Politics of immigration questions and answers

Includes bibliographical references (p. [147]-169) and index.

Preface : Is the United States a nation of immigrants? -- Author's notes -- 1. Who are the immigrants? -- How do we define immigrants? -- How many immigrants are here? -- Are immigrants different from other people? -- Who are the undocumented immigrants? -- Is there a "new wave" of immigration? -- Is the new wave really new? -- Are politicians stirring up a panic about immigration? -- 2. Why do people immigrate? -- What are the "root causes" of migration? -- Why do people come to the United States? -- Is it our fault other countries have so many problems? -- Why do so many Mexicans come here? -- Why don't people stay home and fix their own countries? -- What happens when people do try to fix their countries? -- How can we address the root causes of immigration? -- 3. Does the United States welcome refugees? -- What is a refugee? -- The voyage of the St. Louis -- Who gets political asylum? -- Are all refugees treated equally? -- Why do Cubans get special treatment? --

4. Why can't they just "get legal"? -- Is it really important who's "legal" and who's not? -- How "illegal" is immigration, anyway? -- Criminal or civil? -- Why don't immigrants "follow the rules"? -- Don't all immigrants bring their extended families here? -- Isn't there some kind of "visa lottery"? -- Is it really so hard to get a tourist visa? -- "Yacht people" -- Aren't there lots of other ways to come here legally? -- Once immigrants have been here a while, can't they "get legal"? -- Isn't there some kind of waiver"? -- Who can "get legal"? -- What about the so-called "anchor babies"? -- Couldn't immigrants become U.S. citizens if they wanted to? -- 5. Is it easy to be "illegal"? -- Is it easy to live here "illegally"? -- Do immigrants have the right to an education? -- Are undocumented workers more exploited? -- Are all workers protected by labor laws? -- Do immigrants have constitutional rights? -- Do immigrants have the right to protest? -- How can you tell who's a citizen and who's not? --

6. Are immigrants hurting our economy? -- How much do immigrants cost us? -- Do immigrants collect welfare? -- Do immigrants pay taxes? -- How much do out-of-status immigrants get back? -- The 9/11 victims -- Do remittances drain the economy? -- Do immigrants take our jobs? -- Don't they just take jobs we don't want? -- Do immigrants bring down wages? -- Why do they work for less? -- Who benefits from low wages for immigrants? -- What can we do about the "race to the bottom"? -- 7. Is immigration bad for our health, environment, or culture? -- Do immigrants endanger public health? -- What about epidemics like TB and AIDS? -- Is immigration bad for the environment? -- Do immigrants care about the environment? -- Are immigrants to blame for population growth? -- Is overpopulation a serious environmental threat? -- How can we slow population growth? -- What about overcrowding in our communities? -- Do immigrants learn English? -- Are the new immigrants too "different" to assimilate? -- What factors slow assimilation? -- Who are the "real Americans"? --

8. Are immigrants a threat? -- Do immigrants commit more crimes than non-immigrants? -- Is it unfair to treat immigrants who commit crimes differently than citizens? -- Does deportation make us safer? -- Is there a link between immigration and terrorism? -- Is the government going after foreign terrorists? -- How did the September 11 hijackers get here? -- Who decides who's a terrorist? -- Does the crackdown on immigrants make us safer? -- How does the crackdown on immigrants affect the rest of us? -- Did all this start with September 11? -- Are immigrant workers a national security risk? -- 9. Enforcement : is it a solution? -- If we enforce our laws, will the problem go away? -- What if we deport all the "illegal" immigrants? -- Are we doing enough to secure the border? -- What has border enforcement done so far? -- Can't we seal off the border? -- How would smugglers deal with "sealed" borders? -- Can't we cut off the "job magnet"? -- What have employer sanctions accomplished? -- How are employer sanctions enforced? -- How does workplace enforcement affect organizing? -- If we make life hard enough for immigrants, will they leave? -- Who profits from enforcement? --

10. What about "guest worker" and amnesty programs? -- Are "guest worker" programs a solution? -- How did we end up with these "guest worker" programs? -- Slavery in the cane fields -- What happened to the Mexican "braceros"? -- How are "guest workers" treated now? -- What happens when "guest workers" defend their rights? -- Do "guest worker" programs hurt U.S. workers? -- What's all this talk about amnesty? -- Haven't we already had an amnesty? -- What impact will amnesty have in the United States now? -- Won't amnesty cause more problems later on? -- 11. Why do we jail and deport immigrants? -- Who gets deported, and why? -- What happens to people who are deported? -- What happens to the families of deportees? -- What is immigration detention? -- Is immigration detention new? -- Who is in immigration detention, and where? -- How long do people spend in detention? -- How bad is detention really? -- The story of S. -- How are families affected by detention? -- Is detention necessary? -- Who pays for detention, and who profits? --

12. Can we open our borders? -- What do we mean by open borders? -- Have any countries actually tried opening their borders? -- Does the European Union really have open borders? -- Has freedom of movement caused problems in Europe? -- Does freedom of movement threaten national identity or culture? -- How can we keep criminals and terrorists out without borders? -- Is opening the borders part of "free trade"? -- How would freedom of movement actually work here? -- How would we control citizenship? -- What would happen if we opened the borders? -- Wouldn't we be flooded with immigrants? -- Would our standard of living collapse? -- Could freedom of movement really work? -- Resources -- Suggested readings -- Suggested films -- Organzations -- "Know-your-rights" information for immigrants -- Notes -- Index.