How disinformation and lies drive the immigration debate and what you can do about it. A presentation by Todd Landfried,
 Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform. Presented at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly
, June 21, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona


1. “They’re Taking Our Jobs”
How disinformation and lies drive the
immigration debate and what you can do
about it
Todd Landfried
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform
Presented at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly
June 21, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona
1

2. “It's not what you don't know that
gets you into trouble. It's what you
know for sure that just ain't so.”
Mark Twain
2

3. How’d We Get In This Mess?
Partisanship, ideology and fear raise emotions
Myths, distortions and outright lies frame the issue
Rhetoric makes scapegoats of government, employers and
workers, and families, intimidating them into silence
Polarizes people on moral, ethnic and economic grounds
Created a “third-rail” issue where any disagreement is attacked
and solutions are pushed aside
3

4. “A salient characteristic of the
current debate on U.S.
immigration policy is the high
ratio of hot air to data.”
Dr. Douglas Massey
Co-director, Mexican Migration Project
Princeton University
mmp.opr.princeton.edu
4

5. Source: AZ Fact Check immigration topic, updated 3/14/12 5

6. “A lie gets halfway around the world
before the truth gets its boots on.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
19th Century Minister
6

7. Source: PolitiFact.com immigration topic, updated 3/14/12 7

8. PolitiFact Immigration Checks
Pants On Mostly Mostly
FALSE Half True TRUE
Fire False True
19 56 33 41 31 23
9.4% 27.6% 16.3% 20.25 15.3% 11.3%
Wrong 88.7% 11.3%
Source: PolitiFact.com immigration topic, updated 3/14/12. N = 203 8

9. 9 out of 10
Source: PolitiFact.com immigration topic, updated 1/18/12. N = 203 9

10. g
9 out on 10
of
W r
Source: PolitiFact.com immigration topic, updated 1/18/12. N = 203 9

11. AZ FactCheck: Immigration
Mostly Somewhat False
FALSE Somewhat True Mostly True TRUE
False
29 4 8 4 4
59.2% 8.2% 16.3% 8.2% 8.2%
Wrong 91.8% 8.2%
Source: AZ Fact Check immigration topic, updated 3/14/12. N = 49 10

12. 9 out of 10
Source: AZ Fact Check immigration topic, updated 3/14/12. N = 49 11

13. g
9 out on 10
of
W r
Source: AZ Fact Check immigration topic, updated 3/14/12. N = 49 11

14. “The greatest threat to democracy
is having a public that thinks it is
fully informed, but really isn’t very
well informed at all.”
Linda Foley
12

15. Birthright Fallacy
U.S. Citizen
Spouse 3 years
Minor Child 7 years
Sibling 22 years
Citizen Child
Parents Ineligible Penalty Wait 38 years
Siblings Ineligible Penalty Wait 53 years
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60
Years
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
13

16. Economic Fallacies
Unauthorized Claim Reality Difference
Education Costs $810M $379M +214%
Health Costs $400M $24M +1,600%
Tax Payments $257M $2.84B -1,100%
14

17. Crime Fallacies
Unauthorized Claim Reality Difference
% in Federal Prison 35% 17.5% +200%
% in AZ Prisons* 33% 13.2% +240%
Hate Crime
Not a problem +68% +6,800%
Increase ‘07-’10
Identity Theft 100% 0.9% -99.1%
* Includes green card and undocumented prisoners
15

18. 1,592
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, Introduced Bill 16

19. 162
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, Bills Approved 17

20. 10%
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, Bills Approved 18

21. 90%
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, Bills Failed 19

22. 90% I L
F A
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, Bills Failed 19

23. 30
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, SB1070 Copycats Introduced 20

24. 5
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, SB1070 Copycats Passed 21

25. 16%
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, SB1070 Copycat Bills Passed 22

26. 84%
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, SB1070 Copycat Bills Failed 23

27. 84% I L
F A
Source: National Council of State Legislators, 2011 Legislative Summary, SB1070 Copycat Bills Failed 23

28. Been There, Done That
Restrictive immigration laws are not new to our country
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, The Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907, The
Immigration Act of 1924, and Bracero Program of 1942
Since 2007, restrictive laws have regained favor:
All started with one elected or community member with an ax to grind
All relied upon the same bad data we’ve just discussed
So, how’s that been working out?
24

29. A Disastrous Record of Failure
Prince William County, VA (2007) - $14.9M to train & enforce
county officers, increase property tax rate by $0.15/$1,000;
foreclosure rate 3X regional rate; business closures up 45%
Farmer’s Branch, TX (2007) - $3.2M for lawyers, $5M in settlement
fees, increased vacancy rates, lower property values, businesses
closed
Hazelton, PA (2007) - $1M for lawyers, $2.4M in settlement fees,
increased foreclosure and vacancy rates, lower property values,
businesses closed

30. A Disastrous Record of Failure
Oklahoma Taxpayer & Citizen Protection Act (2007) - Oklahoma
Bankers Association study found the loss of 90,000 unauthorized
workers/families resulted in net Gross State Product loss of $1.9B
Urban Institute found negligible impact on savings on public services
from departure of the undocumented because by law they’re ineligible
for those benefits in the first place
Source: A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Analysis of the Impact of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007

31. A Disastrous Record of Failure
Arizona “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods
Act” - SB1070 (2010)
$5M+ to train law enforcement
$186M in near-term convention and related tourism losses
$14.4B loss in Arizona GSP with departure of 30% undocumented
workers and families; $48.4B if they all leave
172,000 related job losses
$40.7M loss in state tax revenues

32. Sound Good?
✓Shrinking workforce
✓Significant population loss
✓Significantly fewer consumers
✓Business layoffs & closures
✓Broad tax base decline
✓Foreclosures up, values down
✓Damage to business climate
✓Loss of investment interest

33. They Did It
Anyway
Alabama
Indiana
Georgia
South Carolina
Utah

34. Georgia’s HB 87
Ignoring previous failures, Gov. Deal signed it on May 12, 2011
Georgia felt the impact within days
Farmers lost field workers during prime spring harvest season and the
state’s Farm Bureau projected immediate losses at $330M
Gov. Deal called for impact study 14 days AFTER the law was passed
“Pilot” probationer employment program for agriculture failed
miserably: needed 11,000 and 14 showed up and seven remained a
week later

35. GA Governor: Use Prison Labor
How many support giving prison laborers this knife?
12”

36. Alabama’s HB 56
Ignoring previous failures, Gov. Bentley signed it on June 9, 2011
Alabama felt the impact within days
Construction industry stalled as workers leave, slowing down
rebuilding process following spring tornado storms
Long-term growers of crops that are hand-picked are switching to
crops that can be mechanized
Recent study show community tax receipts are down so low in
agricultural communities, they are considering cutting services

37. Quiz
Doing the same thing over and over and
expecting a different result is the definition of...
INSANITY

38. “Attrition” Laws Don’t Work
Local and state immigration laws have not worked anywhere
No study exists that shows positive impacts of any local or state-
level immigration law
All studies show negative economic and social consequences
Successful Russell Pearce recall shows sensible immigration
reform can be a winning campaign issue
Federal reform cannot occur without state and local pressure

39. Your Take-aways
Bad data = bad policy = bad outcomes
Misinformation, distortions, half-truths, lies and fear are driving the
debate and are justifying extreme and exaggerated actions
Arizona’s approach has been tried before and failed everywhere
Demand better solutions - our economic future depends on it
Encourage others to get informed, involved and say enough!

40. Getting Involved Works!
The approach of building coalitions, public education, proactive
media use, legislative interaction and speaking out works
Utah - - SB1070 copycat bill DEFEATED
Kansas - SB1070 copycat bills DEFEATED TWICE
Texas - 108 immigration bills DEFEATED
Arizona - follow-on immigration bills DEFEATED

41. What You Must Do
Stop believing everything you hear - 9 times out of 10 it’s wrong
Stop remaining silent - demand changes to bad laws
Business, faith, legal, and community leaders must speak out
together
Start publicly challenging false statements and claims
Start demanding state and federal candidates talk about their
solutions and demand specific timelines for action

42. Thank You
Todd Landfried
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform
Email: todd@azeir.org
www.azeir.org