Geometry.Net - Basic I Books: Immigration Issues Us Government

Claims that immigrants take Americans’ jobs, are a drain on the American economy, contribute to poverty and inequality, destroy the social fabric, challenge American identity, and contribute to a host of social ills by their very existence are openly discussed and debated at all levels of society. Chomsky dismantles twenty of the most common assumptions and beliefs underlying statements like I’m not against immigration, only illegal immigration” and challenges the misinformation in clear, straightforward prose.

In exposing the myths that underlie today’s debate, Chomsky illustrates how the parameters and presumptions of the debate distort how we thinkand have been thinkingabout immigration. She observes that race, ethnicity, and gender were historically used as reasons to exclude portions of the population from access to rights. Today, Chomsky argues, the dividing line is citizenship. Although resentment against immigrants and attempts to further marginalize them are still apparent today, the notion that non-citizens, too, are created equal is virtually absent from the public sphere. Engaging and fresh, this book will challenge common assumptions about immigrants, immigration, and U.S. history.

Chomsky’s book is an indispensable guide to the current debate on immigration. If you are at all uncertain about how to deal with anti-immigrant arguments, you will find Chomsky’s book a perfect response to those arguments. She makes her points with crystal-clear clarity, and unassailable evidence, while offering constructive solutions, both short-term and long-term.” Howard Zinn, author of You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train

Immigrants take away jobs from Americans.”Immigrants drive down wages.Immigrants don’t pay taxes and yet benefit from public services.You’ve heard it all before, probably from CNN’s Lou Dobbs.But as Avi Chomsky demonstrates, these are all myths, if not outright lies.She not only demolishes virtually every myth about immigrants and immigration to the U.S., she offers policy makers and activists solutions for tackling many of the issues created by globalization and an immigration policy grounded in falsehoods, and in so doing destroys the greatest myth of all: that nothing can be done.” Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

"Finally, a concise and comprehensive breakdown of the most prevalent misconceptions about immigration. Avi Chomsky provides not only practical ammunition for the pundit wars, but also real thinking about the intersection of migration with the history of race and rights in the U.S. It's the definitive field guide to today’s immigration debate." Tram Nguyen, executive editor of Colorlines magazine and author of We Are All Suspects Now

Avi Chomsky’s new book, They Take Our Jobs!” is a welcome addition to the literature and tools needed to inform the current debate on immigration. In identifying more than 20 myths” about immigration, the author brings readers through an accessible discussion that includes history, politics, economics and social analysis to challenge these myths and more.At a time when we desperately need to shift the public discourse in the U.S. and elsewhere, to include a more humane and informed perspective on the process of immigration and the lives of migrants and their families, Chomsky’s book provides us all with a much-needed sense of history and justiceand injusticethat must be included as we struggle for fair and humane immigration policies.” Catherine Tactaquin, Executive Director, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

If ever there was a need for a pithy primer on immigration, it’s now, and scholar-activist Aviva Chomsky has provided just that. She considers myths from the book’s title, immigrants don’t pay taxes” and then gracefully and in plain language delivers arguments with lessons on history, law and racism. In other words, this is the book to give your xenophobicc mother-in-law at the next family barbecue.” Daisy Hernandez, ColorLines Review

Aviva Chomsky’s They Take Our Jobs!” should be mandatory reading in high schools. Cleanly organized into 21 chaptersone for each myth, as well as an extra one in there at the endthe volume serves as a quick, crystal-clear introduction to immigration issues . . . If every Americannot just high schoolers, but our elected officialsread this concise, well-documented primer, we just might find ourselves overhauling our system.” FeministReview (blogspot)

Chomsky reminds us that in the 19th century white workers in the South "clung to their status of legal and racial superiority, but the entrenched racial inequalities undermined the status of poor whites as well." Black job seekers per se did not hurt poor whites, but rather their disenfranchisement combined with racism prevented their organization into unions and political movements. Employers enjoyed aa pool of poor and easily exploitable workersssss with which to break strikes and undermine all working-class wages.” Bangor Daily News

Aviva Chomsky is professor of history and coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State College. The author of several books, Chomsky has been active in Latin American solidarity and immigrants’ rights issues for over twenty-five years. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts.

Well written nonsense
There may well be myths regarding immigration, but Prof. Chomsky does a poor job identifying and addressing these myths.The book essentially argues that we should have no policies that limit immigration.
The first and deep rooted problem with Chomsky's analysis is that she redefines the problem from illegal immigrants to all immigrants.This allows her to confound issues and arguments and ignore the actual context to the current immigration issues.As the data she references (page 160) shows, Americans today have a generally positive attitude towards immigrants - but they are clearly negative about illegal immigrants.This confounding of issues undermines much of her analysis.
The second problem is that Prof Chomsky frames the entire issue as if her 21 myths exist only in the United States.There is little detailed comparative analysis.Does she really think Canada and Mexico have open borders? This lack of a detailed comparative analysis leads to the third problem - Prof Chomsky has real difficulties with the fact that nation states exist.
The analysis of the first myth and title of the book illustrates the weaknesses of Chomsky's style of analysis.Chomsky deconstructs the words in the supposed myth - Immigrants take American Jobs.She argues that there are two fallacies.Fallacy #1 there are no American jobs because "today's economy is so globally integrated that the idea of jobs having a national identity is practically useless."This is pure sophistry and is completely irrelevant to the concerns that ordinary people have about the ongoing flood of illegal immigrants. Fallacy #2:"The notion that immigration and immigrants reduce the number of jobs available to people already in the United States" is a fallacy because the supply of jobs is elastic wrt population growth and besides jobs are part of a global economy.That is the sum total of her argument.It simply neither frames the issue nor addresses it.It is clever so long as you do not ask the simple and direct question "Would Americans take the jobs that illegal immigrants actually hold?"But this is not Myth #1: It is framed as Myth #2 - yup, it is a bit confusing.It is even more confusing because Prof Chomsky after a meandering tour through the role of "legal" immigrants in low paying jobs in the American economy re-asks the question:"Do immigrants compete with low-skilled workers for low-paying jobs?Yes."Since this is largely Myth #1 as well, I infer that she is saying that both Myth #1 and Myth #2 are not in fact myths!Prof. Chomsky gets out of this bind by arguing that illegal immigrants and low-paid non-immigrant workers all suffer from the manipulation of the labor market by businesses aided and abetted by the government.Which may or may not be true, but it does not address the accuracy of the propositions she has framed as myths.
If we look at Myth #8 - The country is being overrun by illegal immigrants, the same pattern of not addressing the issue as plainly stated continues.Chomsky somehow believes that this myth is debunked because 11 million illegal or undocumented immigrants are only 11 million with some being married and some not being married.She does not even address the impact of this huge number of immigrants on the border states of California and Arizona.
Myth #21 hardly qualifies as a myth - "The problems this book raises are so huge that there's nothing we can do about them".Chomsky's diagnosis is that we have these immigration problems because of capitalism.She makes the plainly unsupported assertion that "in a more equal world, border issues would cease to hold the importance that they do."She argues that the European Union supports this contention.It is doubtful that Romanians who are being sent back to Romania from France and the French for that matter see the world exactly the same way that Prof. Chomsky does.She then argues that since people can flow between States in the United States then "it is entirely possible for open borders to coexist with orderly administration and a state of law."In short, Prof Chomsky's solution to the problem is to define it away by hypothesizing a world without nation states thereby removing the need for immigration policies.If this sounds a little over-simplified that is because it is.In my mind, doing something about the existence of nation states and capitalism is a pretty tall order.Again this seems more like reality than a myth.
Like most Marxists, Prof. Chomsky has a difficult time dealing with reality; she finesses the real issues of illegal immigration.Her "myths" remain the consequences of the failure to enforce reasonable controls on the flow of immigrants.
If she wanted to help those driven to risk everything to get to America, then she should use her intellect and energy to create jobs in Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia.I contend that she has a better chance of creating 11 million jobs than doing away with nation states.

why do people are so rude
i think that this book is rude and this are the concecuenses why young children are getting hurt. Why can't there just be peace. In the first place they are not taking your jobs in the first place they started working hard. They just come to work and have a better life. Why you guys can't understand that. They do not want to harm you at all. They are nice and working people. This situation people need to realize that kids are getting hurt and families are getting separeted. PUT YOUR SELF IN THERE SHOES. to see what life they have and how they suffer. i hope that everyone makes a change. and realize what they have done.

and if you want to jubge them, first know that they are about and why they arehere, how they get hurt, and all the problems that schools has.. and it's just because of people that are racist.

GREAT
RECEIVED ON TIME WITH THE ARRIVAL TIME GIVEN. BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT CONDITION, WE USE AGAIN, THANKS

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows
The wonderful title of this immigration book is revealing and enticing.Its argument and assumptions are also revealing and to me much less enticing.
The technique of starting with the "myths" about immigration, or any topic, and then exposing that the myths are not grounded in facts is a very good way of writing a persuasive book.The myths that Chomsky chooses to debunk are the ones that are most often heard.
* Immigrants drive down wages
* Immigrants don't pay taxes
* We are being overrun by immigrants
* The US has always welcomed immigrants
* And seventeen more.
Some of the books arguments are very convincingly constructed.She takes the idea"I am not opposed to immigration I'm opposed to illegal immigration." Shows that before 1924 there were no illegal immigrants from Europe because the laws making it illegal hadn't been written yet. She then draws a parallel to the civil right struggle and shows that immigration laws discriminate against brown people.History she concludes will honor people who don't obey discriminatory laws.
Her other methods of debunking the myths however will not convince many of the people who now oppose immigration and immigrants.She often fails to put things in historic or relative perspective.For instance she claims that late 19th century US immigration policy regarding Asians was racist but doesn't use any perspective by comparing it to other settler nations policies.But the most important thing to know about "Twenty Myths is that Chomsky sees the world through a Marxist lens.She sees the producers as exploiters, the business organizer as evil and the labor organizer as good.Her book is full of assumptions about the evil intents of business.She writes "In many industries, employers seek to reduce costs by employing the poorest most vulnerable people."The same facts could be written: "In many industries, employers seek to reduce costs by hiring new workers at low wages so that they can offer their customers the low cost goods they demand."
Chomsky writes in her conclusion that "High levels of migration are a symptom of a global system that privileges the few at the expense of the many."Would be more accurate if written.For the many high levels of migration are a solution to a global system that privileges the few.Because if migration is allowed people to vote with their feet and go to the places where they feel they can maximize their opportunities.

At the same time that I agreed with Chomsky's conclusions I was steaming mad at many of her arguments and interpretations."They take our Jobs" is a worthwhile read because it presents the arguments from the left in favor of a more humane immigration policy cogently and concisely.

Drivel with poor economics
I agree with the basic premise of this book that the current anti immigration reaction is racist and is wrapped in poor economics and scapegoating.

However the author has clearly never even read basic economic theory because she is assuming that wages have dropped due to the wealthy snagging more money from the pockets of the masses which should make you wonder who would these capitalists sell to in that case? A mass of dirt poor customers?. After all you can get rich selling to the rich but you can get far richer by selling affordable products to everyone. Besides since there are more moderate to lower income people than the wealthy where do you suppose the most amount of sales would be concentrated.

Immigrants have never caused a drop in standard of living but she clearly has an ideological ax to grind and would not even look at the various empirically proven reasons as to why wages have dropped she just blindly states that it is an out in the open conspiracy of the capitalists. The real reason has to due with the banking infrastructure and a bunch of other real world reasons not a conspiracy amongst the millions of capitalists in the United States. Dialectical Materialism is a dried up out dated view of the world that simplifies reality in an immense way.

Also as far as the US always trying to remain white I wish she could tell that to the nativists who thought the Irish and especially the Italians were a different race not just a different ethnicity.

I suggest to people looking for a more moderate yet pro immigration read that they should look up "Immigrants: Why your country needs them" by Phillip Legraine. He is pro welfare state and pro multiculturalism but avoids the monolithic world view that this author was unfortunately raised in. ... Read more

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Home - Basic I - Immigration Issues Us Government (Books)

2. Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 107th Congress (Congressional Research Service) by Andorra Bruno Congressional Research Service, Ruth Ellen Wasem Congressional Research Service, Lisa Seghetti Congressional Research Service, Alison Siskin Congressional Research Service, Karma Ester Congressional Research Service
	Kindle Edition: Pages (2010-01-02) list price: US$2.99 Asin: B0032JSKOO Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 107th Congress Congressional Research Service Report for Congress ...Top immigration issues before the 107th Congress include the reorganization of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), a part of the Department of Justice (DOJ); admissions policy; and the eligibility of noncitizens for public assistance. Also pending are measures to enable unauthorized aliens to become legal permanent residents (LPRs) and to reform temporary guest worker programs. On July 26, 2002, the House passed a bill to create a new homeland security department (H.R. 5005). Under the bill, INS’s enforcement functions would be transferred to the new department, while INS’s service functions would remain in DOJ in a new bureau. On July 25, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee agreed to the Lieberman amendment, as a substitute to S. 2452, which would transfer all of INS to a new homeland security department under a directorate of immigration affairs. The Administration has proposed transferring all of INS to a new homeland security department, but placing it under a border and transportation security division... Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities. CRS's analytic capabilities integrate multiple disciplines and research methodologies. In a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, CRS provides Congress with the vital, analytical support it needs to address the most complex public policy issues facing the nation. Its work incorporates program and legislative expertise, quantitative methodologies, and legal and economic analysis. ... Read more

3. Immigration (Social Issues in American History Series) by L. Edward Purcell
	Kindle Edition: 214 Pages (1994-12-27) list price: US$37.95 Asin: B000TVTCNQ Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description This engaging narrative chronicles the history of the immigration to America from the 1600s to the present. The author offers an in-depth exploration of the American immigration experience, including why people emigrated, what they left behind, and what they found when they arrived. He also delves into the immigrants' unique contributions to the history and culture of the nation. The book examines the legal and social aspects of immigration, beginning with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 through the 1994 passage of Proposition 187 in California. Also featured are a brief chronology of immigration and the biographies of 45 important figures in American immigration history. The text is enhanced with photos, illustrations, and political cartoons, and a detailed bibliography is also included. ... Read more

4. Arizona v. all of us.(IMMIGRATION REFORM)(Case overview): An article from: New Hampshire Business Review by Enrique F., Jr. Mesa, George Bruno
	Digital: 2 Pages (2010-07-16) list price: US$9.95 -- used & new: US$9.95 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: B003YK6RDC Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description This digital document is an article from New Hampshire Business Review, published by Business Publications, Inc. on July 16, 2010. The length of the article is 520 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: Arizona v. all of us.(IMMIGRATION REFORM)(Case overview) Author: Enrique F., Jr. Mesa Publication: New Hampshire Business Review (Magazine/Journal) Date: July 16, 2010 Publisher: Business Publications, Inc. Volume: 32Issue: 14Page: 15(1) Article Type: Case overview Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

6. The 50% American: Immigration And National Identity in an Age of Terror by Stanley A. Renshon
	Kindle Edition: 273 Pages (2005-10-30) list price: US$29.95 Asin: B001HBI7TW Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description The United States is the only nation in the world that allows its citizens to hold one or more foreign citizenships, vote in another nation's elections, run for or be appointed to office in another country, and join the armed forces even of a nation with interests hostile to those of the United States while retaining their citizenship. These policies reinforce the often already strong emotional, political, and economic ties today's immigrants retain to their home countries. Yet few studies have addressed what dual citizenship means for the United States as a nation and the integration of immigrants into the American national community. Is it possible to reconcile two different nationalities, cultures, and psychologies? How can we honor immigrants' sense of identity without threatening American national identity? What do Americans have a right to expect of immigrants and what do immigrants have a right to expect of Americans? In The 50 per cent American political psychologist Stanley Renshon offers unique insight into the political and national ramifications of personal loyalties.Arguing that the glue that binds this country together is a psychological force - patriotism - he explains why powerful emotional attachments are critical to American civic process and how they make possible united action in times of crisis. In an age of terror, the idea that we are all Americans regardless of our differences is more than a credo; it is essential to our national security. Comprehensive in scope, this book examines recent immigration trends, tracing the assimilation process that immigrants to the United States undergo and describing how federal, state, and local governments have dealt with volatile issues such as language requirements, voting rights, and schooling. Renshon turns a critical eye to the challenges posed over the past four decades by multiculturalism, cultural conflict, and global citizenship and puts forth a comprehensive proposal for reforming dual citizenship and helping immigrants and citizens alike become more integrated into the American national community. ... Read more

9. Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 108th Congress (Congressional Research Service Report for Congress) by Andorra Bruno, Stephen R. Viña, Margaret Mikyung Lee, Charlotte Stichter, Alison Siskin, Karma Ester, Ruth Ellen Wasem
	Kindle Edition: Pages (2010-02-23) list price: US$1.59 Asin: B0039UTEDW Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description Congressional Research Service Report for Congress .......The 108th Congress has considered and is considering legislation on a wide range of immigration issues. Two of these issues — the transfer of immigration authorities and expedited naturalization through military service — relate directly to post-September 11, 2001 U.S. efforts to improve national security. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the 107th Congress established a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107- 296). DHS was tasked with preventing terrorist attacks in the United States and reducing the nation’s vulnerability to terrorism, among other responsibilities. Effective March 1, 2003, P.L. 107-296 abolished the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency which had administered and enforced the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),1 and transferred most immigration-related functions to the newly created DHS. Lingering questions remain, however, about the division of authorities between DOJ and DHS in some areas. Pending legislation would amend the INA to explicitly transfer certain authorities to DHS. Like the establishment of DHS, Operation Iraqi Freedom had a goal of protecting U.S. national security. This operation prompted congressional interest in legislation to expand the citizenship benefits of aliens serving in the military. The 108th Congress has enacted a measure (P.L. 108-136) that amends military naturalization and posthumous citizenship statutes and provides immigration benefits for immediate relatives of U.S. citizen servicemembers who die as a result of actual combat service..... Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities. CRS's analytic capabilities integrate multiple disciplines and research methodologies. In a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, CRS provides Congress with the vital, analytical support it needs to address the most complex public policy issues facing the nation. Its work incorporates program and legislative expertise, quantitative methodologies, and legal and economic analysis. ... Read more

10. Migration in the post-NAFTA era: Policy issues for the United States and Mexico (Mexico-US migration series) by Monica L Heppel
	Unknown Binding: 22 Pages (1995) Asin: B0006QMCFY Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan

17. Critical Perspectives on Global Governance: Rights and Regulation in Governing Regimes by Nicola Piper
	Kindle Edition: 208 Pages (2009-01-24) list price: US$42.50 Asin: B001QN8IEA Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description No description available ... Read more

19. African Minorities in the New World by Niyi Afolabi
	Kindle Edition: 290 Pages (2009-01-22) list price: US$95.00 Asin: B000SKFIPE Canada \| United Kingdom \| Germany \| France \| Japan
Editorial Review Product Description No description available ... Read more