Hing Testifies before House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration

Bill Ong Hing, a professor of law and Asian American Studies at UC Davis, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law on May 8, 2007. Hing, the author of Deporting Our Souls—Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy and Defining America Through Immigration Policy, is a legal scholar on immigration policy and race relations. His testimony during the hearing on the role of family-based immigration in the U.S. immigration system focused on retaining the current family-based immigration system, including the sibling category.  He recommended expanding immigration opportunities and reducing visa backlogs.

In his opening statement, Hing listed why this is important:

• Family reunification promotes strong family values for our nation.

• Family immigration has been the backbone of economic contributions made by immigrants in the last century.
  

• Reunification with family members gives new Americans a sense of completeness and peace of mind, contributing not only to the economic but also the social welfare of the United States. Society benefits from the reunification of immediate families, especially because family unity promotes the stability, health and productivity of family members.
  

• Family immigrants generally are working age who immediately become productive taxpayers who immediately begin supporting institutions like the Social Security system.
  

• Immigrant families often pool their resource to start small businesses that provide new jobs for native workers.
  

• We risk sending a strong anti-family message if we reduce rather than expand family immigration opportunities.
  

• The attack on family immigration categories sends a wrong message to communities of color—Asian and Latinos—who rely on the family categories to complete family reunification and stabilize their families.
  

• Our families make us whole. Our families define us and human beings. Our families are at the center of our most treasured values. Our families make the nation strong.
  

Complete testimony available at U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Judiciary

Comments on ImmigrationProf Blog, May 10, 2007

The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 2007