P R O C R a S T I N a T I N G: Dejar Todo Para Ultima Hora

By German Lopez

In an honest look at immigration, this analysis of American policy highlights how the immigration system can be charitable with some but inhumane with others. Author German Lopez looks back at what it took to secure his residency in the United States and the pride he felt once he became a citizen twenty-two years after arriving.
Lopez also examines xenophobic and chauvinistic attitudes about immigration that have become commonplace in the United States. He proposes common-sense legislative action that would improve immigration outcomes.
Get a detailed overview of immigration policy and the challenges that immigrants face in the United States.
En una honesta mirada a Inmigracion, este analisis de la Politica Americana, describe como el Sistema de Inmigracion, puede ser caritativo con algunos, pero inhumano con otros. Autor GERMAN LOPEZ, mira tiempos atras lo que le tomo a el asegurar su residencia en Los Estados Unidos y el orgullo que el sintio cuando se convirtio en Ciudadano Americano, veintidos anos despues de haber llegado.
Lopez tambien analisa la xenofobia y actitudes machistas sobre inmigracion, que se han convertido en algo comun y corriente en los Estados Unidos. El propone una legislacion con sentido comun, que mejore los resultados de Inmigracion.
El hace una descripcion detallada de la Politica de Inmigracion y los retos que enfrentan los inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663218711

German Lopez

German Lopez, a native of Colombia, South America, is a citizen of the United States of America, where he has lived most of his life. He was a supervisor at a New York manufacturing company before retiring. He works part time at a family business in New Jersey. GERMAN LOPEZ, nacido en Colombia, Sur America, es un Ciudadano de Los Estados Unidos de America, en donde ha vivido la mayor parte de su vida. El fue un Supervisor en una Compania Manufacturera en Nueva York, antes de retirarse. El trabaja tiempo parcial en un negocio familiar en New Jersey.

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Copyright © 2021 German Lopez.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-1872-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1871-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021903391

iUniverse rev. date:  02/22/2021

CONTENTS

About The Author

Dedication

Dedicacion

Part 1

Part 2

Spanish Version

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

the author is one American Citizen born in Colombia, and who obtained legalization in the United States in 1988 thru the immigration reform after living illegally in this Country for 16 years and then obtained his American Citizenship 6 years later in 1994.

EL AUTOR ES UN CIUDADANO AMERICANO NACIDO EN COLOMBIA, SURAMERICA, QUIEN LLEGO A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EN 1972 Y OBTUVO SU LEGALIZACION EN ESTE PAIS EN 1988 DESPUES DE 16 ANOS CONTINUOS DE VIVIR ILEGALMENTE EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTO LO OBTUVO A TRAVES DE LA AMNISTIA DURANTE EL GOBIERNO DEL PRESIDENTE REAGAN, Y SEIS ANOS MAS TARDE EN 1994 OBTUVO SU CIUDADANIA AMERICANA DESPUES DE 22 ANOS DE HABER LLEGADO. ALGO QUE LA MAYORIA DE LA GENTE CONSIGUE SOLAMENTE CUATRO O CINCO ANOS DESPUES DE HABER LLEGADO A ESTE PAIS.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the thousands of DREAMERS who came to this Wonderful Country, when they were Newborns, Babes or infants and now they are in most cases adults professionals graduated from Universities of the United States and serve to their families, communities and this Country.

Also it is dedicated to the families who have raised their kids here for many, many years and who are remained here seeing their children grow and supporting their families abroad, but also seeing how their parents, grand parents and other family members pass away, without being able to attend the funeral services, or seeing how their spouses take another road, as this also happened to me, when traveled the same road.

I hope you have received all documents I already sent to you, includibg te NY Times clipp from Nov. 1989

DEDICACION

TRADUCCION AL ESPANOL :

Este libro esta dedicado a los miles de SONADORES quienes vinieron a este Maravilloso Pais, cuando ellos eran recien nacidos, beibis o infantes y ahora la mayoria son adultos profesionales, graduados de las universidades de los Estados Unidos y le sirven a sus familias, sus comunidades y al Pais.

Tambien esta dedicado a las familias que han levantado sus hijos aqui por muchos, muchos anos y han permanecido viendo sus hijos crecer y aportandole a sus familias en sus Paises, pero tambien viendo como sus padres, abuelos y otros miembros de la familia mueren, sin poder atender los Servicios Funebres, o viendo como sus conyuges toman otro rumbo, pues esto mismo me sucedio a mi cuando recorri este mismo camino..

Espero haya recibido toda la documentacion que le he mandado, incluyendo el recorte del NY. Times de Nov. 1989,

PART 1

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ORIGINS AND ASSUMPTIONS OF THE 1986 SIMPSON-RODINO ACT* MANUEL GARCIA Y GRIEGO IN THE UNITED STATES the issue of undocumented migration has been discussed since the beginning of the 70s. However, in all these years, the only measure adopted by the United States’ federal government to counter this migration, prior to the passing of the Simpson-Rodino law, was an increase in the number of police officers working at the Mexico-United States border – the border patrol – and an increase in resources to help locate, capture, and remove foreigners for deportation. In 1984, a workforce increase of more than 30% was approved for the border patrol and this was put into effect last year; the Rodino-Simpson law considered another increase of more than 50%. These increases, aside from the increases in undocumented immigration, have caused an increase in the number of deportations (removals) in the last two decades. In the last two decades, in which migration flows have increased along with the number of deportations, two processes rose to prominence and would come to form the Simpson-Rodino law, approved by the United States Congress a few days ago. The first is the increasing belief in the idea that undocumented immigrants are a threat to the United States. Today, the American public remains accepting of this idea which has countless components; undocumented immigrants are accused of stealing employment opportunities from American citizens, and it is assumed that undocumented immigrants are a burden to the treasury and increase crime rates; some have gone as far as stating that undocumented immigrants threaten the political integrity of the United States;

Recently it has been said that this country has lost control of its borders, and that undocumented immigrants encourage drug trafficking. Although not all of the American society accepts or acknowledges these opinions, it is worth noting two general patterns: it is accepted, without much debate, that undocumented immigrants seriously harm the interests of the United States, and xenophobic and chauvinistic attitudes have become much more commonplace. The second process follows from the previous and has to do with initiatives taken by Congress to counter the increase in undocumented immigrants. In 1971, deputy Peter Rodino proposed sanctions for employers that hire undocumented immigrants, and since then these sanctions have been included in all important immigration law initiatives. Since 1977, each initiative relating to undocumented immigration has included a proposal to legalize the stay of undocumented immigrants that have already spent years living in the United States. Since 1981, each initiative with the possibility of prospering has proposed the legalization of agricultural workers or an increase in the number of visas to allow temporary workers for a specified time or both. In the last couple of years, we have seen an increase in the number of observers convinced that sooner or later, Congress would approve a law like the Rodino Simpson law, with sanctions for employers, legalization vs. admission of temporary migrant workers. Doubts came up when considering when the law would be adopted and its regulations; sanctions could be severe or light, more or less effective; legalization could be generous or punitive; the admission of temporary workers could be increased or decreased. There are two central objectives of the Rodino-Simpson law. Its explicit goal is to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants of all nationalities, not just Mexican undocumented immigrants (even though they would be the most affected). Another, less explicit, goal is to respond appropriately to public opinion and society’s reactions to the problem of regaining control of the border. I believe that, with this law, it will not be easy to meet the primary objective because of the reasons I will mention and the comments made during this round-table. Perhaps it would be easier to convince the public that the problem has been resolved, partly because the magnitude of the problem has been exaggerated to a point where it has little to do with reality.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SANCTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS. In the time I have left, my goal is to point out the most important assumptions of the measure that makes up the core of the Rodino-Simpson law: the sanctions for employers that hire undocumented immigrants. This measure takes into account two elements: fines for employers that do not investigate, by means of reviewing certain documents, about each new employee’s permission to work, and fines for those who, knowingly, hire a foreigner who does not have permission to work. These regulations have many details that I will not comment on here because it is important that, first of all, we understand the logic behind controlling immigration the law proposes and that we identify some of its most important assumptions. The first assumption is that the mechanisms used to distinguish between those who are authorized to work and those who are not (documents that employers need to review) are adequate in two ways: the people who do not have permission to work should not be able to obtain these documents and the people who do have permission to work should not have trouble presenting these documents, legally, as allowed by the Simpson-Rodino law (social security card and a driver’s license, for example).

In a study carried out using employers in California, it was found that nearly half of surveyed small companies have requested this documentation since 1983, but once the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reviewed the migratory status of employees, it was found that a substantial number of people deported had presented the proper documents. However, not all American citizens have documents that unambiguously prove they are not foreigners. Correspondingly, opposition to Chicanos was popularized in 1971 after the passing of a California law that sanctioned employers, after evidence showed that many Americans with Mexican origins faced difficulties in proving their nationality in the face of employers afraid of sanctions. The second assumption is that the risk of being fined for knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants is enough to change the behavior of a significant number of employers.

Many questions can be asked here. Is it likely that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services can identify violations of the law? Is it likely that these employers will be prosecuted and punished? Are the risks and punishments severe enough to stop tens of thousands of employers from hiring undocumented immigrants, even when this would mean giving up on a business opportunity that, without this labor, cannot exist? These questions are not in vain, because the sanctions to employers that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants are not, strictly speaking, a new measure in the United States. For years, 11 states – one being California – and a city have adopted these measures. These years and the scarce number of employers charged – less than 10 in 10 years – indicate that it is almost impossible to prove that an employer knew they had hired an employee subject to deportation. For years, it has been known that to be effective, any federal law dealing with the matter has to demand that, aside from reviewing all of their employees’ documents, employers have to prove