able to pass tests on English and U.S. laws. They are typically creating jobs, increasing quality and competition in their field, and contributing to the economy.

Or we could begin with kids who came here at a young age and have graduated from high school. It’s clearly inhumane to deport kids to Mexico who have never been there, don’t know anyone there and speak English better than Spanish. If we don’t send them back then we should give them documents so they can succeed and contribute instead of forcing them into a life of having to make ends meet without access to higher education or the ability to work legally.

After we catch up on processing those groups could be families that have been working and filing taxes for 20+ years, then 15+ years, then 10+years, etc. We start with people who are following rules and able to speak English and pass tests requiring knowledge of laws.

We could have a clear expectation that people would have to wait until the group before them was fully processed. Getting to the end of the line could take a while before being processed. The end could include recent arrivals, non-tax filers, people who can’t prove a history of working. Illegals with criminal records who are currently incarcerated should be deported immediately. Those previously incarcerated should be at the very end of the line and have their cases evaluated individually.

This initiative could include people only who can prove that they entered before a certain year, say 2010, in order to deter others from coming in to take advantage of the opportunity to receive documents.

What do you think?

Solutions to immigration reform

Summary

Here’s a simple set of solutions and rationale for immigration reform. I am representing Lee Shainis, not Intercambio, with my opinions here. Not everyone will like my ideas here, especially the extremists on both sides of the immigration debate, but extreme solutions aren’t working and the longer we delay the worse the problem gets and the more polarized we become. We can't please everyone.

I am proposing solutions and compromises that address concerns from all sides. Take a few minutes to read this and share your thoughts, especially areas you disagree with or oversights I’ve made. Some suggestions are nothing new, but include reasoning and insight that may resonate in a new way.

We need to stop comparing studies that say illegals are harming the economy with articles that say they are helping the economy. They are clearly helping the economy in some ways and hurting it in others. And getting fired up about rhetoric, symbolic yet useless English-only laws, and the words “illegal” and “amnesty” only shift our focus away from implementing sensible solutions.

All sane people recognize that deporting every person here illegally is not a logistically feasible, economically affordable, fair, or humane option. We need to punish them with reasonable consequences, not deportation if they have not committed crimes other than crossing the border, given that we have essentially welcomed them and employed their labor for many years.

If we implement a reform, we can be clearer with those who haven’t yet come that they are truly not welcome without permission, and that life will be extremely difficult if they still choose to come illegally.

How did we get into this extremely complicated situation?

We were not very clear before about the consequences of illegal immigration. The law said they couldn’t come, but we essentially welcomed them and didn’t enforce immigration laws because there were jobs to be filled and the economy needed to grow. We didn’t have good verification systems nor did we punish employers for hiring illegal workers. Until recently, we deported very few people who are not serious criminals. We currently make it difficult for people to succeed here without documentation, but we have made it very possible for them to work and establish their families here over the years.

The last time we provided an amnesty we failed to make changes along with it to make it more difficult for others to come and work. Until we create some real deterrents, the problem will perpetuate. We should have enforced the laws before, but we didn’t and the consequence is having 12+ million people living here under the radar and a polarized society full of fear and uncertainty.

Why is it inhumane and unfair to deport people who have established their families here?

We didn’t make a big deal about illegal immigration (except for a few extremists) until recently, and it’s not fair to let people start a life here and halt it midway through. We can’t let people establish families here and then kick them out 5, 10 or 20 years later because the issue suddenly became politicized and we decided to start enforcing the broken laws that have been ignored until now.

How will we discourage more illegal immigration and deter people from coming?

All of these suggestions are assuming that everyone already here receives documents.  The deterrents are only meant to keep out people who are not already here.

1. A verification system that works. Give undocumented people who are already here a legitimate identification and implement a user-friendly verification system. We will prevent people from coming here illegally from now on because they won’t have the identification that the newly-documented have, and without that identification they won’t be able to work. The verification system will be simple and fraud-proof.  The ID will have a number, and when the employer pulls up that number on the identification shown by the applicant, the system will show the name and photo to confirm that it matches the profile. All employers, including individuals who are hiring people, will have access to the system to confirm ID’s that they receive.  If a person applies for a job and he or she does not have proper identification or if their ID does not match up in the system, they should be reported immediately. If people hear of an employer hiring people illegally, they should report that employer because they are hurting us all by preventing the system from being transparent.
2. Temporarily close off the border (with the exception of refugees and worker visas for jobs that require specific labor skills) while we evaluate how this plan works. If the need for new labor skyrockets and employers request labor from abroad, it should be simpler than the existing process to get worker visas and we can implement temporary quotas. While the economy is still in a downturn, for most jobs we should have enough labor with the people already here. 
3. Implement significant penalties for knowingly hiring people without proper identification. This will be the case with all employment, including people who pay $10 to get their sidewalk shoveled. Every dollar needs to be over the table and accounted for in order for the new system to be transparent and function well, and it shouldn’t be a problem now with the sufficient labor available within our borders.  There will also be severe penalties for attempting to create fraudulent documents.
4. If minimum wages are enforced and relatively fair it will prevent employers from paying extremely low wages and allow us to use employable individuals already within our borders.
5. Driving without proper identification will result in immediate deportation. They will also not be able to register automobiles, buy alcohol, or access food or housing assistance programs.  
6. For the newly documented, by allowing them to now go back and forth to their native country, they won’t feel as much pressure to bring other family members here illegally because they'd be able to see each other periodically.

What are potential next steps to make this reform a reality?

1. Immigrants already here with a clean record will be given the necessary documents immediately, along with high expectations for following the law. There will be a 5-year probationary period. If they commit a crime during that period (including crimes such as drinking and driving, theft, and domestic violence) other than basic traffic violations, they will be deported. Those who know and follow the laws will have nothing to worry about.
2. In order to drive legally they will need to pass the driving test. They will also need to pass a brief, practical test on knowledge of other laws, since many are used to laws that are very different in their native country, and this can pose problems here. The test will be simple and offered in different languages. People who are illiterate in their native language can take the test orally. We could also give preference to those who can pass an oral English test.
3. Illegal immigrants will be fearful to come out with their arms up and say “I am living here illegally”. They will need to trust that this process is to help document them, and they will have no choice if they wish to stay here. If they don’t go through the process required, then they’ll eventually realize that it’s impossible to survive here without documents after this reform.
4. We will process documents in order of the number of years for which people have done taxes. We will start with people who have done taxes for the longest down to people who did taxes for the first time in 2010. If they’ve never filed taxes, they will need to demonstrate proof that they have lived here (leases, bills with their name, bank accounts, children’s report cards, etc). If they have been working under a different name, they will need to prove it. Once they receive their new documentation they will let their employer know and they will be able to verify it immediately. This will be the most challenging part of this reform.
5. If they have a criminal record, then they will be at the end of the line and have a 10-year probationary period instead of 5 years. If they lie about any information requested, they will be deported immediately and never allowed to apply to enter again.

What should the punishment be for people who are living here illegally?

They did break the law by entering or being here illegally, and in order to receive their documentation they will pay a fine between $500-$1,500 according to their assets (the amount of what they own here). They should also have to fill out similar documents that people who have immigrated legally filled out.

What do we need from our host communities to make this reform work?

Host communities should accept and welcome the newly legalized people here, while helping to keep out those trying to enter illegally in the future by reporting illegal employment. It’s fairer to be tough on the ones who aren’t already here, but not be tough on the ones who we have welcomed by ignoring the laws for so long. This “amnesty” will fine people for breaking the law and strongly discourage further illegal immigration more so than it is currently being discouraged with multi-billion dollar walls and stuff.

What resources are necessary to make the reform a reality?

The government should be able to make this happen. Given our technological abilities, we should be able to create a simple verification system that works.

We would need a lot of resources and people to help process the 12 million or so applications. Use the fines to hire new temporary workers to assist with the process. Use schools and rec centers after hours as neutral sites. Get volunteers to help. Most of the illegals are already working, so we’d just need to get them to identify themselves and put their information into the system that matches the ID they receive.

Start the planning now, and give the immigrants a reasonable amount of time to gather their necessary documentation, but not so much time that they give a window for new people to come in.

These changes making it more difficult for people to survive here without papers will allow border security to focus on real criminals and not those coming to work because they won’t be coming to work.

How will things be better after the reform?

1. We won’t have millions of people living in fear of being deported.
2. We won’t have millions of host community members feeling hatred toward people who are living under the radar and not subject to the same regulations.
3. We will have a higher percentage of our existing population able to buy homes, start businesses, and participate in our financial systems.
4. More money will be appropriately taxed and accounted for.
5. People will not come here illegally to work.
6. People won’t lose their jobs to illegals that get paid less than minimum wage under the table.
7. The police will be able to identify everyone easily, and everyone will be accounted for.
8. Border security will be able to focus on real criminals instead of people who come just to work.
9. Employers, landlords, and others won’t take advantage of people without papers.
10. We will be able to stop the endless debate about what to do about reform.

 

Opportunities for good kids

Just got back from a great dance class with some live drumming, which I hope happens again soon.  Tomorrow I give a presentation on the "Faces of Dancing", in a format where I have 20 seconds for 20 slides, and all my slides are great shots of peoples' faces while dancing. 

I usually don't get political, at least not on my blog, but the issue of higher education for undocumented youth (the Dream Act) is simply a no-brainer that Republicans and some Democrats continue to shoot down.  Why prevent innocent kids from furthering their education?  These kids aren’t going back to their native country, nor do many of them even know their native country because they were so young when they moved here. 

I'd rather they go to school after high school instead of putting up walls and saying good luck with life without higher education.  I've heard some of them speak and it's heartbreaking to hear that they've worked so hard and done so well, but they can't achieve their dream of being the first person in their family to go to college because they don't have a number.  These walls around education isn’t good for our long-term progress and it limits the number of people who can do great things for our country. 

I don't buy what's pretty much the only argument against these initiatives that it'd encourage more illegal immigration.  I don't think throngs of people would come here now if this passed given the increased violence along the border and the harsher atmosphere and laws around immigration.  More people are getting deported (sometime they're own fault because they break laws, but sometimes for very minor offenses).  A majority of the U.S. supported the Dream Act, but they weren’t listened to.

ASSET is Colorado's local initiative to grant in-state tuition that is currently being discussed in the legislature, and you can read about specifics and ways to help at HEAA's website here.

Educate yourself more about this (including argumenrs from the other side too) and talk about it with your friends.  Like many other issues which I feel are no-brainers like permitting gay marriage, it's just a matter of time before the Dream Act passes, but it's going to take more people telling their stories and more people sharing these stories with folks who need to hear them. 

While I'm on the topic of immigration, I want to address the unbelievable anti-Muslim sentiment from so many people.  Yes it’s great to fight terrorism, but we need to recognize the fact that not everyone from any one religion or race is bad.  Not everyone who wears a head scarf is a suicide bomber. 

We need to be able to expect all humans to stop hating certain groups of people now.  They can hate members of those groupswho are doing bad things, but don't hate the whole group.  That’s just stupid.  There are people out there who would hate me without knowing me because I’m Jewish.  There are people who hate you because you are American, or black , or Mexican, or whatever you are. Shouldn't that change now?

Let's end on a happy note.  I'm planning to go to Peru in a month for Vicky's wedding.  Vicky worked with Intercambio for 4 years for those who don't know her.  As part of my performance evaluation from Intercambio's Board of Directors (who are essentially my bosses) they wanted to force me to take a vacation.  I guess they're right.  Now I need some sleep, so goodnight and thanks for reading!   

Fiesta, Halloween, European Journalists and More

I haven't posted anything since La Fiesta, which was amazing.  I posted some fiesta photos on Facebook here.  And a couple below

Halloween was also super fun.    I was "Ironman" :)  Going out on Pearl St on Halloween is amazing - so many people, so much creativity and good vibes.  

  

In the last 2 weeks I've sold over 2,000 immigrant guides, and I continue to get great feedback.  I updated the website www.livingintheus.org and I'm working on a basic version for new refugees.  I gave a workshop yesterday morning for teachers and 4 people suggested developing a simpler version.  It was something that I've been working on but they gave me an extra boost to get it done.  One also asked Why doesn't the government provide this"?  I told her I don't know, and that's why I developed the guide and workshop.  I'm also getting it translated into Somali (through a grant someone got in Fort Morgan, CO) and Portuguese (through a super cool person I met at the conference in Miami).

Friday night I danced disco on a platform for EFAA's (Emergency Family Assistance) fundraising event.  They told me I'd be dancing in a cage and I thought I'd be able to check off another dream as achieved, but there were no cages.  It was still fun though...me and 5 ladies form the CU dance team.  I'm not sure what they thought about me.

Thursday we had a group of 22 journalists from Europe come for a conversation about immigration.  They each came from a different country and had tons of good questions (they were all journalists).  One guy from Malta told me about how he was very anti-immigrant in his country until he started to meet the immigrants and hear their stories.  Now he is very involved in the immigrant community and recently took a trip with many of them.   Before they left we did a mini dance class and the ladies danced with us while the guys took video and photos.  I was glad they got a little taste of Intercambio...serious community progress and a little fun and dancing :) 

That's enough for now.  Thanks for reading!!!

Crazy October

The next 2 weeks are going to be action packed!  Tuesday I will fulfill another dream when Shawn and I record an ad for Spanish radio promoting La Fiesta October 23rd.  I'll try to get a copy for people to hear on Facebook or my blog. 

Wednesday evening I'm finally planning to do a little slide show about the Denmark/Iceland/Turkey trip. 

Thursday I will perform a little disco dance solo at the Boulder Theater for the Dancing with the Boulder Stars opening act.  Today I got to do a mini dance class for over 100 Boulder County Human Service employees to spice up their staff retreat a little :) 

Friday night we go to a Gala in Denver to see if Intercambio and Elevations Credit Union will win an award from the Credit Union Foundation for our efforts to enhance financial literacy for English learners.  We are one of two finalists. 

Saturday there are two weddings, but the first one I committed to is my friend Kate's in the mountains which should be super fun. 

Then next week the family arrives and La fiesta is the 23rd! I hope to see many of you there! 

The last few weeks have been exciting as well.  I was blessed with being named Boulder County's Best Community Champion, and Intercambio got runner up as Boulder County's best nonprofit organization.  I presented at a conference in Miami and connected with lots of great folks there who are interested in using the immigrant guide and components of the Intercambio model.  And I got to see the ocean and kayak around the bay. 

And I'm happy that after having a killer sore throat for the last 5 days I can finally enjoy eating again. 

Thanks for reading! 

 

Off to Denmark tomorrow

Spending my last few hours here in Maryland before heading to DC to meet the rest of the folks I'll be going to Denmark with.  It's been a good and also sad week with family and friends here.  One of my good friends lost his brother last week, but I'm glad I was here to spend time with him and my other friends who came in from out of town.  One friend, Alex, took a 6-hour train ride from CT to pay his respects and then he went back home the following day.  My group of friends here is much more homogeneous (they're all white Jewish males) than my friends in Boulder, but they are good friends and we know we will always be able to count on each other. 

Yesterday I went to a little beach for a couple of hours with my buddy Mike, and the day before my friend Noah from college came up from Norfolk with his wife.  Thursday I spent in Baltimore with my friend Josh and I participated in the yoga class he teaches at the women's jail.  Earlier in the week I gave a financial skills workshop to a group of teenage moms, and I really enjoyed sharing that practical info and other info from the guide I wrote recently for non-immigrants. 

I spent some time with my aunt who recently broke bones in both of her legs and is in a rehab center for another 4 weeks.  She's in good spirits though.  My grandma's Alzheimers has gotten worse and she can hardly communicate which is really sad.  On Tuesday I made a huge meal to celebrate my mom and Steve's 25th anniversary.  It was very nice. 

Now I'm getting ready to leave the country for 3 weeks, which I haven't done in a couple of years.  The first two weeks is all planned for me, and we'll be busy the whole time meeting with people there who work with marginalized populations.  Then I have a week to travel or stay in Denmark, and I'm excited to see where I end up.  

Thanks for reading.  I hope to write a couple of entries about my trip while I'm gone.  Love to all!!!

Can't stop thinking about immigration

There was an article today about a law that fingerprints and essentially deports undocumented immigrants who are convicted of crimes.  I am a radical pro-immigrant, but I think the concept of enforcing the law when it comes to serious criminals is good.  There are a lot of immigrants here, and we should keep the ones who follow the rules and send back those who don't.  We can afford to have high standards and be picky since so many people want to be here.  It's not that hard to follow laws and avoid committing serious crimes.

The ones who break serious laws ruin it for those who are here to help themselves and the community.  I've seen undocumented immigrants break laws such as drinking and driving and become separated from their children.  They need to understand the potential consequences and avoid drinking and driving.  Period.  Granted it seems like there are glitches in the fingerprint system, but glitches aside the concept is okay as long as it is really targeting serious criminals.  Let's start with them before focusing on people at random and minor traffic violators like AZ will start doing. 

Deciding to all of the sudden enforce a law that will deport illegals at random is inhumane.   We can't turn a blind eye and essentially ignore the law for so long for whatever reason, allow people to establish their lives and their families here, and then start random deportations.  We need to give those people here who have clean records documents so they can be above the radar, do things like get a driver's license legally including passing the driving test (which most of them would love to be able to do legally), start businesses, buy homes, and stop living in fear.  At the same time we grant amnesty we should temporarily close the borders until we figure out reasonable long-term solutions and strategies.  If the undocumented people here could travel freely back to Mexico or wherever it would alleviate some of the pressure to try to bring other family members here because at least they'd be able to see them. 

We also need the e-verify system to start working well and make finding jobs impossible for people who come in illegally following the amnesty.  We should have enough labor (not including the visas for people coming here with special skills) with the people already here.  We don't need a fence if we just provide documentation for everyone here who is following the laws, implement a good e-verify system, and increase penalties for employers who hire under the table to avoid paying taxes.  I don't understand what's so hard about this and why it's taking years to figure out.  Hurry it up already House, Senate and Obama.  Thanks :) 

Bob Barker, Immigration and Denmark

Those three things have probably never been together in a title before.  I'll start with Bob Barker.  I played Bob for an event with a Price is Right theme to benefit the Community Foundation last week.  Needless to say it was fun.  A little ridiculous but fun.  There are some photos on my facebook page. 

That same day I did an interview on the radio (KGNU) about immigration.  It was following up on a project that a group of 7th grade Mexican kids did about immigration and the backlash happening toward Mexicans.  They really genuinely wanted to know why so many people hated Mexicans so much.  They did a great report and they learned a lot.  I talked about how there are people out there who hate anyone who is not white, Jewish, gay, etc. and that right now the focus is on Mexicans because racists have ammunition because a law has been broken.  We shouldn't worry about those folks.  There is also a population of people that are more rational who do have some valid concerns about the impacts of immigration and the trends out country is seeing, and we need to hear those valid concerns.  

A friend of mine recently said she doesn't trust illegals because they "broke the law".  I told her that I've broken many laws and asked her if she's ever broken a law, including speeding. She quickly got it that it's not that easy to just use the "they broke the law" argument. Enough about immigration, I could go on forever.

Last week I hung out and did a beautiful 14 mile hike with Russell Evans, a good friend and former Intercambio staff member who teaches high school Spanish in Montrose, CO. A few days ago in Olathe, Co (about 5 hrs west of Boulder) he facilitated one of the Living in the U.S. workshops that I developed using What Every Immigrant Needs to Know.  I thought he'd get 5-10 people, but he had 120 people, and I was so psyched to see this critical info to spread to so many folks at once. 

I'm also happy about all the "Building Cultural Awareness" trainings we've done for around 400 people so far this year, including a bunch of rotary clubs.  We're reaching both immigrants and native-born community members and initiating important conversations around respecting difference styles of communication and interaction, reflecting upon our own culture, and discussing the roots of some specific cultural differences.  It's so important that we have more conversations like these if we every truly want global peace. 

That's it for now.   Thanks for reading!  

Intercambio camping trip weekend

It's coming!  This Saturday we'll take a group of 70-100 Intercambio folks up to the mountains for our annual camping trip.  Those of you in town should join.  Let me know if you're interested.  

Also, you can be among the first to purchase the new guide that I developed recently and got printed this week.  They make great little gifts for any people you know who are between the ages of around 16-27.  Check out www.lifeskillsguide.com for a sample and to place an order.  The more you buy the more economical they are.  

Thanks y'all!