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kookarocha · 6 years ago

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You want facts about the wall, here are facts about the wall.

Alright, everyone is talking about the wall and how it’s (supposedly) absolutely required for our national security. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it has nothing to do with national security. I’m not exactly sure what it’s all about, to be honest, but national security is not it. Let me elaborate.

From a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania:

The results of this research offer little evidence that Mexican immigration increases crime in the United States. If anything, there is some evidence that crime declines after immigrants arrive. These findings are supported by research from the Public Policy Institute of California on the composition of inmates in California prisons, which reveals that Mexican immigrants are dramatically underrepresented in the state prison system.

For those who are skeptical that these findings are true, consider the case of El Paso, Texas a working class city of approximately 700,000 people that sits opposite the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez, one of the most violent and lawless cities in Mexico. More than 80% of El Paso's residents are Hispanic and the vast majority of these individuals are of Mexican origin. A large population of El Paso's Hispanic population are immigrants. In fact, El Paso has one of the highest proportions of immigrants among U.S. cities. Many of these migrants are undocumented. If those who fear Mexican immigration are right, then El Paso should be a hotbed of violence. As it turns out, El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States with a homicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 residents. Just a tiny handful of American cities have a lower homicide rate and most of those that do (San Diego, Chula Vista, and Mesa, AZ, for example) also have outsize Mexican populations. Incredibly El Paso's homicide rate is so low that it compares favorably to European capitals like London, Paris and Amsterdam, cities which have rates of lethal violence that are generally an order of magnitude lower than cities in the United States.

Citation: https://crim.sas.upenn.edu/fact-check/do-mexican-immigrants-cause-crime

So if it’s not about crime and safety, then what is it? Some research suggests that it may be racist. Not necessarily intentional, but still a possiblity. An article from The Guardian states:

"A research study conducted over 40 months shows that labor-certification applications for Asian and Canadian immigrants were approved 90.5% and 89.7% of the time, respectively. Yet those of Latin American immigrants were approved only 66.8% of the time." and "The paper indicates that Latin American immigrants are 25.4% less likely than Canadian or Asian immigrants to be approved for computer-science jobs."

Interesting, nothing explicitly proven but something to consider. I’ll continue, "Rissing explains the results: “We even looked at jobs in construction and restaurant cooks, jobs that might require less explicit human capital,” he says, but Asians were still more likely to be approved than applicants from Latin American countries." and "Employment-based green card-applications take anywhere from one year (fast track) to 10 years, while most take four to six years, he explains."

So, if you're in dire straits in a Latin American country, you can choose to live in absolute poverty, surrounded by gang violence for an average of 4-6 years and still be likely to not be admitted entry because of someone's bias. This article is based on the research by Brown University and MIT researchers Benjamin Rissing and Emilio Castilla. It was published in the Journal of American Sociological Review. (I might add that this is a well respected peer-reviewed journal that's been around since 1936)

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122414553656?journalCode=asra

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/economy/making-sense/4-myths-about-how-immigrants-affect-the-u-s-economy

Now, another study, let’s talk about the cost that these immigrants are costing US taxpayers.

https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23550/the-economic-and-fiscal-consequences-of-immigration

This study shows that, "First-generation immigrants cost the government more than native-born Americans, according to the report — about $1,600 per person annually. But second generation immigrants are "among the strongest fiscal and economic contributors in the U.S.," the report found. They contribute about $1,700 per person per year. All other native-born Americans, including third generation immigrants, contribute $1,300 per year on average." and, more importantly, “It's also important to note that less-educated immigrants tend to work more than people with the same level of education born in the U.S. About half of all U.S.-born Americans with no high school diploma work, compared to about 70 percent of immigrants with the same education level, Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, said in a recent interview with PBS NewsHour. But even better: "In general, more people working means more taxes — and that's true overall with undocumented immigrants as well. Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $11.6 billion a year in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy."

Well, according to this research it seems that immigrants aren’t a financial liability at all, in fact, they seem to be the opposite. So, what my view on illegal immigration?" I think we should open our borders to anyone willing to work. It should be easy to cross the border, be given a work permit and be allowed to earn taxable money. In which case they'd be a benefit to our economy, If they are unable to do so, then consider deporting them.

Now, some will argue that immigrants, illegal or otherwise, are sucking up all the financial assistance that our government can afford, and leaving American citizens and our Veterans shortchanged. Let’s consider the data. I’ll start with the homeless.

64.4% of our homeless are under 18, disabled or elderly. Of the remaining 33.6%, many are mentally ill. What are we doing for them? Well:

The FY 2019 proposed budget adds the following for individuals:

414 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units. The Way Home advocacy campaign called for 820 units this year.

$1.1 million for 100 Rapid ReHousing slots

$2.0 million for 110 Targeted Affordable Housing (TAH). The Way Home called for 400 slots.

$875,000 for a new rapid exit and diversion program

$68.5 million for shelter and service improvements

The FY 2019 budget adds the following for families:

$5.3 million for 167 PSH slots. The Way Home campaign asked for 309 slots.

$7.2 million for 347 TAH slots

$32.2 million for family shelters

The FY 2019 budget adds $4.7 million for youth programs. $1.4 million of this replaces one-time funding included in the FY 2018 budget.

Notice those numbers are in the Millions, not billions. What would happen if we threw just 1 Billion towards the homeless. Would that satisfy our need to assist the homeless? Those who argue that we are abandoning our homeless, have you spoken outwardly about throwing more money to these programs? Or just to a wall? Either way, let’s say we threw 1 Billion their way, that would leave 4.7 billion, of that proposed 5.7 for the wall for Vets and college tuition. Moving on…

Let’s look at how we treat our vets: Back in September Trump signed a spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs that for the first time exceeded more than $200 billion. 208.8 Billion has been allotted for FY2019. An increase of 186.5 billion which was allotted for FY2018. That’s 22.3 Billion for Veterans over last year, an increase of 118.8 billion since the amount allotted to the VA in FY2009, which was 90 bIllion. The veterans aren’t being forgotten, in fact, funding for these programs are increasing, vets are finally being properly cared for.

So, now that we’ve covered the funding for our homeless and our Vets, let’s look at the potential remaining 4.7 Billion. Since the increased funding has just been approved for the VA, we need to see how that additional spending is used by the VA before allotting any more in this FY 2019 budget. Now, how about higher education?

Changes to FY2019 budget:

Pell Grant Program: The maximum grant would be raised by $100 to $6,195. The bill does rescind $600 million in existing Pell funding, which does not impact the current year but reduces the support available in future years.

National Institutes of Health: Funding for NIH would be increased by $2 billion over FY 2018, for a total of $39.1 billion.

Career, Technical, and Adult Education (CTE): The bill provides $1.9 billion for CTE programs, an increase of nearly $95 million over FY 2018. Perkins Career and Technical Education grants would see a $70 million increase, to $1.26 billion.

TRIO: These programs would receive $1.06 billion under the measure, an increase of $50 million over FY 2018. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income and first-generation college students.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness: The bill provided $350 million for an eligibility fix for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The Trump administration proposed eliminating the program from its FY 2019 budget.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program and Federal Work-Study (FWS): Both programs were level-funded at the FY 2018 appropriation after receiving a significant boost last year—a $107 million increase for FSEOG to $840 million, and a $140 million increase for FWS to $1.13 billion, the first time since FY 2009 the program’s funding surpassed $1 billion.

Notice how many of those numbers are in the millions? How much would they benefit if a few hundred million more dollars were thrown their way? Heck let’s say we throw 2 Billion of that remaining 4.7 billion that I suggest be spent on anything but the wall. That leaves 2.7 billion that could be spent elsewhere. So how about lower education?

Trump called for the Department of Education (ED) to receive $63.2 billion in FY 2019. This is a $3.6 billion—or 5.4 percent—cut from the amount ED received in FY 2017.

Wait, what? A CUT from the department of Education? But I thought Trump, and wall-supporters were all about helping Americans?

I believe that these are the most important numbers to consider. I would think that a better K-12 education system means better numbers of those attending college in the future. Greater productivity of those future adults, which means they’re better able to help our economy when they age. More funding to education might mean there are less homeless in the future. Maybe if more funding was used to identify mental health issues of those under 18, we may be able to prevent future homelessness and maybe, just maybe, prevent a future school shooting.

I;’ll admit, this is a lot of information that I’ve presented. One might ask what I believe on the matter. I have been directly asked if we should just let anyone in, well, should we just let everyone who wants a better life in, no questions asked? No, not no questions asked. I think those seeking permits to enter and work should be vetted for criminal behavior; that's it. Everyone who seeks a better life should have that inherent human right to make that so, and as Americans, a melting pot and nation of immigrants, we should encourage it.

That might lead to the next question, at what number do we stop? Well, in my opinion, it should be unlimited. Why? Because not everyone wants to move here. Those that do will seek work, if a policy is enacted to require job seeking immigrants to find a job in, let's say 3 months. If they are unsuccessful then they are expected to return to their country of origin. This will benefit the US in that we will have a significant source of relatively cheap labor that can work the jobs that most Americans don't seek out. But more importantly, this may invite people with new and innovative ideas. Maybe even bring about major changes, think Einstein.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I'm not saying we should make every immigrant a US citizen, that's up to them. But according to this data, we only benefit by allowing any immigrant from any country to work here. They will earn taxable income. While they're here they will also spend money, which benefits our local businesses and economy.

Finally, this is my own opinion, I think people immigrating here from other countries where life is significantly more difficult have a greater appreciation of this lifestyle than their native born American counterparts, and they will demonstrate that through hard work. Something we as Americans need to be reminded of sometimes.

Now, how’s this. Let’s skip the 5.7 Billion on the wall and let’s apply it to where it matters. Where we can all agree it matters: Americans.

#fuckthewall #openourborders #border #trump #wall #nowall #nowallever #endtheshutdown #fakecrisis

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