undocumented immigrants and the american safety net professor dayna bowen matthew university of...
TRANSCRIPT
Undocumented Immigrants and The American Safety Net
Professor Dayna Bowen MatthewUniversity of Colorado Law School
October 17, 2012
Words Intended to Inspire
“Our history tells us that immigration in the American
story has always been controversial – associated always
with both benefits and costs . . . When these death-
bringing European immigrants became Americans by
birth, their own response to further immigration was
mixed.” Otis L. Graham, “The Unfinished Reform”
Words Intended to Inspire
“Immigrants’ search for a better life is one of the most basic
desires of human beings. Many undocumented workers have
walked mile after mile, through the heat of the day and the
cold of night. Some have risked their lives in dangerous
desert border crossings, or entrusted their lives to the brutal
. . . . Fearful, often abused, and exploited.“President George W. Bush (January 2004)
12 Million
Parents/Providers for 6 million
Citizen Children
25%-40% Lost Legal Status
1 – 1.5 Million Temporary Protective
Status
Complex Composition of Undocumented
Population
Common Group Identity Model
Cognitive social psychology theory that offers
new tools for realigning falsely competing
interests that underlie current health care and
immigration law.
Common Group Identity Model
Three Principles To Direct Health Law and Policy Reform
– Principle #1 - Social Categorization is fundamental to human functioning and perception
– Principle #2 - Identify the Costs of Social Categorization as pertaining to Undocumented Immigrants
Common Group Identity Model
Third Principle To Direct Health Law and Policy Reform– Principle #3 – RECATEGORIZATION
• Negative attitudes and conduct towards out-group members can be modified
• Re-organize in-group membership to reflect common identity• Re-Frame messaging to create “superordinate groups” comprised of
wage-earners and their advocates for improved working conditions, reasonable hand retirement benefits, and health policy that emphasizes public health
EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
Women’s Rights AdvocatesImmigration Rights Advocates