California's Proposition 187 & Geo-Cultural Concerns   Term Paper ID:27469 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Describes the geo-cultural issues involved in the current immigration debate. Focuses on California & Prop. 187, but implies a more generalized conclusion.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Describes the geo-cultural issues involved in the current immigration debate. Focuses on California & Prop. 187, but implies a more generalized conclusion. Paper Introduction: Background A portion of elite opinion in the United States has taken a strong stand against what they label as "immigrant-baiting." For example, Business Week (Oct. 14, 1996) has argued that it is as loathsome as race-baiting and is often used for ugly political purposes. The magazine believes that stigmatizing immigrants cannot be tolerated. A think-tank in the state of California released a comprehensive report entitled "Why They Count: Immigrants Contributions to the Golden State." This report was intended to address the rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the state of California through the presentation of what the report labeled as factual and education information on the historical and modern-day contributions of California immigrants Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Indeed, using this logic, thegovernment should be obliged to eliminate any barriers to mobility orcommunity membership, such as residency requirements, expectations ofeconomic standing, or consideration of prior political or even criminalrecords. The discussion which follows will attempt to describe these morefundamental geo-cultural issues in some detail. The manner in which new membership in thecommunity or society is defined implies the terms on which the communityexists. (1996, October 14). 21, 1994) magazine attacked Proposition 187 asoverheated rhetoric that treated illegal aliens as scapegoats.Theory However, from a more critical geopolitical perspective, the issue ofimmigration policy and specifically the passage of proposition 187 inCalifornia seems to raise more fundamental issues than simply the economicand social dimensions touched upon in the above comments by some sectors ofelite public opinion. Business Week,Editorial. In contrast current policy, by distinguishingbetween citizens and other members of the population (resident aliens,permanent residents, tourists) does accord a privileged status to thoseborn in the U.S. NY: Simon and Schuster. Background A portion of elite opinion in the United States has taken a strongstand against what they label as "immigrant-baiting." For example,Business Week (Oct. References Aubry, L. While it isboth possible and morally laudable to argue for compassion and sympathy forthe often desperate plight of illegal immigrants this does not alter in theleast the illegality of their status. In addition the manner in which new membership in any community, society,or even civilization is defined, implies the terms on which thatgeopolitical entity exists (Huntington, 1996). There is something attractive about such a position on immigration.It would simply get the government out of the business of populationregulation altogether. The implication is that either through birth or through thenaturalization process a minimal commonality in community membership isachieved.Legality and Illegality To oppose Proposition 187 as inherently anti-minority and to brand anysupporters as necessarily racist does seem to implicitly legitimate illegalimmigration and thus challenge the very concept of legality. Finally, an editorial in theNew Republic (Nov. It assumes correctly that citizens ofwhatever community or society do have a privileged legal status which is animportant dimension of who they are as a geopolitical space, people, andsociety. But there does not seem to beanything inherently racist in insisting on the cultural assimilability ofnewcomers and their children, or limiting the number in relation to whatparticular communities can readily accommodate or are willing to accept(Huntington, 1996).The Libertarian Argument Proposition 187 also raises the fundamental issue of whether it isever proper for a community or society to restrict membership, specificallyin terms of some limitations on or selection criteria for new members. 14, 1996) has argued that it is as loathsome as race-baiting and is often used for ugly political purposes. While all communities and societies are more or lessdemographically "porus" there are certainly limits to the number ofnewcomers that can be integrated without causing considerable dysfunctions. Californians use illegal aliens as scapegoats. A think-tank inthe state of California released a comprehensive report entitled "Why TheyCount: Immigrants Contributions to the Golden State." This report wasintended to address the rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in thestate of California through the presentation of what the report labeled asfactual and education information on the historical and modern-daycontributions of California immigrants (Aubry, 1996). Urban perspective: Immigration inCalifornia then and now. Huntington, S.P. The magazinebelieves that stigmatizing immigrants cannot be tolerated. The report statesthat the current debate has largely been framed by concern over the abilityof the nation to absorb further population increases from immigration,given current levels of economic growth and corresponding resourcesavailable to support additional immigrants. or those who have met some criteria in order to acquirecitizenship. Taken this analysis, itwill also suggest a hopefully more balanced perspective on the averagecitizens' concern about Proposition 187 in California.Spacial Demarcation It would seem that as long as there are national boundaries, even if,as is often the case, highly arbitrary ones, it is necessary to have clearcriteria concerning who should be allowed to come into a country and whoshould not (Huntington, 1996). A rational immigration policy contributes to an entirely validdemarcation between them and us. As in all cases of illegality, ifsome immigrants are in fact in the country illegally, they are breaking thelaw and thus subject to whatever provisions are mandated for instances ofthe kind. (1996, August 1). Such a position also seems to abolish the distinction between legaland illegal immigrants. (1996). Unfortunately some segments of elite opinion have suggested that thenotion of "illegal immigration" is itself problematic clearly (ifunintentionally) implying than no immigration should be illegal and thatall immigration should be considered either explicitly legal or, moreconsistently, effectively outside of legality altogether (Business Week,1996). However such propositions do assumecorrectlythat citizenship should be taken as recognition of the substance of apotentially common identity. The clash of civilizations and the remakingof world order. While one can argue for larger or smaller immigration quotas,changing or abolishing qualifying criteria, the same cannot be said forlegitimating illegal immigration without at the same time delegitimatingthe very concept of legality and consequently the social system of which itis an essential part.Conclusion One can have specific reservations about the particulars ofProposition 187 as it is actually formulated. Just as the government does not restrict citizen mobility withinthe U.S., it should not restrict any mobility into or outside of the U.S.In this spirit, freedom of travel appears as an inalienable human right, onwhich the government should not infringe. Los Angeles Sentinel. As was argued earlier, in the most fundamental sense communities arenot mere geographical locations but also the product of efforts of previousgenerations of citizens in constructing social and political entities withspecific characteristics. Stop attacking immigrants. However the libertarian model of absolutely openborders and a state agnosticism on immigration would also tend to result inthe definition of public life as simply an arbitrary collection ofindividuals with no common history , values, or language. (1994, November 21).New Republic, Editorial. Inother words, one can find plenty of faults with 187 and draw some politicalconclusions regarding its undesirability as law, but nevertheless pose thequestion as to the substance of immigration policy in general. Such criteria could indeed be "racist" ifthey excluded people purely on the basis of race (as might have been thecase with earlier immigration policies) as well as "right-wing" in thetraditional sense if predicated on capitalist interests in keeping wagerate low by inflating the available labor pool, or maybe on maintaining aparticular ethnic composition, irrespective of the assimilability ofpotential immigrants and their offspring. In reality the propositiondoes seem to turn California's public agencies providing social servicesinto extensions of the US Immigration and Naturalization Services bymandating the compulsory verification and reporting of all illegal aliensapplying for social services. 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