Pro & Anti Hispanic Immigration

PRO: http://www.maldef.org/
The 'Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund' (MALDEF) was founded in 1968, and is considered to be the Latino legal voice for civil rights in America. It is also described as the “law firm of the Latino community”, as it promotes social change through advocacy, community education, employment and immigrant rights as well as others. In general, MALDEF seeks to create programs that are structured to bring Latinos into the mainstream of American political and socio-economic life, to provide better educational opportunities and encourage participation in all aspects of society. For example, one of MALDEF’s key aspects is the protection of Immigrant's rights to vote:
Today, Latinos are the largest-growing ethnic group in the country. MALDEF is at the forefront of the law and policy efforts to create and preserve opportunities for those in search of economic opportunity and personal freedom in America.

In addition to this, one of MALDEF’s aims is to protect is the right to an equal education. MALDEF has described the importance of education as the “portal to professional success, societal integration, and personal achievement” for many Hispanic and Latino Americans. This idea of ‘societal integration’ reinforces the idea that America is the land of the free, whereby everyone is equal and has the same rights. It is because of this that MALDEF aims to ensure that students have equal access to educational opportunities, regardless of income, nationality or language skill.

Employment is also another aspect which this organisation seeks to improve. Discrimination within the workplace affects many Hispanics and Latinos within America, that it only further creates the division between what America is today, and the America that is ‘the land of the free’. MALDEF lists the various ways of discrimination from the denial of promotions, to being forced to work unpaid overtime. It is because of this that MALDEF seeks to create a workplace that is free from discrimination and that removes systematic barriers to Latino advancement.

MALDEF also has a page for donations, whereby people can donate money to support the specific areas of interest such as immigrant integration, education for English Language Learners and political empowerment of the Latino community. It is on this page that the website and organisation mention the idea of the American Dream – ‘Never before has the need been greater for advocacy and education that will open doors to the American dream.’ By using the term ‘American Dream’ MALDEF reinforces the idea that many Latinos and Hispanics are held back from achieving their goals and dream, and that by supporting and donating money to the organization, they can continue to fight for a fair and equal community that will make a difference to the Latino and Hispanic Americans.

In general MALDEF is an organisation that seeks to integrate Latino and Hispanic migrants into the United States through legal action, in a way that will help and enhance their place within America. Through the topics of immigration, education and employment MALDEF aims to create fair treatment for Latino and Hispanic Americans; for them to be treated like an American with the same rights and voice as any other American citizen.

ANTI: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/about.html
In contrast, The 'Federation for American Immigration Reform' (FAIR) , founded in 1978 and based in Washington DC, is a national, non-profit, public-interest, membership organisation of concerned citizens who share the belief that America’s immigration policies must be reformed to serve national interests. FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest. According to the website, FAIR’s research and publications are used by government officials in preparing new legislations. FAIR argue that with immigration being at its highest, it affects America today in ‘virtually every aspect of life’. They argue that with more than one million legal and illegal immigrants settling in the United States every year, immigration impacts education, health care, employment, crime and government budgets as well as others. In general, they argue that large-scale immigration is not serving the needs and interests of the USA. Therefore, as it states in their mission statement, they aim to put forward policies that will best serve America as a whole.

The mission of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is to examine immigration trends and effects, to educate the American people on the impacts of sustained high-volume immigration, and to discern, put forward, and advocate immigration policies that will best serve American environmental, societal, and economic interests today and into the future.

Similar to that of MALDEF, FAIR discusses societal issues, such as education and employment, but in a completely different light. For example, FAIR draws emphasis upon the fact that mass immigration displaces U.S. workers with foreign workers as they are willing to work for lower wages, and how school classrooms are becoming increasingly ‘overcrowded’. Overall, FAIR highlights literally every single issue that is connected with immigration, from national security, such as the 9/11 attacks, to the various crimes that are committed by ‘illegal aliens’ and the effect that these issues have on America as a whole. As a result FAIR has monitored legislative attempts that would affect America’s immigration policies and often joined in the debates to act as the voice of the American citizen. FAIR have stated that they have always ‘strived to both influence the immigration debate and raise awareness about the impact of immigration-related legislation.’

Furthermore, likewise to MALDEF, FAIR also has a donation page. However, FAIR state that by donating money it proves to be ‘crucial’ to their ability to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and promote immigration levels consistent with the interests of America. I found this to be particularly striking, as they present themselves as a non-profit organisation yet they rely solely on donations made by personal contributions of individual citizens - providing, as they state, they do not make a profit out of it.