1/7 There is SO MUCH wrong with this graphic coming from the White House. whitehouse.gov/articles/chain… via @whitehouse
2/7 First: The Administration is using “resettle” on purpose to suggest that the US spends money on the people who come here. We don’t. Not a nickle. Except for refugees, who get access to services BECAUSE THEY ARE REFUGEES. Everybody else: nada.
3/7 You know who “resettles” most immigrants who come here? The families who sponsor them in the first place. They help them find places to live, adjust to the language. The US counts on family immigration to take care of integrating immigrants, and largely that works for us.
4/7 The WH graphic is intended to make us think about scale. Here’s the economic reality: our imm policy is too restricted to meet our economic needs. More families, more people sponsored by employers = more economic growth for us all. Especially in an era of 4% unemployment
5/7 Again: legal imms are not disconnected from the US. The way our system works, the imms who come here are our spouses, children, parents and siblings. If you think in numeric terms it feels one way. If you remember that these imms are attached to us already, it feels another.
6/7 Oh, and “chain migration”? It’s a term designed to denigrate family immigration. Here’s a GAO report from way back the late 80s saying that the system was already too backlogged for real “chains” to form. The backlogs have gotten worse. gao.gov/products/PEMD-…
7/7 The Administration is borrowing these ideas from anti-immigrant groups with long-established and well-documented ties to White supremacy. They have been trying to advance these ideas for decades. And now the White House is their megaphone. Think about that.
