Activist Nogaj's Immigration Presentation

Richard Nogaj, Immokalee activist who is associated with both Harvest for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity. spoke to the Club on Saturday, October 27, on the issue of immigration and how the Bush administration as well as some Democrats in Congress are distorting the true picture of immigration. He remarked that the immigrant situation in the early part of the 20th century is exactly like it is today. Early settlers from Europe were often called WOPs, referring not only to those of Italian descent but to others as well. A WOP is a person "without official papers"; their equivalent today is often labelled as an illegal alien, when in reality they are undocumented immigrants and there is nothing illegal about their entry into the United States. In both situations these individuals are merely seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

In the earlier century capitalist businesses welcomed the European immigrants as a source of labor for their burgeoning factories and expanding infrastructure. Now the same businesses do not need this labor source since they are finding a labor pool in Asia which enables them to produce their goods or grow their food even cheaper than they can in the U.S. So these businesses have alligned themselves with the anti-immigration forces in the Bush administration to perpetuate many myths about immigration. First, they claim that immigrants don't pay taxes. The fact is that immigrants pay taxes, whether income, property, sales, or other. Second the claim is made that they come here to take welfare. The ratio between immigrant use of public benefits and the amount of taxes they pay is consistently favorable to the U.S. Thirdly, they claim that immigrants cross the border illegally. Untrue. Around 75% have legal permanent (immigrant) visas; of the 25% that are undocumented, 40% overstayed temporary (non-migrant) visas. Lastly, they claim that the war on terrorism can be won through immigration restrictions. No restrictive immigration measures could have prevented the terrorist attacks. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on legal visas. The key is good use of good intelligence; only that could have prevented those attacks and only that will prevent future attacks as well, not restricting immigration or building fortified walls along borders.

Mr. Nogaj concluded his talk with a Q&A session from a very appreciative audience.