Keep Marching by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Author:Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2018-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

The Stereotypes Are Wrong

Stereotyping of people is both harmful and dangerous, and stereotypes are wrong. For instance, immigrants pay substantial taxes and contribute to our communities, not the opposite. In fact, undocumented immigrants paid $11.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012 alone.16 And while many undocumented immigrants pay taxes through sales taxes, payroll taxes, and more, many do not (and cannot) take funds out. Money CNN reports: “The truth is that undocumented immigrants contribute more in payroll taxes than they will ever consume in public benefits.”17 Contrary to a ridiculous and harmful narrative pushed forward by many hardline conservatives over many years, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those who are native born.18 According to FBI statistics, when you look at the total number of crimes, white people actually commit the highest total number of crimes in our nation.19

There are two key wrong ideas about immigration on our southern border that must be addressed and set right. First, despite what many hardline conservatives have been inferring, the net migration at our southern border with Mexico is negative, and it has been so since the Great Recession. From 2009 to 2014, more people left the United States to return to Mexico than came here.20 That’s right. The “wall” that President Trump repeatedly said he wanted to build is even more ridiculous and delusional than most people thought at the time. (Asians make up the largest share of recent immigrants, despite what has been insinuated to the public.21)

Second, many of the mothers and children who are seeking safety at our southern border are fleeing what has become known as the Northern Triangle of Central America: parts of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. This region has among the highest rates of homicide in the world and is considered the most violent region in the Western hemisphere.22 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, found that 88 percent of the mothers and children entering at our southern border had credible fear, including escaping extreme sexual and gender-based violence,23 that meets the threshold for qualifying for asylum, which is an international human right.24 Yet, almost none of these mothers and children have received adequate legal representation. Shockingly, 80 percent of all asylum-seeking children fleeing violence from Central America continue to face their hearings alone.25

Throw out the stereotypes. This is the real situation. It’s heartbreaking. It’s time to remember the promise of America that is written on the base of our Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” These words have in many ways defined our country. Bringing people together, caring for one another, and reaching out in times of war, famine, and natural disasters are part of our national heritage. Closing the door on others closes doors for our country and for ourselves. We can never forget: It’s our diversity that brings innovative ideas, solutions, and prosperity.

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