The Larchmont Mamaroneck LWV participates in the National LWV study of US Immigration Policy

On January 26, 2008 the LWV of L-M completed the National Immigration Study with a four hour Consensus meeting discussing in-depth 35 questions dealing with the many complex immigration issues we face locally and as a nation. All local leagues who participated in this study answered the same consensus questions.

The responses were tallied in February and March by our National LWV and those responses, were be used to form a "position" upon which LWV may advocate for reform. Below is the position taken by our National League on April 1, 2008:

LWVUS Immigration Position

The League of Women Voters believes that immigration policies should promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises. Provision should also be made for qualified persons to enter the U.S. on student visas. All persons should receive fair treatment under the law.

The League supports federal immigration law that provides an efficient, expeditious system (with minimal or no backlogs) for legal entry of immigrants into the U.S.

To complement these goals the League supports federal policies to improve economies, education, job opportunities, and living conditions in nations with large emigrating populations.

In transition to a reformed system, the League supports provisions for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status

The League supports federal payments to impacted communities to address the financial costs borne by states and local governments with large immigrant populations.

Criteria for Legal Admission to the U.S.
The League supports the following criteria for legal admission of persons into the United States:

  • Family reunification of spouses or minor children with authorized immigrants or citizens;
  • Flight from persecution or response to humanitarian crises in home countries;
  • Economic, business and employment needs in the U.S.;
  • Education and training needs of the U.S.;
  • Educational program opportunities; and
  • Lack of a history of serious criminal activity.
Administration and Enforcement

The League supports due process for all persons, including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and right to humane treatment.

The League supports:

  • Improved technology to facilitate employer verification of employee status;
  • Verification documents, such as status cards and work permits, with secure identifiers;
  • Significant fines and penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers;
  • Improved technology for sharing information among federal agencies;
  • More effective tracking of individuals who enter the United States; and
  • Increased personnel at borders.
The League also supports programs allowing foreign workers to enter and leave the U.S. to meet seasonal or sporadic labor needs.

Unauthorized Immigrants Already in the U.S.

In achieving overall policy goals, the League supports a system for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status, including citizenship, by paying taxes, learning English, studying civics and meeting other relevant criteria. While policy reforms, including a path to legal status, remain unachieved, the League does not support deporting unauthorized immigrants who have no history of criminal activity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


(To see the questions from the study go to the LWV website, www.lwv.org; under the heading PROJECTS, click on Immigration Study.)

Seven months ago, Alice Bloom took charge of organizing a team to work on the Immigration Study. Participating in the committee with Alice were Marry Lee Berridge, Rosita Fichtel, Jerri Lynn Fields and Elsa Puerto-Rubin. Our goal was to educate ourselves, League members and the general public on past and present immigration problems. We wanted to be part of helping the National LWV craft a position that would help our federal government solve the great problems facing immigrants and resolve the antagonism present in many communities.

To this end, our study group organized a series of information forums to explore historical, economic, educational, legal, global and social issues related to immigration:

1. History of Immigration, September 27, '07, co-sponsored with New Rochelle Public Library. We viewed the film "The History of Immigration to the Lower East Side" (produced by the History Channel for the Tenement Museum of the Lower East Side) followed by a conversation with journalist and author, Michele Wucker whose most recent book is "LOCKOUT - Why America Keeps Getting Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity Depends on Getting it Right"

2. Immigration and Education, October 25, '07, co-sponsored with the Larchmont Public Library. A panel discussion was held with prominent educator in Westchester:
Joseph Berger, Author and Education Columnist for the NY Times
Richard Berman, President of Manhattanville College
Dr. Paul R. Fried, Superintendent of Mamaroneck Public Schools
Dr. Howard W. Smith, Superintendent of Tarrytown Public Schools

3. The Path to Citizenship, November 13, '07, at Breakfast-at-Night at Café Mozart. Our speaker was Robin Bikkal, Immigration Attorney. Robin outlined the many ways an individual with a visa can and cannot become legal, and explored the rather overwhelming obstacles a determined immigrant must overcome to become legal.

4. Immigration and the US Economy, December 7, '07, Issues Breakfast at Café Mozart. We continued our conversation about US Immigration Policy, this time exploring Globalization and Economic Issues pertaining to immigration. Our guest was Dr. David Blank, former chief economist for CBS and now, in retirement, a professor of economics at Westchester Community College.

5. Immigrant Voices: Writers Explore Immigration"on January 22, '08, co-sponsored by Larchmont Library and the Hudson Valley Writers' Center. We were treated to the literary readings of three immigrant authors:
Annecy Baez, from Irvington; a poet and fiction writer, Baez is the winner of the 2007 Miguel Marmol Prize for her collection of short stories, "My Daughter's Eyes and Other Stories."
Helen Barolini, from Hastings-on-Hudson, "The Dream Book: An Anthology of Writing by Italian American Women," and "Chiaroscuro: Essays of Identity" Barolini is the author of nine other books and many short stories and essays that have been cited in annual editions of BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS. She has received an American Book Award and other honors.
Josephine Lee, from Mamaroneck, "New York City's Chinese Community" captures the people, culture, history, businesses, events, and neighborhoods that have defined this community from the early days to more recent times.

These well attended forums were taped by LMC-TV and made into a DVD that is available for purchase through Alice Bloom (contact aliceworks@aol.com). For those that were not able to attend the forums, LMC-TV, our public access station, broadcast a "LWV - Study of U.S. Immigration Policy" MARATHON on Channel 77 for two weeks.

In preparation for the Consensus Meeting on January 26, our study committee read the four Immigration Study Briefs and the eight Background Reports posted on the LWV national website. The Background Reports were in depth and very helpful during our meeting for answering questions and bringing forth various positions. It also helped clarify with facts some of the opinions expressed. We indexed the questions against the reports so that issues discussed could be broadened with information from the reports.

Our Consensus Meeting was very interesting, with many opinions expressed, lively discussion and intelligent commentary. We discussed the questions over lunch for almost 4 hours. Everyone felt exhilarated when we finished and felt that it was a very worthwhile experience.


April 15 2008 Volume IV, Issue 2