In Philadelphia, illegal immigration a non-issue

In many towns and cities across the United States, there has developed a population of illegal immigrants living in the shadows. Philadelphia is no exception.

James Roebuck, the state congressman from the district including Penn’s campus and other areas of West Philadelphia, said his constituents have relatively little political concern about undocumented immigrants — those who are living in the United States illegally. “I think I have a good feel for the pulse,” he said. “I’m not aware of any strongly voiced sentiment about the issue.”

Given the transient nature of these populations and their reluctance to communicate with officials, it is difficult to determine undocumented immigrants’ numbers. “Because [the illegal immigrant] population is so mobile, we don’t give out populations in any area because we’d be speculating,” explained Mark Medvesky, regional public affairs officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

State Sen. Anthony Williams of the Eighth Senatorial District echoed Roebuck’s claims and listed “employment, education and crime” as more pressing matters for his constituents. Williams said on the national level, immigration is a divisive issue. However, in terms of its actual influence on his constituents’ lives, he remarked, “when you look under the hood, there’s not much there.”

Even if it is unclear just how many undocumented immigrants would be affected in his district — which includes Penn — U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah expressed his support of “comprehensive immigration reform” highlighting immigration bureaucracy and employment practices, among others, as areas needing improvement.

But some communities have more at stake than others.

As many Americans believe that undocumented immigrants take jobs away from citizens, the issue has only grown more heated in the current economic climate.

Arthur Read, general counsel for advocacy group Friends of Farmworkers, explained that there are a number of ways for undocumented workers to get hired. Individuals may use Social Security numbers that are not their own or businesses may contract labor from temp agencies. Additionally, there are workers who are simply paid in cash.

“All workers ‘grow’ the economy, but that is not to say that the economy is healthier as a result of an increased number of low wage workers — which is the case with most illegal workers,” Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates improved border security and immigration reform, wrote in an e-mail.

In a post dated May 13, FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan think tank and fact-checking organization associated with Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, stated that neither legal nor illegal immigration hurts American workers. According to the article, “Study after study has shown that immigrants grow the economy.”

Scott Gans is staffing manager at the Philadelphia-based temporary employment agency Staffing Now, a company primarily involved with placements in upper-level jobs. He doesn’t believe he has encountered applicants who are undocumented because they generally enter the workforce in traditional blue-collar professions, he said.

Peter Karvounis, manager at Allegro’s Pizza, explained that he hires the hardest workers. “We offer jobs to who wants it more than the other. We don’t look at where you come from.”

While it remains unclear what rights illegal immigrants have, Read explained that “if they perform work, an employer is required to pay … The U.S. Department of Labor does not consider [immigration] status as influential on people getting wages they’re due.” But often, these individuals worry that expressing their concerns might lead to discovery and prosecution, he added.

Fear of backlash can also keep illegal immigrants from reporting violence to authorities.

Philippe Weisz, managing attorney at Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Council Migration Services of Philadelphia, said victims of domestic violence and assault in undocumented populations are also “fearful of reporting those crimes to the police.”

Weisz explained that there must be a distinction made between violations of criminal and civil law. Undocumented immigrants have broken civil laws by entering the country illegally or overstaying visas, but he said there have been a number of reports that conclude “undocumented populations are by and large not the cause of crimes.”

ICE looks for “dangerous criminal aliens who present a risk to security in our community,” Medvesky explained. “We don’t do indiscriminate enforcement.”

The enforcement body targets “criminal offenders, national security threats, recent border violators and those who gain in the system or gain status by fraud,” he said.

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