Alumna to address Latinos and immigration policy

Immigration has become a profound domestic issue that often elicits negative reactions regarding Latinos, says a visiting professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

(Photo courtesy National Council Of La Raza)

There are approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country and 80 percent of them are Latino, so the public often characterizes the whole Latino community as coming into the United States illegally, says Cecilia Muñoz, senior vice president in the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation, National Council of La Raza.

"This is much bigger and broader issue than simply the immigration debate," she says.

Muñoz is the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence. She will give the Towsley Foundation Lecture on "Latinos, Immigration Policy and the National Interest" at 4 p.m. March 28 at Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall. Co-sponsored by the Ford School National Poverty Center, the lecture is free and open to the public.

Muñoz will outline the difficult coalition relationships that are attempting to pass legislation and will highlight the implications of this debate for Latinos, other constituencies and the nation.

The immigration debate usually focuses on employment—and the government and various organizations have sought solutions for fair workplace practices.

President Bush endorses a guest worker program, which would allow immigrants to work legally in the United States for at least three years. The history of such programs suggests that employers can abuse them by paying immigrants lower wages, critics say.

Muñoz says the National Council of La Raza, the largest constituency-based Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, is developing partnerships with labor unions, faith-based groups and other organizations to create a different kind of worker program and build coalitions that can address both immigration reform and the larger issues affecting low-wage workers, such as health care.

"This isn't an 'us vs. them,'" says Muñoz, whose parents immigrated to the United States from La Paz, Bolivia and settled in Detroit. "This is us being part of the American fabric."

Immigration reform must involve bipartisan cooperation if any progress is expected. Among the issues that Muñoz says must be addressed are:

• Enforcement: Financial resources must be used wisely, she says. The proposed 700-mile wall built along the U.S.-Mexican border isn't the answer. Employers must be held accountable for the immigrants hired, especially with regard to fair wages and safe working conditions.

• New avenues for future immigrant workers: "We must regulate the flow of immigrants coming into this country rather than continue to enforce a failing policy," she says.

• Improving the legal system backlog, including the family visa system: For legal immigrants, it can take years to reunite with spouses and children who still live in their birth countries, she says.

• A path to citizenship for those living and working in the U.S. without their papers: Americans know the government is not going to deport 12 million people. Allowing them to earn their way to citizenship is an essential part of an effective reform, she says.

Munoz received her undergraduate degree from U-M and her master's from the University of California, Berkeley. In June of 2000 she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights. She was named one of eight Women to Watch in September 2001 by Washingtonian Magazine. A month later, the Mexican government presented her with its Ohtli award for work advancing the cause of Mexicans living and working in the United States.