Bloomington author hosts informal discussion on issue of immigration

The debate over immigration is hardly a new thing in the United States, but the names and faces associated with it are constantly changing and the literature discussing it is ever expanding. \nOne such new face is author Jane Guskin, and being added to the printed discourse is her and co-author David L. Wilson’s new book, “The Politics of Immigration.”\nTo support the book, Guskin held an informal discussion Wednesday night at Boxcar Books, 310 S. Washington St., on some of the topics she’s written about. She took questions beforehand from the audience, whose concerns reflected some of the major issues defining the current immigration debate including the economic impact of illegal – Guskin prefers the term “out-of-status” – immigration, reactions caused by stereotypes of immigrants and the idea of open borders. One audience member expressed her inability to reconcile the idea of open borders because “a country does need some control,” she said.\n“There are no easy answers to anything,” Guskin said about concern over open borders, but suggested that part of the solution to stemming a huge tide of immigration is to address the root causes driving people out of their home countries. “They won’t come here if they can have a better life at home,” she said.\nCrime among illegal immigrant populations remains hotly debated, but Guskin said “every study ever done has shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crime.” She spoke about what she saw as racism toward certain immigrants. \n“At every level of the justice system there is institutionalized racism,” she said recalling \nstories she’d been told of black and Latino youth being followed by police in their own neighborhoods.\nBut she also mentioned \nracism that exists among immigrant populations saying that “a lot of immigrants come here with preconceived notions of African-Americans. It’s not just racism against immigrants, it’s racism from them as well.”\nGuskin said granting amnesty to illegal immigrant populations is a solution to the problem of labor exploitation which she blamed for the depression of wages where large numbers of illegal immigrants work. She suggested the U.S. loosen immigration restrictions and take a more active role in helping solve problems in countries from which large numbers of illegal immigrants come. \n“We need a flexible system where the status of ‘illegal’ is removed,” she said. “It’s not something that can happen overnight.”\nGuskin became actively involved with issues of immigration after her husband, a Colombia native, struggled to attain legal status here.\n“It was a big battle with bureaucracy and it made me angry,” she said. “I realized how many people (immigration) was affecting. There were so many examples of families in similar situations.”\nIn attendance was Nita Levison, coordinator of Diversity and International Programs at IU’s School of Education. \n“It’s a huge issue and fascinating historically,” Levison said. “We have a reactive prejudice. If they don’t like me, I’m uncomfortable.”