Undocumented immigrants

By: Alex Breiding

Posted: 11/12/09

With no surprise, I was appalled by the latest diatribe from Adam Yu entitled, "All aboard the free rider express!" For those who missed the column or have simply stopped reading the garbled nonsense that appears under "Today's Issues" every week, Mr. Yu used the phrase "free rider express" to describe the existence of undocumented immigrants in the US - specifically their inclusion as human beings in the decennial US census. It is nonsensical to call the experiences of those who enter the US and live their lives under the oppression of people such as Mr. Yu as a "free ride express." The most obvious "free ride express" is one lived out by those with the most privilege - the individuals who are most oppressive of the undocumented immigrants.

It's not difficult to come by the typical complaint that undocumented immigrants are receiving benefits, while "hardworking Americans" are paying the bill by means of taxes (notice the nationalist ideal in proclaiming that only US citizens are American, rather than a citizen of any nation in South America). It is obvious that many Conservatives miss the purpose of taxes: the redistribution of wealth. Taxes are a way to combat inequality in a system that breeds inequality. The inequalities that taxes are supposed to combat are not just economic disparities but also unequal access to services which are reserved for the privileged. Undocumented immigrants rightfully receive such benefits from taxes because they are subject to the inequalities of society. Thus, taxes serve their purpose when benefitting undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, individuals that share the opinions of Mr. Yu seem to be under the impression that everyone in the US contributes the same amount of money when completing their taxes. As a basic rule, the more wealth an individual has, the more that individual must pay to the IRS. According to the IRS in 2007, the richest one percent of the American population owns as much as the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent and contributes 40 percent of the total tax revenue of the nation. On the other hand, the lower half of the nation, as ranked by adjusted gross income, contributes less than three percent of the total tax revenue of the nation. Undocumented workers have consistently held the lowest incomes of this lower tax bracket. In addition, undocumented workers represent about five percent of all the estimated workers in America (Urban Institute). Therefore, even if each undocumented worker were allowed citizenship and contributed to the nation's tax revenue, the difference between the total tax revenue with the contribution of the undocumented workers and without would be statistically insignificant.

The ridiculousness of Mr. Yu's privileged diatribe continues around the topic of the US census and appropriations. Again, Mr. Yu clearly does not understand the purpose of federal appropriations. As it is with taxes, the purpose of appropriations is a redistribution of wealth to lessen the inequalities of affluence and available services between geographic regions. If the federal appropriations were as Mr. Yu proposed, undocumented immigrants would not be counted as human beings in need of help in the census. Interestingly, the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787 allowed more rights of appropriation to slaves than Mr. Yu proposes to give to modern undocumented workers. The current census method allows for the recognition of undocumented workers' humanity and contribution to the total population of the nation; they are individuals who deserve the same rights of humanity and equality as the students at the College. Unfortunately, there are those who believe that only individuals who can vote represent the "true population" of the US.

According to the US Census Bureau, about 73 percent of adults are eligible to vote in the US. Therefore, according to this elitist world view, the "true population" of the US is about 168,000, a little over half of the number of individuals (including minors) who are subject to the laws and services of the US government.

The proposal of counting only the privileged in the decennial US census is not only supporting inequality but contradicts the idea of a representative government. The readers of the Weekly do not deserve to be subjected to the prejudicial ejaculations Mr. Yu consistently shares with us every week. The views laid out in Mr. Yu's latest column ask the nation to regress towards a society characterized by more inequality and oppression, based on socially constructed hierarchies.

Ask yourself if this is the type of nation that you want to live in.