By Alyssa Goncalves
The University’s Progressive Students Union (PSU) hosted its first in a series of Know Your Rights Nights on Tuesday. The event focused on the topic of illegal immigrants in the workplace and sparked a strong reaction from many students.
A panel discussion featured three University professors, including Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Patrick Young, Associate Professor of Sociology Gregory Maney, and Professor Larry Cary from Cornell University and a former assistant professor at the University. The speakers addressed the increasing number of illegal immigrants working in the United States and what that figure means to the everyday person.
The program began with an introduction by John Leschak, a PSU member. He began by addressing the issue of unauthorized immigrant workers as a human rights issue that is in dire need of attention.
He cited approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., which makes up 5 percent of the current work force, and he stressed the importance of addressing the topic as more than a policy issue.
Young, who is also an immigration lawyer, spoke first answering a seemingly simple question, “Why don’t they simply gain their citizenship?” Young said when politicians ask this question they are over-simplifying the issue because the path to citizenship is much more difficult than most people would expect. He said that it often takes 11 years or longer for an immigrant to become a citizen.
Young stressed that granting employment visas is not a viable option to decrease the number of undocumented workers. He said that the workers make up 50 percent of the migratory farm workers in this country, while many other immigrants hold domestic jobs and are therefore unable to attain visas because they are generally granted to people holding college degrees.
“We have a society now where most Americans depend on illegal immigrants to do most of the household work my parents did themselves,” Young said.
Young went on to explain that undocumented workers come to the U.S. to make money to support their families before moving back home. They are hired by the American public, not feared by them, and they are certainly not looking for the scandal they have created. “Illegals are just thinking of a way to feed themselves and their families,” Young said.
Cary added to the point with legal examples. He cited the first labor law introduced in England in 1347, which declared it a crime not to work. “Now we criminalize people for it,” he said.
Cary provided the audience with a handout detailing labor law cases and several court decisions on the immigration topic as he discussed the effect undocumented workers have on the labor force.
“Retail in New York City is an occupation that is, if not dominated, certainly filled with undocumented workers,” he said.
To wrap up the discussion, Prof. Maney shared some final words with the audience. He stressed that illegal immigrants are still human beings and deserve to be treated fairly. Many people see undocumented workers as a “burden on our society,” he explained, when really we are the reasons they are here, we hire them.
“Do we not bear a certain degree of responsibility for why laborers come here?” he asked.
Maney went on to explain who labor laws effect and what they mean to undocumented workers before the floor was opened for a question and answer period.
The first question raised was “What can we do to help?” which seemed to mark the night as a success for PSU in raising awareness and support for their cause.
“You need to create an immigration law that follows the immigration reality.” Young said. “These are not radical approaches.”
Isabelle Goodman, president of PSU, said at the end of the night, “This was the first in a series of Know your Rights Nights and I am happy we could do this. It is a youth issue and is rarely treated as such, which is why I think it is important to be talked about on college campuses.”
(Erin Furman)
The role of undocumented workers in the American labor force was probed in the panel Tuesday. (Erin Furman)