Immigration, Kids

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Immigration, Kids Opportunity for All
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Opportunity Agenda Immigrant Opportunity
Research Overview

• Media and Opinion Analysis on
• Immigrants and Immigration Generally (2007)
• Children of Immigrants (2008)
• English-Language Acquisition (2008)
• Analysis of existing opinion research
• Public and private polls
• Private focus groups
• Analysis of media coverage in
• Mainstream national print media
• Major regional dailies

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Public Opinion Overview

• Most Americans have favorable view of immigrants.
• 75 agree as a nation of immigrants, America is
  stronger when it helps to integrate immigrants
  into society.
• Two-thirds support pathway to citizenship for
  undocumented immigrants who work, pay taxes, and
  try to learn English.
• But, ambivalence about impact on jobs, culture,
  and social services.
• Americans who oppose legalization tend to hold
  their views more strongly, and are more activist
  than pros.

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OpinionSocial Services Local Ordinances

• 59 very concerned about illegal immigrants
  using social services without paying taxes.
• African Americans more supportive of social
  services for illegal immigrants than whites,
  though a slim majority (54) are against
  providing services, when asked generally. (76 of
  whites oppose)
• Majorities oppose most specific local ordinances
  that deny services.
• Majorities support requiring some agencies and
  service providers (police and hospitals) to
  report the status of undocumented immigrants.

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Opinion Social Services and Local Ordinances
S
Source Belden Russonello Stewart for the ACLU
(2007)
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Opinion Access to Social Services
LA Times 12/07 poll of registered voters Which
of the following social services, if any, do you
think illegal immigrants should be able to
legally use?
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Conflicted Views Promising Audiences

• 72 believe strongly that health care should be
  a human right.
• But public is split 50/50 on whether the human
  rights of illegal immigrants are violated when
  they are denied access to medical care.
• Those who feel strongly that denying illegal
  immigrants access to medical care is violation
  of human rights
• African Americans, Latinos, and immigrants (all
  at around 40),
• People earning less than 25,000 (34),
• Democrats (33), and
• Liberals (33).

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Media Overview

• Mainstream (print) media stories predominantly
  framed in favor of immigrant integration.
• African-American print media balanced, with
  editorial and op-ed positions tending to favor
  immigrant rights.
• Spanish-Language print media strongly favor
  immigrant rights and serves as source of
  information and advocacy.
• New Media (political blogosphere, YouTube,
  MySpace, FaceBook) predominantly progressive and
  anti-immigrant.

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Media and Political Messages

• Anti-immigrant spokespeople have two core
  messages
• Law and Order
• Overwhelming of scarce resources and services

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Media and Political Messages

• Pro-immigrant spokespeople, when quoted, have
  multiple, sometimes conflicting messages.

Immigrants pay more in taxes than they take in
services.
Immigrants take jobs that native-born Americans
wont do.
Immigrants are good for the economy.
Immigrants work hard and play by the rules.
Immigrants use few services.
Giving immigrants preventive care saves money.
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2008 New Research

• Children of Immigrants
• English Language Acquisition

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Major FindingsChildren of Immigrants

• Media Trends
• Alarm raised by population trends and burdens on
  social services
• Tempered by compassion and innocence of young
  immigrantse.g., in widespread coverage of the
  DREAM Act
• Feature stories about the integration of children
  of immigrants into mainstream society challenge
  the otherness frame used for adults
• Individual storiesespecially on the DREAM
  Actconveyed the idea that children of immigrants
  have much to offer America.

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Major FindingsChildren of Immigrants

• Public Opinion Trends
• Opinion research is sparse, and conclusions
  therefore limited
• Established Latino immigrant gateways show
  greater acceptance than new gateways
• Large majority of public is aware of birthright
  citizenship
• A smaller majority opposes changing the
  Constitution to deny citizenship to U.S. born
  children of undocumented immigrants
• Majority of public may have feared DREAM Act
  would encourage more illegal immigration.

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Major FindingsEnglish Language Acquisition

• Media Trends
• Language acquisition linked to Spanish-speaking
  immigrants
• Two competing frames
• Todays immigrants do not want to learn
  English/integrate
• VS.
• Todays immigrants want to learn, and their
  school age children quickly do
• English acquisition as personal responsibility
  government as enforcer, not service provider.
• Unclear from reporting who does/should provide
  ESL Services
• Advocates and immigrants not frequently quoted
• Lawsuits highlight need, but reinforce negative
  frame
• Feature stories that do exist are positive and
  helpful.

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Major FindingsEnglish Language Acquisition

• Public Opinion Trends
• AAJC research is the leading edge Focused on
  adults
• Most Americans support the concept of ESL
  programs
• A plurality supports increased funding a
  majority supports after hearing pros and cons
• Most believe immigrants want to learn English
• Two strongest arguments against increased funding
  are personal responsibility and competition for
  scarce resources
• Two strongest arguments for increased funding are
  community (aids the common good) and forward
  looking (building our workforce)
• Teachers and immigrants whove learned English
  are best spokespeople.

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Major FindingsChildren of Immigrants

• Preliminary Recommendations
• Message
• Focus on contribution and participation of the
  children of immigrants as part of our communities
  and nation
• Tell the success stories of children of
  immigrants tied to public systems
• Remind audiences that supporting all children is
  the right and smart thing to do.
• Media Outreach
• Pitch media stories and op-eds in new gateway
  media markets
• Tell a coherent story, rooted in values and
  positive vision
• Promote research and case studies that
  demonstrate successful integration and future
  contributions, tied to public systems and
  services

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Major FindingsEnglish Language Acquisition

• Preliminary Recommendations
• Message
• Highlight demand and waiting lists for English
  Language Learning
• ELL as investment in our economy, communities and
  nation
• Tie pursuit of Opportunity and the American Dream
  to a strong and competitive economy and freedom
  from workplace exploitation
• Reframe language access litigation in terms of
  transition to English and the common good.
• Media Outreach
• Pitch stories about government supported ELL
  programs that work
• Highlight teachers and immigrants as
  spokespeople
• Build relationships with journalists of color at
  mainstream media outlets
• Generate more op-eds and letters to the editor.

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Across the BoardRecommendations

• Coordinate themes and messages
• Lead with values
• Community
• Opportunity for all
• Tap into Americans best instincts about
  immigrants
• Emphasize workable, common solutions that expand
  opportunity for all
• Show how immigrants are already contributing to
  our economic engine and social fabric
• Move from myth-busting (repeating negative
  frames or false information to dispute it) to
  documenting the Community narrative
• Promote a new story Community Strivers and
  Community Problem-Solvers

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New Tools for a New Conversation
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Breaking the Anti-Immigrant Frame

• Law and Order
• What part of illegal dont you understand?
• Threat of Terrorism
• Ducking Taxes
• Overwhelming Scarce Resources (the wave)
• Job Competition
• Health Care Cost and Access
• Draining Social Services
• Ducking Taxes

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Pro-Immigrant Narratives
Real Solutions that Uphold our Nations
Values and Move us Forward Together
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Pro-Immigration Narratives
Uphold Our Nations Values
Move Us Forward Together
Real Solutions
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Filling the Buckets
What Values? Moving Toward What? Which Solutions?
Community Services Access to English Language
Learning Education for a New Economy
Community Opportunity Dignity A
ccountability Human Rights
Shared Prosperity Opportunity for All An
Effective Economy Health Care that Works
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• Value
• Problem
• Solution
• Action

Our communitys strongest when all of its members
are able to contribute, and when all of our kids
are healthy and strong. That means services that
work for everyone.
But our community currently lacks the systems
needed to make that process a success. In an
area as crucial as health care, for example, our
hospitals and clinics lack the language and
cultural skills to serve our diverse community.
A sensible solution is to provide training and
resources to hospitals as well as community
members. Other communities like ours are
educating health care institutions about these
issues, with measurable health benefits for the
whole community.
We recommend supporting language and cultural
skills for health care institutions. This
initiative should be part of a larger effort to
improve our entire communitys health care.
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• When everyone can pursue opportunity and the
  American Dream, our economy is stronger and our
  communities benefit. Enabling immigrant families
  to learn English is an investment in our shared
  prosperity.
• But right now, there are long waiting lists for
  English Language Learning programs, and not
  enough classes to serve the immigrants who want
  to learn.
• We need a new investment in English Language
  Learning initiatives that meet the needs of our
  global economy.
• Tell the City Council to make that investment
  today.

Value Problem Solution Action
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Tackling the Tough Questions

• Why should we give services to lawbreakers?
• Wont opening up services just attract more
  illegal families?
• How can you oppose enforcing the law?
• With limited resources, how can we afford to
  serve people who just got here?
• These kids are innocent bystanders, but Im
  against anything that encourages their parents.

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Tackling the Tough Questions

• Why should we give services to lawbreakers?
• Our communitys strongest when all of its members
  are able to contribute, and when all of our kids
  are healthy and strong. That means services that
  work for everyone.
• Wont opening up services just attract more
  illegal families?
• Like all of us, immigrant families are seeking
  economic opportunity, a chance to work and
  contribute. Commonsense policies that help all
  families and children participate ultimately
  benefit all of us.

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Tackling the Tough Questions

• How can you oppose enforcing the law?
• Our national immigration system desperately needs
  the attention of our federal government. But in
  the meantime, our state needs realistic solutions
  that uphold our ideals and move us forward
  together. That means investing in the health and
  future of all of our kids.
• With limited resources, how can we afford to
  serve people who just got here?
• We always need to use public resources wisely.
  But turning away children based on where they
  come from or how they got here is not wise, and
  its not who we are as a community. It
  undermines our ideals as well as our shared
  prosperity.

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End