Post 4: Due Friday 2/21
After the 2012 presidential election many people believed that Congress would take immigration reform more seriously because of the growing demographic and strategic importance of the Latino vote. However, recently Speaker of the House Boehner said that despite his previous claims this year the House would not be considering any immigration bill.
Is immigration reform a significant public policy issue? What is the fate of immigration reform? If it's dead now, when will it be a viable issue? Do you think Congress and the president should put immigration reform higher on their agenda for this year? Why or why not?
There has been a lot of coverage on this issue but right now sometimes it is hard to find with all the Olympic coverage. I recommend doing a Google search for "immigration reform". There are a lot articles on this topic currently. See me if you need help researching. Your goal is to have somewhere between 3-5 sources please.
Due Friday, 2/21st
Labels: Congress, immigration, president
posted by Ms. Aby @ 1:10 PM
45 Comments:
In my opinion immigration reform is a significant policy issue, but I don’t think there will be any progress made this year. Republicans are concerned about taking a stance on the issue right now because it would likely reveal division within the party and hurt them in midterm elections, so many advocate waiting to deal with the problem until the time leading up to the next presidential election (2). If the GOP can come up with a comprehensive, cohesive immigration reform plan, I think it could probably help the party gain popularity with the Hispanic population and even reinforce support with business owners (2). 77% of business leaders in the Midwest believe it that it is extremely important for Congress to pass legislation on the subject in 2014 because “immigration reform brings economic benefit,” as Rep. Adam Kinzinger says (3). At the same time, the general public is becoming less and less concerned with the issue, which could give opponents even more reason to put off working on immigration overhaul (1). Gallup released a poll in the middle of January that revealed that less than 50% of people polled viewed immigration reform as extremely important or very important and found that Americans are more focused on economy, education, and health care (1). I think Congress should put immigration reform higher on their agenda because our system is both very costly and very flawed. There are 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. right now that are essentially unable to become citizens, which is just kind of silly in my opinion because it is more difficult for undocumented immigrants to find work, make a living, get an education, and enjoy good quality of life. The U.S. would benefit economically from making it easier for immigrants to become citizens as well (3). I also dislike the detention system. It is not used as a last resort and breaks up families as well as puts detainees in situations where there is not access to adequate medical and mental health care, and detention centers are not nice places and detainees are often subject to abuse (5). The detention system costs about $2 billion annually, which I see as an irresponsible way to spend money (5).
1 http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/
2 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/behind-retreat-on-immigration-a-complicated-political-interplay.html?_r=0
3 http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=228064
4 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/immigrant-population-shows-signs-of-growth-estimates-show.html
5 http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/why-does-us-need-immigration-reform
I believe immigration reform is a very important policy issues to both parties. It is important to the Republican Party, because immigration reform is very important to Hispanic Americans, who live in states which identify with the Republican Party. If the Republicans fail to offer a fair immigration reform, they may start to find that solid conservative states become contested in elections. Immigration reform is also very important to the Democratic Party. The democrats can use immigration reform to contest solid conservative states, as they did in the 2012. In the 2012 election, 71% of Hispanic Americans voted for Obama, an increase from 2008 where 67% supported him and a massive increase from 50% which supported John Kerry in 2004 (1). This support helped Obama win New Mexico and made the race far closer in even Texas, a conservative stronghold (2). Since the Republicans have failed to help Hispanics attempting to enter this country, they have lost the support of the Hispanic American population. Unless this issue is addressed, the Republican Party will have a hard time winning elections in the near future. I believe immigration reform will soon be proposed again, because of the potential support offered by the Hispanic population. Hispanic Americans represent 17% of the population, and whichever party proposes fair immigration reform will likely win their support (3). Immigration reform will also likely not die out because of the operational problems with the current immigration system. Under the current system, employers have hired over 11 million illegal immigrants, paying them under minimum wage and working them over the maximum work week, sometimes as long as 16 hour days (4). This is not humane and is also terrible for the economy, as these people can’t contribute to the economy because they have no money to consume goods and services. The employers are also rewarded by being able to supply goods far cheaper than other companies, and drive these fair employers out of business. From both a humanitarian and economic standpoint, I feel the President and Congress should put immigration higher on their agenda. Immigration reform will help a large part of our population as well as encourage fair competition among our businesses, which is essential for our economy to flourish.
1. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/politics/latino-vote-key-election/
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/election-map-2012
3.http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/08/29/mapping-the-latino-population-by-state-county-and-city/
4. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
Immigration reform is a complex and often ignored policy issue. While everyone wants to know who won the Olympic ice skating competition, they forget about the growing problem and threat. The toughest part of the issue is that almost every American today is the relative of an immigrant, so it is rather hypocritical to say that all immigrants are bad. At the same time, illegal immigrants can escape taxes and governmental protections, like minimum wage and benefits, because they fear being caught as illegal. Therefore, with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in this country, it is a significant issue. Currently, though, Republicans do not want to talk about it because they want to focus on “Obamacare” and taking up a controversial policy could split the party during midterm elections (1). It seems to be a cowardly move to refuse to take action when elections are imminent, because they are forever waiting on the next election; so when else could they take action? Therefore, President Obama and Congress should work more together on fixing the immigration problem. While Republicans favor tightening border security, I am with the Democrats when I support a path to citizenship with a background check (1). Personally, its hard to believe that more money at border control will be able to keep more people out, especially when so many have already gotten in. Also, tighter border control fails to deal with the immigrants already in the USA. So, Congress needs to work with the President to fix this problem, even if Boehner fears that Obama will not implement the policy (2). This is based on conflicting information, though, because while some say that Obama is deporting less people than he should, others say that he is about to break 2 million deportations (3). Such conflicting information only further shows that this issue should not be placed on the backburner, but brought to the forefront.
1. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
2. http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/immigration-reform-women-congress/
3. http://www.ibtimes.com/republican-outlook-immigration-reform-we-have-get-past-primaries-1556446
I’d say that Immigration Reform is a significant public policy issue. It concerns citizens and prospective citizens, most certainly the economy, and a lot of features of the domestic side of the United States. Immigration Reform will come up this year, though its eventual effect may not be known. Obama already has put Immigration reform on the top of his list this year, an election year. The Republicans have made it known that they are willing to work on this issue (2). Obama’s also chided them on being afraid of their political reputations (3). And, in the public’s eye, immigration is becoming more acceptable (1). Overall, I think that Immigration will become a little looser, not as tight, not as strict and severe. This may be completely wrong, but it may be right. Who knows? We have a lot of year ahead of us.
(1) http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/poll-immigration-reform-103582.html
(2) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/us/politics/text-of-republicans-principles-on-immigration.html
(3) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/14/obama-says-immigration-reform-still-priority-2014/
When there are an estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants in America, immigration is obviously an important issue (1). It’s hard for a majority of Americans to agree on anything, but consistently over the past three years over fifty percent have stated that the government should focus on an immigration plan that would deal with the huge number of illegal aliens by providing a path to legal residency (1). With such a large portion of the population and a broad coalition of interest groups supporting immigration reform, including businesses and religious organizations, Congress really should make immigration reform a higher priority (2). However, I don’t think any immigration reform will come about until at least 2016. Boehner has stated that immigration reform is unlikely as Republicans do not trust President Obama, and since he is Speaker of the House he has the power to stop any reform bills from coming to the floor (2). Also, Republicans don’t want to give Obama a big political win over immigration reform when his numbers are in the tank and he’s becoming a lame duck (3). Such a win could revitalize his agenda and help him regain popularity, which Republicans do not want to facilitate. However I believe immigration will again become a viable issue after the next presidential election, regardless of who wins. If a Republican becomes the president, Republicans will fall over themselves in a rush to pass an immigration law. But even if another Democrat becomes the president, I believe the issue will still come back up as there is such a huge number of people demanding immigration reform. However grudgingly, Republicans would be forced to reconsider the issue as citizens would (hopefully) not tolerate another four or eight year delay. While I would highly push Congress to make immigration reform a higher priority now, I would not suggest the same to the president. Boehner has made it clear that immigration reform is pretty solidly off of the table, so if Obama pushed harder for it he would only end up looking weaker when nothing gets done in the end.
1) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/17/polls-publics-immigration-priorities-changing/?iref=allsearch
2) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/16/mccain-i-wont-give-up-on-immigration-reform/?iref=allsearch
3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/laura-ingraham-why-conservatives-should-say-no-to-immigration-reform/2014/02/19/85ae3438-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html
I do believe that immigration reform is a serious issue, but I do not believe that there will be any new policy regarding it within the year. Obama has been unsuccessful with his latest projects, and I don't think Congress would be too keen on passing anything new that he has to offer. Immigration is an extremely controversial topic and has always been seen as significant since it affects the demographics of our country on a very large scale. Personally, I don't understand people's reasonings against immigration. We are quite literally a country of immigrants and I find it frustrating when people are only interested in increasing restrictions. I believe that immigration reform will completely depend on who gets elected as the next president. I can't see Obama having much success with his goals, but if the next president is a supporter of immigration reform, it will come back as a very viable issue. It is obviously not just sitting on the back burner, there is always debate about it, but I believe that a real forceful movement might not happen until the 2016 election.
I would be in full support of the president and/or Congress increasing the level of importance for immigration reform. If it was easier to obtain residency, then the treatment of the "illegal" workers would improve. No matter what the rules are, people will continue to immigrate here, that's just a fact. But by restricting it further, that would only worsen the quality of life for those who have found refuge in the US. By making it easier to gain citizenship, they will not be forced to work low end jobs that are below minimum wage, don't give benefits, and are longer than the legal amount of hours you can work in a week. I believe that by giving them more benefits and increasing their status in society, our economy will boost and many people will see the benefits of it. They will not feel as outcasted and will be able to participate more in society, which will allow the rise of a new group of people. I believe that immigration reform is a very important issue that might not be addressed within the next year, but will be addressed in the near future. By moving this issue further up on the governmental "to-do" list, I believe it will boost our economy and be a good agenda item to complete.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/behind-retreat-on-immigration-a-complicated-political-interplay.html?_r=0
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/news/chi-emanuel-republicans-disagree-on-approach-to-immigration-reform-approval-20140218_1_border-security-immigration-house-republicans
The topic of immigration reform has been growing more and more important as the ethnic makeup of our country continues to change. Those against immigration reform believe that reformers want to destroy our values by allowing foreigners to come into our country, while reformers accuse their opponents of caring only about preserving their racially, ethnically, and culturally constricted world (4). I personally believe that immigrants alter our ethnic composition in a positive way, one that brings new strength and vitality into the United States. Therefore, I think that immigration reform is of crucial importance to public policy. I don't think that immigration reform is 'dead', but only because there are people working extremely hard to keep it alive. While the Republican controlled House has rejected the reform legislation passed by the Democratic Senate in 2013, avid reformers are still trying to keep immigration reform on the public policy agenda (1). For instance, a coalition of women's organizations continue to push House Republican leaders to vote on immigration reform, motivated by the fact that about 75% of immigrants in the U.S. are women and children (2). Ana Delarosa, the director of Mi Familia Vota, an organization that registers Hispanic voters, stated that if House Republicans don't decide to vote on immigration reform, reformers will "hold them accountable at the ballot box" (1). Because of organizations like this, I honestly don't think that the issue of immigration reform will ever truly die. It might get temporarily overshadowed by other issues, but ultimately, if it does not get put higher up on the agenda, there will be more protest. Unfortunately, many Republicans in the House do not support a plan to citizenship (1). On the other hand, the White House webpage declares that "America's immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country" (3). The president's proposed plan would crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, require anyone who's undocumented to pay taxes, learn English, and undergo a background check before becoming eligible for citizenship (3). Ultimately, I believe that Congress and the president should put immigration reform higher up on their agenda for this year because I think our immigration system is ineffective and that anyone who puts in effort should be provided with a path to American citizenship.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/immigration-reform-women-congress/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
Immigration reform is becoming an increasingly important issue of public policy. According to a Gallup poll, at least 2/3 of Americans support five measures to address immigration issues. These solutions included increasing the number of visas for immigrants with advanced technology and science skills, with 71% support, and allowing undocumented immigrants the chance to attain citizenship, with 72% support (1) The US government is looking to implement similar measures. Immigration reform is significant as it offers economic growth and concerns a large majority of the population. The time is right for immigration reform to be seriously considered and dealt with. Even though the parties favor different solutions (Republicans want border control and Democrats want to offer illegal immigrants a way to become citizens) there is wide bipartisan support for some sort of reform (2). The number of registered Latino voters has increased by 26% in the past four years, becoming an important demographic with significant power. Republicans wish to increase Latino support while democrats wish to uphold this support (2). This means that both parties are now placing their focus on reform and must work together in order to make progress. If America wishes to remain competitive in the global economy, we must pass some sort of reform (3). Legal immigrants could benefit the economy especially when considering our current population of undocumented immigrants. Illegal immigrants cannot contribute to the economy as they are paid minimum wage and overworked. Unfortunately, reform does not seem likely in the coming year. Speaker John Boehner said that action this year is unlikely as House Republicans don’t trust President Obama (4). While the Senate passed a bill including a path to citizenship, the House has refused (4). While I do not see progress happening in the next year, the issue of immigration is becoming more and more important. Once Congress addresses how reform would benefit the economy, citizens, and their own chances at reelection, hopefully cooperation will lead to success.
1) http://www.gallup.com/poll/160307/americans-widely-support-immigration-reform-proposals.aspx
2) http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/politics/immigration-reform-five-reasons/index.html
3) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-bernshteyn/the-importance-of-immigra_1_b_3763915.html
4) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/16/mccain-i-wont-give-up-on-immigration-reform/comment-page-1/
Immigration is a significant public policy issue because it encompasses major political topics like national security and economic policy. Comprehensive immigration reform would have to address border control, which makes the country safer; a fair path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which would increase tax revenues; and it would also have to identify the economic impact of so many new members in the workforce (3). A bill relating to all these areas is surely significant. However, because immigration reform is so complex, it is extremely unlikely this Congress will accomplish it. The first obstacle for the issue is it’s endorsement from President Obama (1). Some Republicans are pushing to postpone the issue because either they don’t want Obama to receive credit or they are still bitter over the handling of Obamacare and feel their energy should be focused on repealing that law (1). Of course not all Republicans think this way, in fact the most prominent immigration reform proposal came from the Gang of Eight: a group of 4 Democratic Senators and 4 Republican Senators (4). However, the Republicans not in favor of the issue have enough influence to push leadership to table the bill for now because of the weak unification of the party; they cannot afford to seem separate on anymore issues (2). Immigration reform has the best chance of success when one party controls both houses of Congress and the White House. Given the immaturity of government today, I don’t see the two parties reaching a compromise on this issue. I think that immigration reform should be tabled for at least a year because it is a hopeless fight. In order for anything substantial to come from Congress these days, it must focus all its energy on a topic. Putting focus on immigration reform takes away focus from other topics that Congress could actually make progress, however minimal, on.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/laura-ingraham-why-conservatives-should-say-no-to-immigration-reform/2014/02/19/85ae3438-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/behind-retreat-on-immigration-a-complicated-political-interplay.html?_r=1
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/2/
4) http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-senate-pass-the-gang-of-8s-immigration-bill
Immigration is a significant public policy issue, mostly for how many people it affects. The Obama administration deports over a thousand people a day and it is really starting to gain attention from the American people and becoming more of a priority for them (2). I feel like especially after the intense protests that happen President’s Day, the topic of immigration will become more and more important to the Congresspeople and the President. I say those in combination, because as much as Obama has tried to make changes for immigrants there is little he can do without Congressional approval on it (1) and the GOP seems to be lagging on this issue, many citing their concern with the next election impacting their will to stake ground on this issue (2). I think that yes, this issue needs to be higher on the agenda, as there are many problems still in the works but this one is becoming vastly louder. Apart from the moral reasoning of why there should be changes in immigration, the data of past immigration/amnesty to some illegal immigrants have not ruined the American system, and the lack of amnesty hasn’t done anything in the way of slowing illegal immigration (3). The positive impact of allowing the immigration reform, like being able to actually tax those that are currently here illegally, seem to far outweigh the risks that just seem to be overblown by GOP politicians.
1) http://www.msnbc.com/all/activists-arrested-outside-white-house
2) http://www.ibtimes.com/republican-outlook-immigration-reform-we-have-get-past-primaries-1556446
3) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
I wasn't exactly sure where to begin with this blog post so I simply typed "Is immigration reform even important" into Google, turns out America doesn't think it is. A recent Pew study says Americans rank immigration reform 16th out of 20 on level of importance (1). About 41 of Americans say that immigration reform is a top congressional priority. In contrast, 86 percent state that "creating more jobs" and the "economy" are top priorities (1). However, that doesn't mean that it isn't important, in fact the general public is sometimes mislead and stupid.. oops did i say that. While I understand that most of America is concerned with unemployment and the economy because it influences their daily lives directly, immigration reform does have an effect
on much of America and they will keep pushing for reform until they get what they want (2). However, In my opinion they're just going to have to hold onto their horses. Immigration reform isn't going to be happening anytime soon until Congress and the President can play nice (which won't happen until the next election). Boehner has said, “There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws." Until Boehner believes he can trust the president again, nothing new will happen on the immigration reform frontier (3). However, with other congressional republicans not willing to abandon pushing immigration reform this year, the issue could cause tension within the Republican party, and that certainly isn't what they need with an upcoming election (4).
(1). http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/370145/pew-finds-immigration-reform-americans-16th-most-important-issue-guess-whats-no-1
(2) http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
(3) http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/boehner-no-immigration-reform-until-obama-regains-our-trust-n23671
(4). http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/16/mccain-i-wont-give-up-on-immigration-reform/?iref=allsearch
I think that immigration reform is a significant policy issue, but I think it will be difficult to pass legislation this year. According to a Gallup poll, 44% said that it is important for the U.S. to develop a plan to deal with the number of undocumented immigrants (5). I think that this poll gives a general idea that other Americans do believe that immigration reform is an important public policy issue to work on. There has also been an increase of 20 million immigrants from 1990 to 2010 and there is an estimate of 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. (2 and 3). This large increase of immigrants to the U.S. shows that we need to take action on immigration reform to begin solving immigration issues as the number of immigrants continue to increase. However, it will be difficult to get legislation to pass in both houses in Congress as the Republicans and Democrats have opposing views on the issue (1). John Boehner signaled that any action is unlikely this year because House Republicans cannot trust President Obama on this issue (4). Senator Charles E. Schumer said that even if all the house Democrats supported the immigration reform, it would still require more than a dozen Republican votes (1). He also states that he has “no illusions that this will be easy in any way” (1). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also said that he cannot see an agreement on immigration reform happening this year which shows that this issue will continue to be in a deadlock between the House and Senate (3). He also stated, “ I don’t see how you get to an outcome this year with the two bodies in such a place” (3). However, I think the Republicans might take action on this issue because it will affect them in future elections if they do not (4). John McCain had even said that his party cannot win another election without immigration reform (4). Even if the Republicans do not act on this issue I think they will in the next presidential election since we would have a new elected president. I think that this issue should be higher on the agenda. Having immigration reform would help many of the immigrants in our country while also helping our economy flourish.
Sources:
1.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/us/politics/schumer-backs-tactic-to-bring-immigration-overhaul-to-a-vote.html
2.http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/immigrants-welcome-here/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&rref=opinion&_r=0
3.http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/04/mcconnell-predicts-no-immigration-reform-in-2014/
4.http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/16/mccain-i-wont-give-up-on-immigration-reform/
5.http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/17/polls-publics-immigration-priorities-changing/?iref=allsearch
I think immigration reform is a very important topic that needs to be discussed. Right now our immigration policy is complex and confusing. It is hard to tell what our real goal is with immigration (1). We need to go in and clarify and define clearly our policies on immigration. Reforming the system would help the economy and expand it (4). It would add more consumers and taxpayers that could help stimulate the economy. However, right now, it is unlikely that much will change pertaining to this issue. First, it is a hot topic that the Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of. Neither of them is willing to give major concessions to the other. Also, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, the top leader in the House, does not seem to want to broach the topic and instead is focusing on health care (2). Boehner also has voiced concerns that even if reform were to pass, Obama would not implement it as intended. He said “The American people, including many of my members, don’t trust that the reform that we’re talking about will be implemented as it was intended to be” (3). If the Speaker of the House is not behind an issue it is very hard to do anything about it. However, I think this avoidance of the issue will not last forever. It would be hard to keep ignoring it as more Hispanics rise to prominence and demand attention towards this issue (2). They are the fastest growing minority group and account for seventeen percent of the population (5). Congress and the president will have to put it higher on their agenda or their constituents might not be satisfied. Politicians want to be reelected, so they will have to eventually listen to their constituents to get their vote.
(1) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
(2) http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
(3) http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/immigration-reform-women-congress/
(4) http://www.voanews.com/content/the-economics-of-immigration-reform/1855855.html
(5) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/08/10/53-million-Hispanics-constitute-17-percent-of-US-population/UPI-76621376189713/
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Immigration reform is an important policy issue however I do not feel that it should be at the top of the countries list of things to do. I would say the current financial state of the nation ranks above it and the general economy. However the House is seeming to make it a larger issue. I believe that this is because they are wishing to secure some Hispanic votes which are so vital to win major elections. Representative Denham from California is insisting that the House hold a vote on reform this year [1]. Current US immigration policy uses a quota system for all areas of people coming over to the United States. To become a citizen a person must have had a green card for at least 5 years and lived in the United States [2]. The reforms proposed by Congress deal mostly with the undocumented citizens already living in the United States. Interestingly enough, Republican leaders are proposing a Dream Act like bill which allows those undocumented citizens to obtain citizenship [3]. I do not feel that reform should be on the top of the agenda mainly because we have bigger things to worry about. I do believe that the system needs reforming. Mainly that we need more open borders and an easier pathway to citizenship. I believe this will bring motivated workers into the country and boost our economy in the long run. I highly doubt any immigration reform will pass in the House of Representatives mainly because the Republicans are so concerned about the midterms. They need to secure seats and each Representative is concerned about their own reelection. They are not going to take a controversial vote for the the good of the party if it means that they themselves wont get reelected.
[1] http://www.newsmax.com/politics/jeff-denham-gop-republicans-house/2014/02/19/id/553641
[2] http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet
[3] http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/will-immigration-reform-finally-happen/283492/
I do think that immigration reform is a significant public policy issue that needs to be addressed, although I do not think that this will be for some time. According to a Washington Post poll, about six in ten Americans support creating ways to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants (1). Despite this, there still has been very little progress in the way of immigration reform due to a coalition of conservative House members, big business, and other groups. Even among Republicans in favor of immigration reform, there is a divide over tactics and timing of the reform (2). Because of this, I believe that immigration reform has become a dead issue. As for when it will become a viable issue again, that is hard to say. In order for any type of reform to get through Congress, there need to be members from both parties who are willing to come up with solutions, as well as support from their constituencies. Politicians want to be reelected, and although the nation as a whole may lean in favor of creating immigration reform, if the individual constituencies do not want it, their representatives are not going to vote for it. At the same time, if only one party supports the reform, unless they control both houses, it will be hard to get anything through Congress. I do think that the President and Congress should put immigration reform higher on the agenda for this year. The issues that come from the 11 million illegal immigrants living within our nation's boarders need to be addressed and corrected. The way things have been done is no longer working, whether because of their ineffectiveness or simply because circumstances change. Either way, the current status quo of doing nothing with the undocumented is unacceptable (3).
(1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/02/20/immigration-reform-as-a-womens-issue/
(2) http://www.npr.org/2014/02/17/278667297/for-boehner-and-gop-path-to-immigration-reform-is-a-muddle
(3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/02/19/the-moral-case-for-immigration-reform/
Immigration has been a major concern for the US for many years, and considering that an estimated 11.7 million people are living in the US illegally it’s safe to say that it is still a major issue (1). I believe that the Republicans and Democrats in Congress will decide within the coming months to reform immigration policy. Obama said earlier this month that Congress should focus on immigration reform and most Democrats agree (2). More important is that John Boehner has expressed his desire to focus on an immigration bill that would allow many people residing in the US illegally to become legalized (3). Even though Boehner was indecisive about when and how Congress should act, the idea that the republican Speaker of the House and the democratic President could actually have something over which compromise is not “unacceptable” is a little surprising. While not all Republicans in Congress agree that immigration reform should be brought to the table until after mid-term elections many are still at least somewhat open to the idea (4). I think that process for passing immigration reform should be started as soon as possible. When so many other issues have been labeled by one side or the other as non-negotiable, any issue as important as immigration reform that is not dismissed from the start should be acted on. The essence of what Boehner proposed for immigration reform seems reasonable and basically in line with the Democrat’s ideals: make it easier for skilled workers to obtain a Visa or green card, offer citizenship to children brought to the US illegally, and make it easier for people living and working in the US illegally to become legal (5). Relatively speaking, immigration reform is not a polarized issue, while it is an important one, which is why Congress can and should meaningfully act on it.
1.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/immigrant-population-shows-signs-of-growth-estimates-show.html?_r=0
2.http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-immigration-minimum-wage-top-agenda-22517123
3.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/4/boehner-says-immigration-still-iffy-2014/
4.http://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-conservatives-no-immigration-reform-in-2014/
5.http://www.speaker.gov/sites/speaker.house.gov/files/Immigration-Standards.pdf
Well Ms. Aby, besides the Farm Bill, Comprehensive Immigration Reform is the other politics disad we ran this year. And lost to. A lot. That being said, I do believe that immigration reform is a significant public policy issue. Studies show that immigration reform will speed up the recovery of our injured economy by adding to the number of workers paying into Social Security and Medicare, as well as boost our STEM fields by allowing in more foreign-born students (1). There is no doubt that reforming our broken immigration system will benefit those immigrating, as well as our own economy. However, I also believe that immigration is dead. As we all know, Boehner has been flip-flopping on the issue, and there are a few key reasons why. Boehner's latest reason for halting the immigration bill from moving through the House is because "There's widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. And it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes" (2). Boehner was blaming President Obama, but what really happened was a backlash from his party's conservative base. Conservative Republicans don't want to grant citizenship to current illegal immigrants because they view it as not only granting amnesty for a crime, but also being rewarded for that crime with citizenship. I think if Republicans had no chance of controlling the Senate in the next election cycle that maybe the conservatives in Congress would have a different approach to the current proposed legislation. However, if the Republicans have more Senate seats in 2015, they can write an immigration bill that gives the Democrats less concessions and bypasses the granting of amnesty. This is most likely the strategy that the Republican party is using, and the reason why Boehner has once again pushed reform onto the back burner. I also think this is a mistake on the Republican's part, because they are potentially losing more of the Latino voting base, which is going to be critical in upcoming elections. I do believe that Congress and the president should put immigration reform higher on the agenda this year. The issue is getting a lot of attention, and women have even started pushing its passage using a "war on women" offensive (3). These coalitions argue that women and children bear the brunt of the burden from a broken system, and that women will be decisive in the 2014 and 2016 elections. This framing of immigration reform is one that is definitely powerful, and may get the GOP to think twice about their strategy to avoid passing reform this year.
(1) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-29/to-fix-the-u-s-economy-fix-immigration.html
(2) http://www.npr.org/2014/02/17/278667297/for-boehner-and-gop-path-to-immigration-reform-is-a-muddle
(3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/02/20/immigration-reform-as-a-womens-issue/
I have always thought that immigration was an interesting subject considering that the United States is sometimes called a nation of immigrants. It is an important policy issue and is often ignored until something like Arizona v. U.S. (my Supreme Court case) happens and attention shifts to immigration and then quickly shifts away again. (In Arizona v. U.S., AZ passed a bill pertaining to immigration in their state. However, as many of you already know states cannot regulate immigration, they can only enforce national regulations.) In a recent Gallup survey, 44% of those surveyed say it's extremely important for the United States to develop a plan to deal with the large number of undocumented immigrants. (2). This is interesting because in 2011 border security trumped dealing with immigrants already in the country. Despite its importance though, I do not believe that there will be any new policy regarding immigration within the year. Obama already has a lot on his plate, and has been unsuccessful when he has tried to work Congress as of late. I think that one of the reasons immigration is so tricky is that demographics change quickly and people’s opinion’s on immigration are all over the map. There is a constant battle going on. compare the Gallup survey mentioned above to ones in 2011 where border security trumped dealing with immigrants alreadyToday the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles held a call-a-thon to try to jump-start some action. “With immigration reform stalled in Congress, possibly for the rest of the year, some immigrant activists have vowed tougher, more confrontational protest tactics against conservative members of Congress - unless they agree to support an immigration overhaul.” (1). The White House website addresses some of the problems facing immigration. “Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country.” (3). The website acknowledges that the system is broken, but not much is being done to fix it. I have a knd of hopelessly hopeful attitude about this situation. I think immigration is an issue that needs to be addressed. That doesn’t mean it is an easy issue, it is in fact a very challenging one. I am hoping that new policy is passed so that it better fits the ever-changing demographics of the U.S. but I am still skeptical. I guess we will wait and see how this plays out in the next few months and years. Also sorry if there is any spelling or grammar mistakes. I am not on top of my game right now.
1.) http://www.scpr.org/blogs/multiamerican/2014/02/20/15902/immigration-reform-call-a-thon-part-of-advocates-s/
2.) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/17/polls-publics-immigration-priorities-changing/?iref=allsearch
3.) http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
With all the issues that Congress has been facing this year, the topic of immigration reform has been pushed to the side. While the white house states it has a four point plan, including tightening border patrol and cracking down on employees, little legislation has helped to further this (1). Personally, I thought that the republican party would be leading the rally for the reform. But it appears that they would prefer not to look into any immigration reform in 2014. The reason behind this is the issue appears to be tearing the party in two, something that might hinder the Republicans (2). This is not what the party desires, so they hope the topic will be left alone for now. they are skirting around it, saying “its not ready for prime time” in the legislative world (2). If pushed off until the summer, chances of reform will die because many congressmen will be focusing on re-election rather than legislation (3). I believe that unless it suddenly jumps in importance, it will not come up for a big debate again until next winter. Many congressmen are already concerned about re-election, and as summer nears their focus on bills will wane. If they are re-elected, they may feel mandated by the public to do something about immigration reform. I can see this as the time for any reform happening. Immigration should become a higher priority. The United States’ immigrant population has increased dramatically in the last 50 years (4). There are millions of immigrants living in our country, being a part of our community, who can not gain citizenship. If we increase our concerns with immigration reform, hopefully more of these people will gain the citizenship they want and the benefits that come with it.
1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
2. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-conservatives-no-immigration-reform-in-2014/
3. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/01/immigration-reform-has-one-brief-shot-in-2014.html
4 http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/report/2013/04/03/59040/the-facts-on-immigration-today-3/
Immigration reform is a growing issue that the United States will have to face in the near future. With the current economic situation that the United States is in, job creation, minimum wage, and other like issues have taken center stage while immigration reform has fallen back on the political agenda. The Republicans are pushing back the issue of immigration because they said that they wanted to focus on fighting raising the minimum wage (1). To completely disregard immigration reform is not a good idea on the behalf of the Republicans. I believe that if they are to completely ignore it for now, when it comes election time, the voters will prove to them that ignoring the issue of immigration reform was a mistake. With the United States being as diverse as it is today, minorities account for a larger percentage of the voting population and specifically the Latino vote as many people from Latin American have immigrated to the United States. Failure to address immigration reform, which is a major concern for immigrants since many of them still have families back home, will cause the Republicans to lose the Latino vote, and thus, making it harder to win the elections in 2016. Immigration is also a major issue for politicians to focus on because it has an impact on the economy of the United States. As the United States and Mexico are trying to negotiate trade treaties, Obama's failure to push through immigration reform in Congress has been a major concern for Mexico. These negotiations are very important because with border restrictions, it is causing the United States to lose $6 billion a year (2). After the Republicans failed attempt to overturn the Affordable Care Act by letting the government shut down, I believe that they need to focus on getting bills passed to please the public and quit playing the game of politics. There has been much resentment towards the Republican Party from the Democrats in Congress as Harry Reid stated against Republican Representative Joe Heck, "He had one chance to vote. He voted to do something that is important to 800,000 to a million Americans, to give them some relief to the country. It's the only country they know and he voted against that" (3). 800,000 votes is a lot of votes and may end up costing the Republicans control of the House and Senate in 2016 if they do not address the concerns of the public. Overall, immigration reform is a major issue that needs to be addressed and cannot simply be put aside.
(1) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/house-dems-force-votes-wage-immigration-22538253
(2) http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-obama-mexico-20140218,0,479255.story#axzz2tviZyGvI
(3) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/harry-reid-joe-heck_n_4381400.html?utm_hp_ref=immigration-reform
I personally believe that immigration reform is a significant public policy issue. I think it’s necessary simply because of the magnitude of undocumented immigrants living in our country. In her extremely condescending and sloppily written Washington Post Opinion, Laura Ingraham writes that conservatives should not support the immigration reforms (2). However, one of her points that she bases this argument is that apparently immigrants struggle to assimilate themselves into US culture. Ingraham contends that the fact that 20.8% of Americans do not speak English at home shows the detrimental effect the increasing amount of immigrants has on our country (2). She goes on to say that “among immigrants today, it is increasingly fashionable to reject American exceptionalism in favor of multiculturalism” (2). Clearly, Ingraham does not understand that American culture is built on the cultures our immigrants and that her precious American exceptionalism is the reason many people from other countries hate Americans. This type of thinking is not only exemplified in Ingraham’s article, but also recently in the outrage that many Americans expressed in response to Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” Super Bowl ad. This type of thinking is why immigration reform is currently dead right now, but needs to be acted upon as soon as possible.
As Mil Arcega writes in a Voice of America article, immigration reform is not only relevant politically, but economically as well (1). Conservatives, including Ingraham, assert that reforming immigration will hurt our economy. However, what they fail to mention is how much. According to the Congressional Budget Office, their claims are true. Immigration reform will lower the average wage…...by one-tenth of a percent (1). And in the long run, with reforms, wages will rise. Immigration reform is going to bring over 11 million more people into our tax system (1). While the issue of the amount of immigrants relying on welfare is still relevant, proportionally, the amount of citizens relying on welfare reflects their circumstances as well. In addition, immigrants are often entrepreneurs and small business owners; they stimulate the economy and are the businesses conservatives aim to protect (3). So yes, immigration reform should definitely be higher on the agenda for this year and all future years. Even if Barack Obama can’t be trusted to enforce reforms, as Republicans say, future presidents will likely respect the laws (3). And while the potential benefits or drawbacks of immigration reform are widely disputed, the cost of doing nothing would definitely be worse.
(1) http://www.voanews.com/content/the-economics-of-immigration-reform/1855855.html
(2) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/laura-ingraham-why-conservatives-should-say-no-to-immigration-reform/2014/02/19/85ae3438-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html
(3) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-why-immigration-reform-matters/2014/02/13/04e7dfac-94db-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html
I think that immigration reform is an important policy issue. Up until now it has sort of not been talked about as much. The GOP in Congress does not have any interest in passing immigration reform laws because they only have a small percentage of latinos in their districts. Such a reform of increasing citizenship would upset their party base as well. The Democrats are most likely to benefit from the increased citizenship because their base includes a much stronger latino following. In the last presidential election, Mitt Romney only carried 27 percent of the Latino vote. They also do not believe that the Obama administration would be able to handle increasing the border patrol.(1) Though the issue on immigration reform probably will be put off until after the elections this year, it is not dead yet. It is still an important issue because despite having in the majority white vote in 2012, the tiny percentage of hispanic votes for Romney made him lose. If they want to win more elections, they will have to start working on bringing minorities into their party.(2) It is still an important issue that will be talked about by the president because he even mentioned it in his SOTU address, but there will be no legislation passed until after this year. Unless the Democrats do try to force a vote by using whats called a “discharge petition” from the Senate to the House.(3) While it is an important issue, because it does not affect most americans I see why the GOP is trying to stop any reform this year. I do think that they are just delaying the inevitable from happening and they continue to lose support from the independents by pulling moves like this though. I think that if they would start being proactive on the subject and try to increase their base instead of just supporting one group of people, the GOP would be able to frequently win elections in more than just one part of the country and possibly even win the presidency in 2016.
1.http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-republican-case-for-immigration-reform/2014/02/09/b3f84d56-91b1-11e3-b227-12a45d109e03_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage
2.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/02/20/immigration-reform-as-a-womens-issue/?wprss=rss_national&clsrd
3.http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/white-house-sidesteps-tactic-force-house-immigration-vote-n34891
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I think that immigration reform is a significant public policy issue, even if it has always been over- shadowed by bigger issues, such as foreign wars or the financial crisis. Throughout history, it has been common place for immigration reform to piggyback with other issues, such as in 1965 when changes were made to the INA, as a result of increased immigration from Vietnam due to the war (1). This is because, by itself, no one in the U.S. (legally) actually sees immigration reform as impacting them personally, so they will always push it back, favoring more popular social reform. This being said, even when immigration reform has popular support, no one seems capable of deciding what form the reform will take, with many different acts and bills all proposed on the subject (2). This inability to agree is one of the many reasons why I think that immigration reform is a dying issue right now. With the GOP alone, there are many different opinions on what should be done, and I think that they would much rather not become even more divided by forcing immigration reform to happen. Moving on from immigration reform is just the government trying to avoid further alienating various groups. Immigration reform, however, is still an important issue. By reforming the system, we will be the government will be bringing in significantly more tax revenue, which will lower taxes when spread throughout the entire population. With more residents, however, reliance on government programs will also increase, which will cause taxes to increase (3). So the approach we take towards immigration reform should be a selective one. We can't just "open the flood gates" and make everyone a legal citizen, as it will wreck havoc on our policies. Neither should we stop immigration all together, because whether we like it or not, we do rely to a certain extent on migrant workers. So over- all, Immigration Reform is a questionable topic, and it doesn't seem like any worthwhile reform is going to happen in the near future.
1. http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/perspectives/overhauling-immigration-law-brief-history-and-basic-principles-reform
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/10/if-the-house-ever-debates-immigration-heres-where-it-might-start/
3. http://www.voanews.com/content/the-economics-of-immigration-reform/1855855.html
Illegal Immigration poses a serious concern to America both now and into the future. I believe reform is necessary, but right now I think it is dead. I feel that the economy and Obamacare are larger at issues at hand, but immigration reform is next in line. There is a fundamental problem with our immigration that needs to be addressed. I believe that we should deport many of the illegal immigrants living here and further secure and protect the borders. Although I think we should get rid of illegal immigrants, I believe legal ones are helpful to our country. I believe we should make entering here legally easier for immigrants by removing difficult immigration requirements. Even those that are eligible face years or decades waiting for a visa (4). According to a recent Rasmussen poll, Sixty percent believe the U.S. government is not aggressive enough now in deporting illegal immigrants (1). There is no doubt it is a serious problem When three out of every 100 people in America are undocumented, there is a profound security problem. Even though they pose no direct security threat, the presence of millions of undocumented migrants distorts the law, distracts resources, and effectively creates a cover for terrorists and criminals (2). While immigration can have a positive impact on the economy, illegal immigration costs U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year at the federal, state and local level (3). There is no doubt illegal immigration is a problem. With tighter security and easier legal immigration I believe this problem can be reduced.
Works Cited
1)http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/december_2013/60_think_u_s_not_aggressive_enough_in_deporting_illegal_immigrants
2)http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/03/the-real-problem-with-immigration-and-the-real-solution
3)http://www.fairus.org/publications/the-fiscal-burden-of-illegal-immigration-on-u-s-taxpayers
4)http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/why-does-us-need-immigration-reform
Yes, I believe that immigration reform is a significant issue, especially for America, which is one of the countries with the most immigrants and ancestors of immigrants. Immigration is the largest part of our history, so to me it seems irresponsible to disregard it in government. While Boehner said that the House would not be able to find time for an immigration bill because they cannot trust Obama to enforce one, I do not think this is the real reason. One possibility is that he is using this opportunity as retribution for the passage of Obamacare (3). Another is that Republicans don’t want a victory for Obama before the next presidential election season.
I think that eventually immigration will be dealt with because it is unavoidable. As Latinos make up a larger and larger population of America, and a larger population of typically red states, the Republican party will start to lose elections based on their stance. As the Democratic party continues to fail to pass any meaningful legislation to the immigrant and undocumented communities, there will be unignorable backlash.
I think that immigration reform should be put higher on the agenda this year because improving the lives of immigrants is something all of America can benefit from. When immigrants are better off, America will be better educated, healthier, safer, and our future will be brighter. Marc Rosenberg of the Migration Policy Institute said “legalization is probably going to help the U.S. economy...It's also going to bring more people into the tax system, so it probably has a net fiscal benefit of people paying more taxes” (2). I don’t think there is any reason to deny Congress debate on an immigration bill because Obama cannot be trusted by Republicans to endorse it. In fact, “since the president has taken office, nearly two million undocumented immigrants have been deported... President Obama has deported more undocumented immigrants than any other president in this country's history” (1).
1.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/national-council-of-la-raza-/on-immigration-reform-eno_b_4826577.html
2.http://www.latinopost.com/articles/4346/20140221/immigration-reform-2014-will-immigration-reform-help-or-hurt-the-us-economy.htm
3.http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/02/editorial_john_boehner_last_ma.html
I think that immigration reform is a significant public policy overall. Right now, not that many people are generally affected by immigration reform. There are two sides of this immigration reform issue. On one side people want a more open immigration guideline, they want to let more people come to the US. On the other hand there are people who want less immigrants because they think that immigrants are stealing their job opportunities and resources. Some might even use the word moochers (3). I think the fate of immigration reform is looking positive, however. Due to the fact that even though there are opposers, there are many people who compassionate about immigrants and many immigrants in the US who support a more keen about immigration. Many immigrants in the US already want to help future immigrants (2). There are also many groups of people who support immigration reform like the We Belong Together group (1). Because of this large support group for immigration reform Congress has to take this public opinion into consideration. Thus, immigration reform will become a viable issue. Because of all the support immigration reform has, Congress and the president should put it higher in the agenda this year. It is such a strong issue that the public care about that they can not not put it on the agenda.
1. http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/immigration-reform-women-congress/
2. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
3. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
When American citizens can rarely agree on anything, the fact that a majority of them are in favor of facilitating citizenship to decrease the numbers of illegal immigrants is a big deal and shows that not only is immigration reform an important issue, it also has a relatively agreed-upon solution when it comes to the opinions of the public. I believe that immigration reform will completely depend on who gets elected as the next president. With so many individuals, as well as interest groups ranging in nature from businesses to religious organizations, pushing for immigration reform it seems strange that Congress has done so little to deal with it. I think, however, that the current unresponsive situation will continue until at least 2016. When immigration reform does occur, I believe that the best route would be lowering of restrictions on immigration, in conjunction with increases on regulations on treatment of the immigrants.
Members of Congress are unwilling to work with President Obama, especially when working with him in this case would mean basically handing him a huge political victory and completely revitalizing his agenda. After the 2016 election, however, Republicans will either rush to pass reform legislation (if the new president is a Republican) or will grudgingly allow it to pass due to the overwhelming public support (Democrat). Due to Congress’s staunch dislike for President Obama and their complete unwillingness to work with him on anything at this point, much less a vital issue like immigration reform, I would advise President Obama to step back a little on this particular issue, since pushing harder would just make him look even weaker and less effective than ever. However, of course, I would definitely encourage Congress to make immigration reform a much higher priority than it currently is—the sooner the better.
In terms of the form that I believe immigration reform will eventually take, I think that reductions in restrictions are the only plausible step forward. And much of America agrees with me: the United States is a country of immigrants, after all, and other than the vocal minority in favor of increasing restrictions, most are in favor of reducing them. Immigration will occur regardless of the level of restriction because the United States offers political and social refuge for a lot of people; by making the quality of life worse for immigrants, the government is not preventing immigration from occurring. They are just making life harder for people who have already often risked everything to find a safe place to live. Forced to work for way too many hours a week for less than minimum wage, with no benefits, illegal residents of the United States are treated horribly, which hurts not only them and the people around them but also the American economy.
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/behind-retreat-on-immigration-a-complicated-political-interplay.html
2. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
3. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/news/chi-emanuel-republicans-disagree-on-approach-to-immigration-reform-approval-20140218_1_border-security-immigration-house-republicans
4. http://www.voanews.com/content/the-economics-of-immigration-reform/1855855.html
Immigration reform is a very important policy issue in the United States these days and a growing one. Its not also not one without any direct effect on people. There are many people with immigrant and alien family members, children of illegal immigrants, and the Latino vote is very dependent on a politician’s views on immigration. It has been pushed aside in recent years especially in the national debate due to other larger reforms such as healthcare. Recently Republican John Boehner has said publicly that the immigration reform debate should be pushed to 2015, after the midterm elections. (1) And many Americans agree according to a recent gallup poll. But a policy that affects 17% of the nation should not be pushed under the rug.(2) In so far according to the White House they do not have the most solid public plan for the immigration reform’s future. “ It’s a plan that requires anyone who’s undocumented to get right with the law by paying their taxes and a penalty, learning English, and undergoing background checks before they can be eligible to earn citizenship.” (3) Even though this issue is not as pressing as healthcare, even though it does not affect everyone in the nation, it is an important policy and it should be taken seriously.
(1)http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/
(2)http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/immigrant-population-shows-signs-of-growth-estimates-show.htm
(3)http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
Immigration reform, while not seen as a high priority by many Americans, is still an important topic. It affects everyone in the states, legal or not, in many ways and it needs to be addressed. Though many representatives are nervous to take up the issue, it’s still important , and, “not trusting Obama enough” isn’t a good reason, and definitely not a good excuse, to not try to make any changes - nor is the absence of republican unity. Their personal problems, while legitimate, are not helping the country move forward, and they aren’t inspiring people’s confidence.
In a Gallup poll released January 16th more than 50% of Americans were found to believe that immigration reform was nearer the bottom of the list of priorities for Congress than near the top (1). Most people believed Congress had other priorities, and with our economic struggles recently it isn’t hard to see why. Most people probably don’t see the benefits or costs of having illegal immigrants in the country directly.
I believe that the issue should be higher in the ranks of priority, with easier requirements for working age or family based immigrants and those seeking asylum, and harder punishments for illegally crossing the border or remaining undocumented. However, I don’t see this happening any time soon. While Boehner sites the issue as a lack of trust in Obama, I think this is a poor excuse (2). Not passing legislation because it won’t be carried through is more a sign of cowardice, in my opinion, than a lack of trust. If they truly want to stick to their guns they will. However, I don’t see new legislation being brought up until at least the end of the year, though Obama himself says he doesn’t want to keep waiting (3). I agree they shouldn’t wait over personal tiffs, but I think that they will. Obama is still working to get cooperation, but I think he’ll have to wait - or possibly never get his way - unless something drastic happens (3).
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/boehner-no-immigration-reform-until-obama-regains-our-trust-n23671
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/14/obama-says-immigration-reform-still-priority-2014/?page=all
The President’s plan concerning immigration reform is to build an effective immigration system that continues efforts to secure our borders and crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. It’s a plan that requires anyone who’s undocumented to get right with the law by paying their taxes and a penalty, learning English, and undergoing background checks before they can be eligible to earn citizenship (1). Personally, I couldn’t agree more with what the president has planned. To answer the first question at hand: yes, I think that immigration reform is a major issue in our country today. Immigrants from surrounding countries, especially Mexico, think they can waltz right into America and start living the American dream, while some Americans aren’t even living the American dream themselves. I think that the main question at hand is why should we allow for immigrants to work in our country when so many Americans are out of work? (2) Obama has the right idea with his immigration reform by raising the standards of how immigrants can be a successful and legal citizen of the United States. I’m sad that the immigration reform is dead, but I’m sure that the future looks bright for it. I hope more people support it because I think it’s a great idea. I also approve of how fast Obama is deporting non-citizens: a record-breaking two million deportations since he took office (3). The fact that so many illegal immigrants are living in America right now makes me angry that we’re not enforcing more security on the borders or making harsher punishments for the illegal immigrants that are caught. However, I feel like Obama is trying to change that by implementing this immigration reform. All in all, I think Congress and the president should put immigration reform higher on their list of priorities. Obama has the right idea with his immigration reform, I just wish more people would support it.
(1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
(2) http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/198926-why-republicans-should-support-immigration-reform
(3) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anita-sinha/immigration-reform_b_4840585.html
I believe that Immigration Reform is a significant public policy. However, right now, our immigration system is broken and not being enforced. Washington’s failure to fix this is hurting our economy (1). President Obama has made this more of a priority, but the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, does not want to take any actions this year because the Republicans don’t trust President Obama on this issue (2). Senator John McCain however, he is “not abandoning immigration reform this year,” (2). I personally do not believe immigration reform is ‘dead’, but it will be if we do not keep this high on our agenda. The republicans has rejected reform legislation, but many people are still trying to keep immigration reform a high priority on the public policy agenda. I do believe congress should put immigration reform on the top of the agenda this year because it is a very important issue. I do think republicans will soon have to take action on this issue because it will affect them in future elections if they do not. Also, helping immigration reform will help our country flourish (3).
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/us/politics/text-of-republicans-principles-on-immigration.html?_r=0
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/16/mccain-i-wont-give-up-on-immigration-reform/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/immigration-reform/
I believe that immigration is a major problem in the United States right now. It defiantly needs reform because the current system is not working. Although the problem is present, I don't believe that it is the biggest problem that we should be focusing on in Congress. With the current state of the economy, and our foreign relations struggling, the American government needs to focus on solving bigger problems than immigration. The reform that republicans are calling for, which call for higher security and tighter deportation laws, seems like the plan that would do the most good (1). With the government having so much trouble making progress in all things, immigration reform is a dead issue because it is so far down on the totem pole for things that they have to get done. (2)
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/02/24/tea-party-house-republican-habla-immigration-reform-with-latino-constituents/
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/02/
I believe immigration reform is a very significant issue especially now in America. Though whether or not the policy will be touched this year is another question. I believe that this issue will take a back seat with other policies such as the exit from Afghanistan, better economic growth, and health care. The problem with immigration reform is that both sides are on a stand still and can’t get to together to agree on more narrow reforms. Including that many Congressmen want to focus on issues that affect their constituents more. Especially since in a recent PewResearch study found that most Americans think that the most important issue in America right now is strengthening the nation's economy(1). Which is very important and another reason I feel that the economy right now is something we should be focusing on instead. Though there is also reason that we need immigration reform for the economy. Which is also being said by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since recently they have been pushing the House to act and do something about immigration reform(2). Though I believe that immigration is just a small factor of the economy and that if anything there is more importance in just creating new jobs and helping the economy. I do feel though that when the next presidential election comes around immigration reform will have a bigger presence and will get more public attention. Though unless more public push this year immigration reform will keep taking a back seat and and the people who are pushing it right now need to get more public attention if they want to change anything(3). Hopefully the issue is talked about this year though as the current year is going it will probably be a while until their is immediate action taken.
(1)http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/27/deficit-reduction-declines-as-policy-priority/
(2)http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/25/u-s-chamber-of-commerce-pushes-house-gop-on-immigration-reform/
(3)http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/immigrant-activists-push-article-1.1621676
Right now, Immigration reform is still a hot button issue on the news and there is a lot of coverage on it, but in politics it has been swept to the wayside, at least for now. I don’t see it becoming a bipartisan topic until at least after the midterms, because Republicans are in fear of losing votes from their base that would not look kindly at any reform (1). A recent Roll Call poll found that only 19 Republicans actually openly support possible immigration reform and only 22 openly oppose it (2), which means that 159 are holding back. Republicans, and some Democrats too, should be weary of putting off immigration reform for too long. The Latino population is growing and with it their voting power and political clout. There are projections that Texas may be turning a bit blue in the next 2014 election (3), and with the Latino vote being around 30% the Republican leadership may want to rethink the party’s stance on immigration reform. Texas is not the only state either. The Latino vote is growing in power in many states and sooner or later both parties are going to be wanting a piece of the pie.
Work Cited:
1. http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/immigration-reform-not-pass-2014/
2.http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/where-do-house-republicans-stand-on-immigration-principles-whip-count/
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/latinos-texas_n_4267065.html
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As of late, immigration reform has become a hot topic. Many people arguing against immigration reform argue that change will result in the destruction of American values (1). However, it is my belief that immigration reform is necessary to continue to keep the United States relevant in the long run in the global economy. Immigration is one of the keys necessary to create a healthier national economy and critical to America’s security, growth, and prosperity, and is also an integral component for the success of American business (2). In fact, in 1991, 32% of all S&E doctorates were awarded to temporary visa holders. Since then, the growth in numbers of S&E doctorates awarded to temporary visa holders has nearly equaled the growth in doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents (3). Eventually, a major reform will be necessary to keep these type of progress going. However, I doubt a change will be coming soon. Politicians aren’t very motivated to enact a change because the voters simply have prioritized other things ahead of immigration reform. It is very possible though that, as the demographic of the country changes in the coming decades, the immigration reform will make it’s way to the forefront of the political agenda. Due to groups such as a coalition of women's organizations that continue to push House Republican leaders to vote on immigration reform, I am confident that this issue will not fade away over time (4). It is simply a matter of years left until we see a very real change in the policies of the United States. Until that point, however, I believe our politicians need not worry themselves about the issue until their constituencies call for a change.
(1) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
(2) http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/01/07/american-business-needs-immigration-reform/
(3) http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/digest/2011/nsf13301.pdf
(4) http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/immigration-reform-women-congress/
I do believe immigration reform is a big deal. Having a large group of undocumented people coming into your country unimpeded and unchecked is always dangerous. According to the White House Page on immigration it’s a major problem and they even go onto say the current system is broken with over 11 million undocumented people living in the United States (1). I am a fan of immigration and people coming to America it needs to be done legally. It’s for national security reasons it’s for Economical reasons there are many factors behind why people shouldn’t be allowed to just walk into a country. As for immigration reform in the political setting; in a recent post by the Washington Post there seems to be new interest in Immigration reform in congress saying, Speaker John A. Boehner will speak on the House floor about the topic. President Obama likes this because now an issue that hasn’t been taken as serious as let’s say the Budget Deficit can finally flourish in Congress (2). I believe that immigration is right where it should be as an up and coming topic and should stay where it’s at ton the agenda unless public interest becomes more apparent. Also there are far more important t things to worry about than immigration, But who knows according to The Times immigration reform is getting some pretty serious backing from people such as the Speaker of The House, the Governor of New York, and The President himself (3 ).
1.http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
2.http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-house-republicans-new-momentum-on-immigration-reform/2014/01/24/1c48e25e-8509-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html
3.http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/24/is-there-any-hope-for-immigration-reform-on-the-hill/
Immigration is a difficult issue. On a humanitarian, emotional level, people naturally want to help each other. If there are people who are in danger in their home country, or who wish to find prosperity in America, it is natural for us to want to help our fellow humans. Continuing our rationalization, we will realize that there definitely people who fall through the cracks, who are unable to receive legal citizenship. On the logistical side, issues such as overpopulation, urban sprawl, and unemployment can be linked to our increase in illegal immigration. While this isn't the entire reason for these issues, there is definitely a causal link. Thus the conflict is apparent. And yet, people don't seem to particularly care, to the point that less than 50% stated the issues wasn't either extremely or very important.(1) Heck, it seems that even congress doesn't care, at least at the moment, as they would rather fight it out over Obamacare until the end of days.(2) Obama seems to have it high up on his agenda, but there is little he can do without any kind of Congressional assistance(3). This is a major issue, as it affects economic, humanitarian, and cultural fields. Yet there are so many who would rather fight over Obamacare, despite that battle being over and done with. Congress needs to take a stand on it due to how relevant it is currently.
(1)http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/
(2)http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/republican-rep-dennis-ross-illustrates-challenges-of-immigration-reform/2166384
(3)http://www.msnbc.com/all/activists-arrested-outside-white-house
With more and more immigrants coming into the US I believe that congress needs to put immigration reform much higher on their policy agenda. Currently there are 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows (1). Employers are hiring these undocumented workers for cheap labor which is bad for the economy and country. This is an issue that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible because otherwise our economy will continue to fall and the country cannot improve. Unfortunately I don’t believe any work will be done on immigration reform this year. This is due to two opposing sides on the topic who seem to only be able to bicker and fight each other over the subject. The reformers accuse conservatives of being “over protective of their racially, ethnically and culturally constricted world” (2). On the other hand the conservatives say the reformers “only want to destroy our values by throwing open the nation's doors to moochers while feathering their own political (Democratic) nests” (2). If the two sides don’t stop slandering one another nothing will ever get done, in fact I believe if the two would drop their egos and get down to discussing the actual topic something would finally be done about immigration. Personally I think that immigrants add to society with their cultures and backgrounds, after all America is a country built of immigrants. Also according to the Huffington Post if America wishes to stay competitive on a global scale we must pass an immigration bill (3). With so many undocumented workers getting paid minimum wages and being overworked America is losing it’s edge. A legal immigrant can help boost the economy with their services. For the Time being I do believe that immigration reform is dead in government. According to John Boehner this is because of the distrust that has been built up among republicans toward President Obama (4). They don’t believe the Obama administration can faithfully carry out America’s laws. Until the president is able to gain back some trust there will not be any reform able to take place, but I hope and think the future of immigration will be bright and help to prosper America.
1)http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
2)http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-18/opinion/ct-immigration-reform-america-byrne-oped-0218-20140218_1_immigration-reform-immigration-law-honest-debate
3)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-bernshteyn/the-importance-of-immigra_1_b_3763915.html
4) http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/02/immigration-reform-dead-or-alive-the-note/
Immigration reform is a significant public policy issue that is important to Americans at the current time, but in the next few years the issue will probably fade away for the majority of Americans. John Boehner has advocated for tackling this issue now, because he believes it will increase the Republican’s chances for reelection at the primaries (1). Disagreeing with him, however, are the majority of the Republicans in congress (2). They believe that the issue would be better saved for after the primaries and leading into the presidential election, where it would be fresh in people’s minds and they would remember the Republican compromises made on immigration’s behalf. I do not believe this is a good strategy. It would be much wiser for the Republicans to follow John Boehner’s plan and tackle the problem now. A recent poll has shown that although interest in this issue is still high, it has drastically fallen since 2011 (3). Essentially, if they don’t pass it now, nobody will care if they pass it in 3 or 4 years like other Republicans plan to. If they pass the immigration reform now, the Republicans will have something productive to have on their resume for the midterm, and will be much less likely to lose seats and their slim majority in only one of the Houses of Congress. For this reason, I think that immigration reform should be high on the Republican’s agenda for this coming year.
1 - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/behind-retreat-on-immigration-a-complicated-political-interplay.html?_r=1
2 - http://www.ibtimes.com/republican-outlook-immigration-reform-we-have-get-past-primaries-1556446
3 - http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/poll-immigration-reform-103582.html
Immigration reform is an important policy issue. It is important to both parties because both parties have different races that identify themselves as a Republican or a Democrat. 1) Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country. Immigration reform should be taken into account more seriously. Right now there are many that are working under the table and taking money from the government without giving any back. 2) It is past time for this country to fully implement a workable electronic employment verification system. We need a better way to check whether one is a legal citizen when it comes to employment. Another reason as to why we need immigration reform is that In the overwhelming majority of immigration cases, detention is not necessary to effect deportations and does not make us any safer. By locking up people who are illegally here we are spending and wasting taxpayers dollars. Approximately 2 billion a year. That is why we need to look at immigration reform as one of our top priorities.
1)http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/us/politics/text-of-republicans-principles-on-immigration.html
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/why-does-us-need-immigration-reform
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While I disagree with Rilyn that immigration reform is a major policy concern at this particular point in time, I definitely agree with the rest of her post on the matter. It is no secret that the Republican party is having to deal with some division among it’s members. I definitely agree that it would hurt them in the midterm elections should they come out with an official stance on the issue which may reveal an even deeper split than anticipated. I found it somewhat reassuring that according to a Gallup poll released in the middle of January that, “less than 50% of people polled viewed immigration reform as extremely important or very important and found that Americans are more focused on economy, education, and health care” (1) which is my stance on the issue. While I agree with Rilyn that our current system is expensive and has a large amount of flaws in it, so do our economic, education, and health care policies and programs. In fact, the current system only costs about $2 billion dollars annually, which may sound like a lot but is almost nothing compared to programs such as Medicare (2). Since all of these major policy areas have problems and cost money, I think that it is very important for politicians to listen to the American people and how the majority feels about what our country’s priorities should be. It should be very interesting to see what happens with this issue in the coming months and even years. Again, as I stated in my initial post, I do not believe this issue will be set as a top priority for at least another decade when the ethnic makeup of our country changes more dramatically.
(1) http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/economy/do-americans-even-care-about-immigration-reform.html/
(2) http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/why-does-us-need-immigration-reform
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