Immigration Where will the journey end?. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty, erected in 1886, proclaims the famous lines ''give us your tired, your.

ImmigrationImmigration

Where will the journey end?Where will the journey end?

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty, erected in 1886, proclaims the famous lines ''give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.''

Really?

Four years earlier, Congress enacted the first immigration restrictions, specifically excluding "paupers, ex-convicts, mental defectives and Chinese."

For generations people have come to the United States seeking refuge from oppression, economic opportunity, religious freedom, family reunion, and hope.

Except for Native Americans, everyone has immigrated or has ancestors who have immigrated from another country.

From where did your family immigrate?

Why?

Waves of Immigration

There have been several waves of immigration over the course of United States history, beginning with the colonists of the 1600's.

The U.S. is in the midst of another great wave of immigration, which brings in roughly one million new residents a year.

The current wave of immigrationThe current wave of immigration has its roots in the Immigration Act of 1965. The law placed a new emphasis on reuniting families and granting asylum to refugees, while also favoring immigrants with desired job skills and ending the longstanding preference for Western Europeans.

Mexico has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; and since 1998, China, India and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.

Most Mexicans come to the U.S. to find work and economic security for their families.

A look at globalization and NAFTA says a lot about why this is so.

What is Globalization?• Increased cross-border

trade and investment around the world

• Facilitated by technological advances

• Growing economic

interdependence

• Results in increased migration

Is this new?Is this new?

No, but…

• Pace of change is faster

• It is more global in scope, more universal

• Has increased economic and cultural and economic impacts.

Driving Globalization

is the desire by corporations and individuals to make money from new opportunities around the globe to:

• sell products• produce products more cheaply• access materials: oil, minerals, plants, etc.• exploit comparative advantage

One example of globalization:

NAFTANAFTA

What is NAFTA?North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade Agreement pertaining to the U.S., Canada, & Mexico

• Important example of a “free trade” agreement• One of the first, a template for future agreements

• Implemented January 1994• 2000 pages long

What is NAFTA?

Its core provisions grant foreign investors a remarkable set of new rights and privileges that promote:

relocation abroad of factories and jobs; relocation abroad of factories and jobs;

What is NAFTA?

Its core provisions grant foreign investors a remarkable set of new rights and privileges that promote:relocation abroad of factories and jobs; the privatization of state-owned enterprises the privatization of state-owned enterprises and essential services, such as water, energy, and essential services, such as water, energy, and health care;and health care;

What is NAFTA?Its core provisions grant foreign investors a remarkable set of new rights and privileges that promote:relocation abroad of factories and jobs; the privatization of state-owned enterprises and essential services, such as water, energy, and health care;corporate interests over those of workers and corporate interests over those of workers and the environment; andthe environment; and

What is NAFTA?Its core provisions grant foreign investors a remarkable set of new rights and privileges that promote:relocation abroad of factories and jobs; the privatization of state-owned enterprises and essential services, such as water, energy, and health care;corporate interests over those of workers and the environment; andlessening of national, regional, & local authority.lessening of national, regional, & local authority.

What is NAFTA?

Precise details govern trade and investment :

• No barriers to the cross-border flow of goods, services, and investment.

• Disputes over trade and investment issues are settled confidentially by an appointed tribunal.

• Foreign investors and firms are given special, non-traditional rights not given to domestic firms and citizens.

Expanded Rights for Corporations

When profits are restricted

foreign firms can challenge

domestic policies, laws and

regulations that: protect the environment, regulate land use, protect workers, and/or

health and safety;

If that’s not enough, they can

demand compensation.

In 1997, Canada banned the gasoline additive MMT due to health concerns. It was already banned in California, other states, and much of the global North.

The U.S. Ethyl Corporation makes MMT. Ethyl sued Canada under NAFTA charging an illegal act, “tantamount to expropriation” of assets.

The NAFTA tribunal ruled against Canada. Canada rescinded the MMT ban, paid Ethyl over $19 million, and issued a statement saying MMT was neither an environmental nor a health risk.

Here’s one example

More NAFTA Provisions

• Protections for workers and the environment are in side agreements only with very weak dispute and resolution mechanisms.

• No special privileges for “home” firms – a state or nation cannot give preferential treatment to a domestic firm.

• Very limited role for government; heavy on deregulation.

Impact of NAFTA on Mexico

• Slowed economic growthSlowed economic growth

Slowed Economic GrowthSlowed Economic GrowthNAFTA and globalization have contributedto Mexico’s stagnating economy. Since the1980s Mexico’s economy has grown 50%slower than in the previous three decades.

Impact of NAFTA on Mexico

• Slowed economic growth• Falling wagesFalling wages

Falling WagesFalling Wages

In 2004, average Mexican household income from working was 15% below the level of 1994, adjusted for inflation.

That rate was equal to 15% of average U.S. wages.

Impact of NAFTA on Mexico

• Slowed economic growth• Falling wages• Increased foreign purchase of Mexican Increased foreign purchase of Mexican

firms, but few new plants built and little firms, but few new plants built and little job creationjob creation

After 1994, most FDI is the purchase of existing assets. In 2001, Citigroup purchasedBANAMEX, Mexico’s second largest bank, for $12.5 bil.

Foreign Direct Investment – Purchasing Existing Assets

MaquiladorasPlants usually owned by multinational firms that

assemble parts (made outside Mexico) into finished goods and send the finished item back to the U.S. for sale.

Typically these plants produce apparel, appliances, and other electronic goods because assembly of these is labor intensive and cheaper in Mexico. Also there are fewer environmental regulations.

Originally these plants were located in special zones along the Mexico-US border and exempted from most taxes including import/export taxes. Now, these zones occur in several places in Mexico, always moving where lower wages can be paid.

Maquiladoras

• Women comprise about half of all workers in maquiladoras and are primarily line workers.

• Men comprise the majority of production technicians and administrative staff, earning higher wages.

Maquilas: Low Wages, Low Tech

• Wages in maquiladoras are nearly 40% below those in comparable non-maquila manufacturing

• The technological base is weak

• Maquilas are a trap of low productivity growth and reduced skills – sustained only by low wages. So these firms are leaving to find even lower wages.

An extensive study of wage adequacy done

among maquiladora workers in 11 cities

(including Juarez andTijuana) found the

minimum wage provided approximately

one-quarter of the income needed for

sustainable living.

Impact of NAFTA on Mexico

• Slowed economic growth• Falling wages• Increased foreign purchase of Mexican firms,

but few new plants built and little job creation• Massive displacement of people out of Massive displacement of people out of

agricultureagriculture

An Example: Corn Production In the U.S. much of the corn is produced by huge agribusinesses; is

subsidized by the government; has very high yield per acre; and is dominated by a few large corporations.

After NAFTA imports of agricultural products from U.S. rose, especially corn. But Mexican corn production didn’t decline.

The price of corn in Mexico fell dramatically (72% between 1994 and 2001.

(U.S. subsidies to corn sector = $10.5 billion annually,(U.S. subsidies to corn sector = $10.5 billion annually,over 10 times the total Mexican agricultural budget)over 10 times the total Mexican agricultural budget)

Mass Displacement from AgricultureMass Displacement from Agriculture

Since 1994:• Farmers earn less than 1/3 of

1994 level.• 1.7 million family farmers have

been displaced (over 1 million corn farmers).

This represents not only a loss of food security for these families, but the loss of a way of life.

Is it any wonder that the U.S. is

experiencing a wave of immigration

from Mexico???

'’… give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.''

As Christians we are called to welcome the stranger.

ImmigrationImmigration

Where will the journey end?Where will the journey end?