New York State Governor Spitzer has made it official policy to grant driver licenses to anyone, including undocumented residents (of which there may be 750,000, including children). This is a sensible approach. The New York Times reports that “The move drew angry responses from Republicans in the state who charged that the governor was in danger of giving valid state identification cards to potential terrorists.”
Here is the entire text of the Times’ editorial on the matter:
Gov. Eliot Spitzer made a very important if politically hazardous decision yesterday. He decreed that New York State’s Department of Motor Vehicles will award driver’s licenses to those who can prove who they are and pass the tests, not only those in good standing with the federal immigration authorities. That decision is correct for all who use New York’s roads.
Like other governors and mayors, Mr. Spitzer is trying to deal with Washington’s failure to produce a coherent immigration policy that would deal humanely with the 12 million illegal immigrants who have come to America to work, often in the lowliest of jobs. That lack of resolve forced states and sometimes local communities to figure out how to cope with reality — housing, working conditions, all sorts of local problems. Mr. Spitzer’s licensing rules are an attempt to deal with higher accident rates among unlicensed drivers — many of whom flee the scene because they fear immigration authorities.
The new rules would expand the kinds of documents that would be accepted by the state to get a license. A Social Security card would no longer be required if there are enough other documents, like an up-to-date passport, a birth certificate or other items. The governor promised new security measures — such as making sure state officials are trained in verifying foreign documents and using photo comparison technology to make certain one person does not get more than one license.
Mr. Spitzer and his administration argue that licensing more people would not only make the roads safer, it might result in a lowering of New York’s high automobile insurance rates. If that really does happen — and it is worth reminding the governor of this promise — less costly insurance would be another bonus.
The move drew angry responses from Republicans in the state who charged that the governor was in danger of giving valid state identification cards to potential terrorists. That argument is absurd on its face; organized terrorists hardly lack access to forged documents. It also fails to deal with the need to bring more of the state’s immigrant workers out of the shadows so that if they drive — and they will drive — they can do it safely. Also, New York State would have a better idea who many of these residents really are.
With these enlightened changes, New York will join eight other states that do not require applicants for drivers’ licenses to prove their immigration status. Like New York, these states want a drivers license to achieve what it is supposed to do — certify a safe driver.
Legal assaults against illegal immigrants
Workers Comp Insider has a sharp tongued and informative posting on municipal ordinances which bar the residency and hiring of illegal immigrants. One of its sources was a NY Times article which I have placed below. The NJ township of Riverside intordued an ordinance against illegal immigrants only to see businesses disappear. the Times reports:
With the departure of so many people, the local economy suffered. Hair salons, restaurants and corner shops that catered to the immigrants saw business plummet; several closed. Once-boarded-up storefronts downtown were boarded up again.
Meanwhile, the town was hit with two lawsuits challenging the law. Legal bills began to pile up, straining the town’s already tight budget. Suddenly, many people — including some who originally favored the law — started having second thoughts.
So last week, the town rescinded the ordinance, joining a small but growing list of municipalities nationwide that have begun rethinking such laws as their legal and economic consequences have become clearer.
the full article:
Global Workers Justice Alliance – update
I posted some time ago on this unique New York City-based NGO, which promotes what it calls “portable” labor rights – the right of a foreign worker to enjoy, back in her or his home country (such as Mexico), the right to claim labor rights for an infraction incurred while working in another country (such as the United States.)
Cathleeen Caron has been tirelessly promoting the concept of portability, focusing on the rights of Latin American workers whose rights were violated while in the United States. Below is a typical posting on her blog at her website:
Huetuetenango, Guatamala April 17, 2007 —
Global Workers traveled to the northwest state of Huehuetenango, the biggest migrant-sending state, to strengthen contacts with lawyers willing to collaborate with the program and identify some new ones. The goal is to have two advocates from three Guatemalan states selected for the initial training, which will likely occur in September. With the newly empowered advocate network trained and in place, Global Workers will be able to facilitate a heavy case load of labor cases for Guatemalan migrants.
A likely ally will be the Catholic Church’s Human Mobility Pastoral Service. The network, especially in Huehuetenango, is impressive. They have an educational, empowerment training program for pastoral lay agents. The program, which already includes information on migrant rights, commits the lay agents to conduct workshops in their parishes in order to pass on or multiply the new knowledge. With representatives in 30 of the 32 counties in Huehuetenango, the potential to reach out to migrants about their rights, is astonishing. The church also has a legal department to provide free legal services. Discussions are under way about the church’s formal collaboration with Global Workers in Huehuetenango.
While in Huehuetenango, Global Workers met with the Ministry of Labor’s local office to discuss the guest worker recruiter abuses. Although the local supervisor expressed keen interest in the issue, the lack of resources (the office does not even have a telephone) will likely limit their ability to investigate and halt the illegal recruitment practices.
Working on Faith: failures to protect workers in the Katrina cleanup.
In the summer of 2006, I reported on three studies on Katrina cleanup workers. In the last few months, a fourth one was been published.
In early summer of this year, Chicago-based Interfaith Work Justice published a report called Working on Faith. It addressed worker rights and protections among Katrina cleanup workers. Many of these workers were migrant workers.
Interfaith Work Justice interviewed 218 Katrina cleanup workers in mid 2006. It found that 47% did not receive all the wages they were promised, 55% were not paid overtimes after 40 hours a week, 58% said they were exposed the hazardous substances, and virtually all workers were unaware of the U.S. Department of Labor as a source of information about work rights and protections. IWJ called up the federal government to expand DOL’s resources to protect these workers.
IWJ maintains a network of 16 worker centers located in 13 states.
Partnership between DOL and Interfaith Worker Justice
Per the public interest organization:
In the past few years, the Interfaith Worker Justice and local interfaith committees have been building partnerships with local, state, and national Department of Labor (DOL) staff. These partnerships have sought to:
* Inform workers, especially low-wage and immigrant workers, of their rights in the workplace. At the national level, bulletin inserts were jointly created in nine languages that have been and continue to be distributed to workers through congregations. In local communities, DOL staff have provided educational workshops to workers.
* Train advocates to better support workers in seeking justice in the workplace. Because many worker advocates—pastors, social workers, immigrant advocates, and community organizers— are unfamiliar with the basic labor laws, they often don’t recognize basic law law violations that workers experience. Local DOL staff have partnered with local interfaith groups to train advocates about labor laws, so they can be more effective advocates.
* Create safe spaces and ways for workers to file complaints with DOL offices. Many workers, especially immigrant workers, are fearful of government agencies. And no one would suggest that the DOL procedures are particularly user-friendly. Thus, DOL staff and religious advocates have partnered to find new ways to support workers in filing complaints. Some groups are testing new simplified complaint forms. Other groups are forming workers’ centers, where workers can drop in for help. Others are looking to revive parish-based labor schools that create a safe space for workers to both file complaints and learn to organize.
The best time to begin developing partnerships between the religious community and the DOL is now. More importantly, low-wage workers need the joint efforts of the religious community and government agencies in order to challenge unjust employers.
Contact your local DOL Wage and Hour office. Invite the director or deputy director to talk with members of your interfaith group, local congregation or union local. Ask the director to describe local industries with particular problems in your area. Discuss ways that the religious community might help meet the goals described above.
For more information
Contact Kim Bobo at kim@iwj.org.
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor has a website that provides many of its background information sheets. To visit, go to www.dol.gov. If you have a specific wage and hour question, you can call the new Wage-Hour toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
Interstate Labor Standards Association (ILSA)
This is an organization of the state labor standards agencies that enforce such issues as child labor, wage and hour, prevailing wage, and some workplace safety. For a list of the state contacts and an overview of the issues covered by state labor organizations, visit www.ilsa.net.
Young Worker Safety and Health Network
This is a network of organizations working on young worker safety and health issues. For a list of all state labor agency child labor contacts, visit www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/networkmembers.html.
2006 Remittances to Mexico flat – housing downturn in U.S.?
According to the Migration Policy Institute, remittances to the U.S. were flat in 2006 compared to rapid growth in prior years. The report estimates that remittances were $24.5 billion. The report, like other I posted before, does not break out funds from the U.S., which must be the large majority. The housing turndown in the U.S., which began in 2006, may be the cause of the flat results.
The full report by MPI, available on the website, pinpoints the destination of funds by Mexican state. In a few states, over 10% of the state’s domestic product is remittance money.
The press release:
In “A First Look at the 2007 Slowdown in Remittances”, MPI reported that In 2006, Mexico received an estimated $24.5 billion in remittances — 11.3 percent of the total $276 billion in remittances worldwide. While migrant remittances to Mexico grew an average of 19.1 percent annually between 2003 and 2006, however, they increased by just 0.6 percent in the first half of 2007 compared to the first half of 2006.
A new MPI fact sheet provides a first look at changes in remittances to Mexico by state for 2003 to 2007, highlighting the states that may be most severely affected by a slowdown in money coming in from migrants abroad in the first six months, or semester, of 2007. The fact sheet, based on Bank of Mexico figures, shows
* Five Mexican states registered more than 5 percent growth in remittances in the first semester of 2007 compared to the first semester of 2006. They are Yucatan (17.8 percent), Guanajuato (12.1 percent), Puebla (9 percent), Baja California (7.9 percent), and Baja California del Sur (7.4 percent). In no case did the growth exceed the growth from January to June of 2006.
* Remittances fell by more than 5 percent in the first semester of 2007 in five states compared to the same period in 2006. They are the Distrito Federal (9.4 percent), Michoacán (6.8 percent), Chiapas (6.0 percent), the State of México (5.6 percent), and Chihuahua (5.2 percent).
* Of the remaining states, 17 had growth of less than 5 percent in remittances in the first semester of 2007 compared to the first semester of 2006 and five states had a decline of less than 5 percent.
* Four states accounted for more than a third of remittances in 2006 and 2007. The states of Michoacán, Guanajuato, Jalisco, and México accounted for more than a third of remittances to Mexico in 2006 and received 36.6 percent of remittances in the first half of 2007. The states receiving the smallest amounts in the first semester of 2006 and the first semester of 2007 included Baja California del Sur, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán.
* Some states appear more dependent on remittances than others, the level of which can be seen by comparing a state’s share of remittances to its gross domestic product. Data show that the states of Michoacán, Guerrero, Zacatecas, Oaxaca, Nayarit, and Hidalgo displayed the highest levels of dependency in 2004, the latest year for which state-level GDP data are available. Baja California del Sur, Campeche and Quintana Roo appeared to be the least dependent on remittances due to comparatively low remittance inflows. Distrito Federal, Chihuahua and Nuevo León were less dependent due to comparatively high GDPs.
“While it is still unclear why remittance growth stalled in the first half of this year, if the slowdown continues through the remainder of 2007, it could have real implications for many Mexicans,” said Aaron Matteo Terrazas, an MPI researcher and author of the fact sheet. He continued, “We do know that money migrants send home is a lifeline for many communities, and local policymakers will need to evaluate what a slowdown in remittances might mean for their cities and states.”
Immigrant nation – new census data from 2006
As reported 9/12 in the Washington Post, Nearly one in five people living in the United States speaks a language at home other than English, according to new Census data that illustrate the wide-ranging effects of immigration. California led the nation in immigrants, at 27 percent of the state’s population, and in people who spoke a foreign language at home, at 43 percent. In this 2006 census version called the annual American Community Survey, there were 37.5 million foreign born in the U.S.
The full article:
Washington (AP) — Nearly one in five people living in the United States speaks a language at home other than English, according to new Census data that illustrate the wide-ranging effects of immigration.
The number of immigrants nationwide reached an all-time high of 37.5 million in 2006, affecting incomes and education levels in many cities across the country. But the effects have not been uniform.
In most states, immigrants have added to the number of those lacking a high-school diploma, with almost half of those from Latin America falling into that category.
However, at the other end of the education spectrum, Asian immigrants are raising average education levels in many states, with nearly half of them holding at least a bachelor’s degree.
‘There is no one-size-fits-all policy that you could apply for all immigrant groups,’ said Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau. ‘I think most of the attention has been on low-skilled workers coming from Mexico. But we have 10 million immigrants from Asia, a number that’s growing.’
Continue reading Immigrant nation – new census data from 2006
Tomato farms in Florida – what they say they are doing for workers
Go to the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange website for its view of working conditions and labor relations.
It identifies itself thusly:
“The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange is an agricultural cooperative of Florida tomato growers who operate as socially accountable farm employers by participating in comprehensive programs that certify employment, health, housing and safety practices. The industry is strongly committed to supporting long-term solutions that improve the lives of their employees.”
I have no solid means of verifying their statements but am not inclined to challenge them. I know one of the employers and know him to be a good guy. The Exchange says that its member participate in SAFE – Socially Accountable Farm Employers program, which I have posted on here. SAFE is a model for employer support of labor protections for immigrant agricultural labor.
for the record: how the Senate killed immigration reform — the votes
here are the votes re: Immigration Reform Act S. 1348, “A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.”
This is the major immigration reform bill of 2007. The cloture vote 6/28/07 failed,
YEA 46 NAY 53 not voting 1. I have listed below votes alphabetically by senator then by state.
Alphabetic by senator
Continue reading for the record: how the Senate killed immigration reform — the votes
Resistance to illegal immigration crackdown
The Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO have joined ranks to combat the Bush Administration’s plan to crack down on illegal immigrants. A well researched article does into depth as to what the crackdown could do to cripple some industries.
According to the Washington Post, “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO this week separately assailed a new White House-backed crackdown on illegal immigration, warning of massive disruptions to the economy and headaches for U.S. citizens if the proposal goes ahead as planned in the coming days.”
The Bush administration intends to begin writing to 140,000 employers on Tuesday regarding suspect Social Security numbers used by an estimated 8.7 million workers, as a way of pressuring them to fire illegal immigrants. President Bush disclosed the plan three weeks ago as part of a repackaged, 26-point enforcement program after Congress failed to overhaul U.S. immigration laws this summer.
But leaders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of trade groups representing the politically influential construction, lodging, farming, meatpacking, restaurant, retail and service industries appealed on Monday to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to postpone the plan’s implementation for six months.
Continue reading Resistance to illegal immigration crackdown