U.S. Immigration Reform still remains one of America’s hot topics of discussion, but has not seen significant progress when it comes to resolving the issue. There’s no denying the U.S. is facing a significant immigration problem. There are more than 11 million people in the U.S. who are crossing the border illegally and living here undocumented, but there seems to be no easy way to deal with this problem. On one hand the U.S. needs legal immigration, but at the same time we need to be able to enforce those laws we have in place.
We have a right to legal immigration. It’s good for our county and is seen as a founding idea that helped create the U.S. today. But our legal immigration system needs to be modernized if it is to effectively and efficiently service the needs of people today. With the rise in global violence and the recent terrorist attacks, it is essential that we have real enforcement of immigration laws, and improved infrastructure at the border is the best place to start. A secure border is one of the first steps the U.S. needs to take in order to effectively control this problem. It is unbelievable to think that we have no way of tracking who enters the country year by year. The U.S. needs operational control of the border and have a way of tracking when visitors enter or leave the country.
Strengthened border security is not specific to combating illegal immigration, but also addresses the integrity of U.S. national security as well. Undocumented immigration is not the only problem the U.S. border is facing when the issue of immigration reform is brought to the table for debate. With the rise in drug cartel movement and violence spilling over from Mexico into the U.S., the new War on Drugs finds its front lines on the border. Shipments of various drugs, weapons and other illegal activity across the border are compromising the national security of the U.S.
As for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the country, they must be dealt with in a compassionate, yet responsible way. I believe that a majority of these undocumented immigrants are hard-working people trying to find a better life for themselves and their families, much like the colonists who gave birth to the U.S. more than 200 years ago. But what I don’t believe is the idea that these people are simply crossing the border to sponge off of our welfare programs and bankrupt America. It is an absurd assumption to think this about the intention of undocumented immigrants, and it paints a bad picture of those who have come to work and earn their way.
New immigration reforms being proposed by the now famous “Gang of Eight” seem to be making ground on this field. Composed of four senators from the Republican Party and four from the Democratic Party, this bipartisan group hopes to finally pass a long, overdue bill for comprehensive immigration reform. The proposal recognizes that the current system is broken and needs to be modernized, and they go about this by laying out four basic pillars to be followed:
1) Securing our borders
2) Reforming our current legal system to be fair and just
3) Creating an effective employment verification system
4) Creating an improved process for admitting future immigrants seeking to enter our country to work.
This new process may come off as stark or daunting for the people who are already living here illegally since they will have to go to the back of the line behind those who have entered legally. But, there are certain provisions that will expedite this process (e.g. expedited green cards for “DREAMers” and agriculture workers).
The new comprehensive immigration reform, for the most part, is similar to that of the president’s policy laid out in the White House Blueprint for Reform, but differs in key points that will surely cause debates as the proposal moves forward. Where the president focuses on an immediate pathway to citizenship, the proposal by the “Gang of Eight,” seen in the Bipartisan Framework for Immigration Reform, focuses primarily on border security. Both predict a 13-year wait for citizenship, so it can be expected that there will be a long road to citizenship regardless of whose policy will triumph over the others.
The bill isn’t final so we should expect to see changes here and there before the final bill is polished and hits the Senate floor before traveling to the House.
June 3, 2013