Last night I had dinner with Andrew Peñalva from the Indiana Latino Institute and Juan Constantino from La Casa de Amistad at Brew Works in South Bend.
After dinner Andrew headed out and Juan and I stayed for a beer. I was actually about to change tables to meet Jenn for music bingo when a couple at the bar walked past us on their way out. The husband stopped, stood over Juan, and said something along the lines of:
“You’re stealing from us.”
Juan and I both assumed right away what he meant. La Casa de Amistad had recently received a major grant (cause La Casa is the best). Juan calmly explained that La Casa raises private donations from foundations and individuals.
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He said we were stealing tax dollars.
I chimed in. I mentioned I used to work at La Casa and that the organization relies on philanthropy, not government funding.
That’s when the conversation shifted.
He said he knew who I was, attempted (poorly) to pronounce my last name (see, even Latinos say my name wrong), and then said the quiet part out loud:
“No. It’s illegals taking our taxes.”
The conversation wasn’t about nonprofit funding anymore.
It was about immigrants.
Juan calmly explained that La Casa serves everyone in the community who walks through the door needing help. I told him I wasn't going to change his racist mind, which his wife made sure I knew he was Mexican and of course not racist, and the wife (white I assume) said she didn't mind being called racist anymore. The racist word came out too soon, and it stifled my ability to make good points, I messed that up. I did know how to help end it though, unfortunately racists are generally religious. I learned it at La Casa that to end a confrontation, I often told the person I would pray for them, and they would lose it. So did he, how dare I, how dare I invoke the name of his god against his racist thoughts. So he insulted me, and I was ready for that and calmly told him, that I wanted to be very clear (I said it twice), that I didn't care what he thought of me, and that I would be praying for him.
They walked out.
Almost ten years ago La Casa launched a campaign called “No Human Being is Illegal.”
Back then I spent a lot of time responding to phone calls and messages from people upset about that phrase. I got used to explaining the facts behind it. I had been explaining it much of my life, got lots of experience during the 2014 unaccompanied minor crisis, the 2016 Hacienda debacle, etc.
Last night I realized I’m a little rusty.
Watching someone confront Juan was different than fielding angry phone calls at my desk. I spoke up, but not as clearly as I wish I had.
So this morning I want to share the points I wish I had calmly walked through.
1. Undocumented immigrants do pay taxes
The idea that undocumented immigrants are “stealing tax dollars” is simply false.
Undocumented immigrants pay sales taxes every time they buy something, property taxes through rent or homeownership, and pay income taxes.
Billions of dollars are paid into federal, state, and local governments every year by undocumented workers. Facts, google them.
So the claim that immigrants don’t contribute to the system just doesn’t hold up. But guess who is not paying their fair share of taxes... rich people.
2. Undocumented immigrants are largely barred from public benefits
Another common claim is that undocumented immigrants are draining government programs.
But federal law largely prevents that.
Undocumented immigrants are generally prohibited from accessing major federal benefits like Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, most housing programs, etc.
In many cases they are paying into systems they cannot even use. However, guess who is using those systems to enrich themselves.... rich people.
3. Immigrants strengthen economies
The final myth is that immigrants are a drain on the economy.
Across the Midwest, the opposite is true.
Immigrant communities help drive economic growth. They start businesses, fill critical labor shortages, and stabilize neighborhoods in places that are otherwise losing population.
Cities like South Bend don’t lose because immigrants arrive. In many cases, communities like ours survive because they do.
Do you want to know what hurts South Bend's economy? You might guess, but yeah, rich people, who took their money and moved to Granger, generally because of racism.
The bigger point
The phrase “No Human Being is Illegal” was never just about policy arguments.
It was about refusing to reduce people to a label.
Actions can be illegal.
Human beings cannot be.
And the people who walk through the doors of La Casa de Amistad every day are local families, workers, kids, our neighbors, and make this world a better place.
Human beings.
Last night I wish I had said those things more clearly. It's not immigrants (regardless of status) that take money from others, its rich people. He should be mad at the rich people, his pastor, politicians, who have convinced him to be mad at undocumented immigrants and cause a scene, while they pilfer in the background.
Maybe next time I will.
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