COMMENTARY
Immigration Reform: The Role of International Philanthropy
- *Total U.S. Government Official Development Assistance includes the budget for USAID, the Peace Corps, State Department refugee and humanitarian programs, World Bank and other multilateral agencies, international programs in other U.S. government agencies and Defense Department humanitarian functions (Global Philanthropy Index)
- To find out more about how you can contribute through the Ties that Bind Us program to support worthy charitable causes in migrant sending communities throughout Oaxaca and beyond, please visit our website at http://www.icfdn.org/initiatives/tiesthatbindus/tiesthatbindus.htm, or contact Julieta Mendez at (858) 677-2913.
- Related Event:
* Forum on Immigration & the Role of Philanthropy - Article at: http://www.icfdn.org/enewsletter/summer2006/feature_2.htm
International Community Foundation
The dramatic rise in Mexican migration to the United States since the early 1990s has made the question of immigration reform one of the most contentious policy issues in recent years. While there are now several proposals for immigration reform under consideration by the U.S. Congress ranging from stricter border enforcement to a comprehensive guest worker program, limited consideration has been given to date on pro-actively attacking the root causes of Mexican migration, namely poverty.
Today nearly 50% of Mexico’s population, approximately 45 million people, are poor living on less than $2 dollars per day; 10 million people live in conditions of extreme poverty and earn less than $1 dollar per day without a reliable supply of basic foodstuffs or clean water. The growing incidence of poverty and economic under development are most pronounced in the states of Southern Mexico, particularly Oaxaca, where a growing share of San Diego County’s migrant work force now originates.
ICF recognizes that most Mexican migrants come to America because the economic conditions in their own communities leave them few options. As such, ICF has been working to do its part in promoting productive employment opportunities in Oaxaca so that would-be migrants will have an alternative to going north; keeping families together, healthier and with brighter economic prospects at home.
Through its Ties that Bind Us initiative, ICF has partnered with the San Diego based COCIO (Coalition of Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca) and the Oaxaca-based nonprofit, Centeotl, A.C. to promote micro-credit lending in Oaxaca’s Central Valley. This partnership has spurred 32 micro-loans to date, ranging from $125 to $500 each to support farming activities and new business start ups. Additionally, over the past quarter, more than $16,000 in grants were granted to the Oaxaca Community Foundation through collections from San Diego-based Oaxacan migrants and private donors to support expanded micro-credit assistance and relief programs in rural communities of Oaxaca (see ICF Grants).
As the Hudson Institute’s Index of Global Philanthropy Report indicates, U.S. government aid to developing countries is not enough to efficiently tackle the problems of under-development (see Hudson Institute article). In 2004, U.S. official development assistance worldwide totaled $19.7 billion dollars* with a mere $35 million destined to Mexico, according to government statistics.
While philanthropy is not the panacea, through its initial work in Oaxaca, ICF has been able to demonstrate that expanded cross-border charitable giving can play an important role towards improving the health, education, and economic prospects of Mexico’s poorest and most economically vulnerable population so that migrants do not have to leave their homes and risk their lives in search of work across the border in America.
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