Pro-immigration activists at a senate hearing on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants in 2017. (VCU Capital News Service)
By Samantha Granados / VCU Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — Presidential and congressional candidates have made immigrants and immigration a campaign focus.
Immigrants represent 16% of Virginia workers, including entrepreneurs who make up 29% of “Main Street business owners,” according to a recent study by The Commonwealth Institute. Main Street businesses are “storefront shops that help keep downtown areas vibrant.”
Virginia immigrants generate $104 billion of economic output in the state, according to the study. Immigration to the state creates more job opportunities for more consumers, workers and business owners, which benefits U.S.-born workers.
Virginia U.S. Senate candidates Tim Kaine, the two-term incumbent, and Hung Cao shared their opposing views on immigration at the Oct. 2 debate, held at Norfolk State University.
“Immigration reform might be the one best thing that can be done by Congress to expand the American economy,” Democratic candidate Kaine said at the debate. “We need to protect the border and we need to have the workforce America needs going into the future.”
Kaine said the mass deportation of over 10 million immigrants proposed by former President Donald Trump’s campaign would devastate the economy.
For Republican candidate Cao, who immigrated from Vietnam, many policy responses tie back to the border, especially housing instability, crime and the federal deficit.
“If you came here illegally, you are basically screwing up the whole system,” Cao said at the debate. “There are people that are waiting in line like my family for seven years for their naturalization papers. So you cannot jump the line.”
The way immigration data is tracked has changed, which makes it harder to directly compare illegal immigration during President Joe Biden’s administration to other administrations, according to the fact-checking website Politifact.
It is hard to determine how single U.S. immigration policies in the past decade influence illegal immigration, according to a Bipartisan Policy Centers report released last December. And numbers do not always explain why people leave their home countries, Politifact found.
One of Biden’s first actions in 2021 was to halt construction of Trump’s border wall, and to send Congress a bill that modernized the U.S. immigration system and created pathways to citizenship for undocumented individuals. It did not pass in either chamber, nor did a more recent effortto help secure the border, which started with bipartisan support.
Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy in 2017 and enacted a Muslim travel ban in 2018 that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned. If elected, he promised to complete the Mexico-U.S. border wall he started in 2018.
Virginia immigrants want reform and opportunity
Several people who immigrated to Virginia told VCU Capital News Service they want reform and opportunity, something they hear about more from the Democratic Party.
Valesca Bonilla immigrated to Virginia from Honduras and is a member of CASA in Action, an organization which advocates for legislative change at the statehouse. The Democratic Party is receptive to the community and immigration reform, she said.
“The more numbers we are, the better we are together,” Bonilla said. “If we don’t try to educate ourselves and educate others and come together, we’re not gonna make it.”
Bonilla said immigration reform begins with small steps, such as a smoother process for worker permits and more temporary protected status, or TPS, allowances for migrants whose native countries are considered unsafe. This program grants the ability to live and work in the U.S. for a fixed period of time, and is something Kaine has defended in the Senate.
Hector Joya, a Salvadoran immigrant, said programs like DACA and TPS are essential to immigrants in the country. There needs to be more programs that can help expand visa accessibility. He is an organizer with CASA in Action.
Joya cannot vote. But, he said immigrants can lean toward the Democratic Party because it is more receptive to immigrant needs and presence. Other voting groups should consider immigration policy because of the strong economic contributions from immigrants, he said.
Naturalized citizens not unified voting bloc
Gabriela León-Pérez, an assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. The U.S. has always been dependent on immigrant labor and not only in lower-skilled jobs, but also highly skilled jobs in fields like STEM.
“That is how Mexican immigration even started in the late 1800s, because of active recruitment of cheap labor,” León-Pérez said. “Not only are immigrants contributing to society in economic and labor terms, but also culturally, in the arts. There are many areas that immigrants play an integral role in society.”
Her current research project asks immigrants what they would like the public to know about them and many set the record straight, she said.
“They want people to know that they’re not here to take jobs and that they’re here to work and to contribute to society,” León-Pérez said. “Immigrants actually complement the U.S.-born population because the types of jobs that immigrants hold are different from the ones that the U.S.-born population holds, so, rather than taking away, they’re complementing each other in the labor market.”
However, León-Pérez said it can be difficult to generalize policies that all immigrants hope for because it varies based on country of origin, class, legal status and how they arrived. León-Pérez believes naturalized citizens can’t be perceived as a voting bloc because of how varied the group is, she said. There is a wide range of political beliefs, although people think they’re more Democratic leaning.
“There’s a growing population of Latinos who support the Republican Party, so can’t really say that immigrants as a whole or even different racial, ethnic groups, support a specific political party,” León-Pérez said.
Former delegate and immigrant says: ‘Vote’
Elizabeth Guzman, a former Democratic delegate who represented Prince William and Fauquier counties, is a naturalized citizen. On Election Day, a candidate’s stances on immigration guide her vote, she said.
Trump previously made comments that immigrants poison the country and accused them of taking American jobs, according to The Marshall Project. Guzman said this perception is unfair and disappointing.
“We are just tired, being used for his campaign slogan but never acknowledge the contributions we have made,” Guzman said. “We are in a historic moment where we have immigrants leading government agencies … if they were given the job it’s because they were qualified to do that job and ready for that challenge.”
Guzman, who is originally from Peru and a native Spanish speaker, said immigrants have to work twice as hard as their American counterparts to reach higher positions like elected office. Immigrants shouldn’t feel less American because of the color of their skin or their last name, Guzman said.
“We’re here to work, and we’re here to succeed and pave way for future generations,” Guzman said.
Higher education should be accessible as long as immigrants pay taxes and respect the law, according to Guzman. Reform like that can increase their contributions to Virginia.
New voting generations must think about the future they want to grow up in, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, Guzman said. Second-generation immigrants don’t want to live in a country where their tax-paying parents are disrespected and not valued.
Virginia has made it easier to participate in the election with early voting and people must decide whether they want to be a part of the solution or the problem, she said.
“Participate. Vote,” Guzman said. “Your vote is your voice and if you don’t participate, then don’t complain.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Same-day voter registration is allowed.