{"id":2889,"date":"2012-01-26T18:54:18","date_gmt":"2012-01-26T23:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=2889"},"modified":"2012-01-26T18:54:18","modified_gmt":"2012-01-26T23:54:18","slug":"the-real-meaning-of-%e2%80%9cself-deportation%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/26\/the-real-meaning-of-%e2%80%9cself-deportation%e2%80%9d\/","title":{"rendered":"The real meaning of \u201cself-deportation\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Wendy Sefsaf<\/strong><\/p>\n

Immigration Policy Center<\/a><\/p>\n

The term \u201cself-deportation\u201d has found its way into the GOP presidential primary race, with candidate Mitt Romney outlining a vague immigration platform which includes “self-deportation,” or the idea that unauthorized immigrants will voluntarily choose to leave the U.S. if life here is made unbearable enough. While “self-deportation” may be a new idea to some, those who monitor immigration policy understand that it is code for \u201cattrition through enforcement\u201d – a plan pursued by extremist immigration-control organizations in Congress and state houses across the nation.<\/p>\n

Mr. Romney explains how he thinks “self-deportation” would work by saying \u201cif people don\u2019t get work here, they\u2019re going to self-deport to a place they can get work.\u201d However, as described in a forthcoming report from the Immigration Policy Center, “self-deportation” – or, more accurately, “attrition through enforcement” – goes far beyond denying unauthorized immigrants work. The strategy is currently embodied in state laws that include provisions denying education, transportation, and even basic services like water and housing to anyone who cannot prove legal immigration status. So far, the states that have attempted to roll out this plan have done little more than undermine basic human rights, devastate local economies, and place unnecessary burdens on U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants.<\/p>\n

There is little evidence that “attrition through enforcement” is causing unauthorized immigrants to leave. In fact, a July 2011 study from the RAND Corporation found that, despite improved economic conditions in Mexico and worsened conditions in the United States, fewer Mexican immigrants returned to Mexico in 2008 and 2009 than in the two years before the recession.<\/p>\n

The Urban Institute\u2019s Juan Pedrozo has also pointed out that \u201cit\u2019s tough to tell whether (and how many) immigrants have left a community if you are looking right after a state passes a law. It can take years of evidence to test claims of a mass exodus.\u201d Moreover, \u201cgrowing evidence suggests that most immigrants (especially families with school-age children) are here to stay, except perhaps where local economies are particularly weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, \u201cnearly two-thirds of the 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States have lived in this country for at least 10 years, and nearly half are parents of minor children,\u201d most of whom are U.S. citizens. There is no reason to believe that they are going to \u201cself-deport\u201d as their ties to the country have grown much deeper.<\/p>\n

Whether you call it \u201cself-deportation\u201d or \u201cattrition through enforcement,\u201d this is a policy that offers no genuine solution to the growing instability of our immigration system. Relying on a strategy conceived by immigration restrictionists and pursued by opportunistic politicians is no game plan. This country deserves to hear more detailed and thoughtful approaches from politicians and policy makers\u2014ones that will offer a way forward, rather than ones grounded in divisive and punitive approaches to unauthorized immigration.<\/p>\n

The Immigration Policy Center, established in 2003, is the policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC’s mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. Through its research and analysis, IPC provides policymakers, the media, and the general public with accurate information about the role of immigrants and immigration policy on U.S. society. IPC reports and materials are widely disseminated and relied upon by press and policy makers. IPC staff regularly serves as experts to leaders on Capitol Hill, opinion-makers and the media. IPC is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Wendy Sefsaf Immigration Policy Center The term \u201cself-deportation\u201d has found its way into the GOP presidential primary race, with candidate Mitt Romney outlining a vague immigration platform which includes “self-deportation,” or the idea that unauthorized immigrants will voluntarily choose … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-newscommentary","category-network-newsevents","category-sc-newscommentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2892,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889\/revisions\/2892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}