Discrediting Self Deportation as Immigration Policy

For Immediate Release

Discrediting Self Deportation as Immigration Policy

February 6, 2012

Washington D.C. – Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases Discrediting "Self Deportation" as Immigration Policy by Michele Waslin, Ph.D. The term “self deportation” has been used lately as a way to deal with our nation’s immigration woes. However, the concept of self-deportation is not new and is part of a broader “attrition through enforcement” strategy, which is designed to make life so inhospitable for unauthorized immigrants that they will leave on their own. The groups behind “attrition through enforcement” have pushed federal and state legislative proposals, provided litigation support, and created a network of organizations to promote it. However, this strategy does nothing to address our national immigration problems and instead places unprecedented legal, fiscal, and economic burdens on states and local communities.

On a teleconference today, the deliberate strategy of attrition through enforcement was examined, as well as how it plays out in state legislatures, courts, and communities around the country.
“Attrition through enforcement is an incredible euphemism,” said Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. “Our experience, from suing the six states that have passed extreme laws embracing this strategy, is that attrition through enforcement is properly understood as a state plan to cause the exodus of a particular ethnic group—Latinos.”

“The effort to pass laws similar to Alabama’s HB56 in states and localities has to be understood as part of an orchestrated strategy driven by immigration restrictionists who also have a comprehensive legal strategy, and conduct aggressive outreach to the grassroots,” said Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“As time passes, the harms of “attrition through enforcement” are becoming clearer: widespread civil rights abuses, economic harms, fiscal costs, reputational harm, and harm to citizens” said Jonathan Blazer of the American Civil Liberties Union. “What’s also notable is the number of repeal and reform efforts underway in states now exhibiting buyer’s remorse.”

“It’s not too hard to see that some state laws are part of an organized strategy. Arizona’s SB1070 says in the text of the law that the ‘intent of this act is to make attrition through enforcement the public policy of all state and local government agencies in Arizona,’” said Michele Waslin. “Alabama lawmakers also stated that their recently passed law ‘attacks every aspect of an illegal alien’s life’ and is ‘designed to make it difficult for them to live here.’” Waslin continued, “We need to ask ourselves whether this is the type of country we really want to be, and is making a community so inhospitable that people will choose to leave really the type of policy we want to support?”

To view the report in its entirety click on the headline above:
Discrediting "Self Deportation" as Immigration Policy (IPC Special Report by Michele Waslin, Ph.D.)
###

For more information, contact Wendy Sefsaf at wsefsaf@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524