Immigration Reform

Background U.S is a nation built by immigrants seeking a new life BUT rising population prompted fed gov’t to begin making laws to control immigration and preserve the nation’s racial, religious and cultural makeup First law: Chinese Exclusion Act of suspended immigration from China for 6 years Today: U.S law generally limits legal immigration to 675,000 per year Preference to: relatives of citizens and desirable job skills Separate limit for refugees: 76,000

Categories of Immigrants Legal Immigrants: seeking to est permanent residence-“green card” Receive protection under U.S law but do not have all rights and responsibilities Can apply for citizenship after 5 years Refugees/Asylees: seeking protection from persecution in home countries Gov’t limits number per year Can apply for permanent residence status after 1 year

Categories of Immigrants Nonimmigrants: enter and exit legally with temporary visas that state purpose and length of visit Foreign gov’t officers, tourists, business people or students Illegal/Undocumented Immigrants: by law- can be deported and returned to home country 60% enter country by crossing a border or misrepresenting themselves 40% enter legally but stay beyond their limits of their visas \ 2012: more than 1 million illegal immigrants (30% from Mexico, China and India)

Illegal Immigrants and the Economy Make up 5% of U.S workforce Typically possess few specialized skills and often work for lower wages Low wage work helps companies keep prices down for goods and services such as: food, homes, landscaping and housekeeping Many working illegal immigrants pay income and Social Security taxes Some worry they take jobs from U.S citizens and depress wages but working for so little Others feel they pay too few taxes to compensate for burden placed on public and social services

Gang of Eight After 2012 elections 8 U.S Senators worked quickly to unveil a comprehensive immigration reform proposal After meeting 24 times over 3 months they produced an 844-page bill that: Increased border security Reformed visa system Required employers to use an electronic database to ensure legal status of employees Provided pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S Bill also mandated the Dept. of Homeland Security monitor 100% of U.S. border with Mexico and maintain a 90% annual effectiveness rate at apprehending and turning back border-crossers

Path to Citizenship Step 1: pay fines and back taxes Step 2: wait 10 years to apply for green card Step 3: apply for citizenship 3 years after green card Fewer visas available to relatives of U.S citizens but more visas available for immigrants who specialize in STEM field

Congress should est a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. AgreeDisagree No benefits over legal immigrants-still wait in line Gov’t cannot deport 11 million people- so better they come out of hiding and begin contributing to society They will pay taxes and contribute to economy Pathway rewards people who have broken the law Pathway might cause flood of more immigrants since there are no repercussions U.S will be gaining citizens who have little interest in joining a society they have avoided for years

Revising Immigration Policy Politicians have realized an immigration system full of holes yet they face a divide on how to deal with both border security and the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the U.S In 2004 and 2007 President Bush began advocating a major overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws but faced much opposition from conservative Republicans Frustrated with the lack of federal direction states have have passed hundreds of new laws to address illegal immigration

States Step In April 2010: Arizona adopted a controversial law that allowed police to check immigration status of a person while enforcing other laws Immigrants must carry authorization papers at all times Alabama-2011: public schools must determine the immigration status of students and made it a crime for anyone to transport an illegal immigrant In 2012 Supreme Court upheld the central provision of the Arizona law but blocked others- such as illegal immigrants receiving criminal penalties for seeking work

Border Security In 2005 more than 1 million people were caught trying to cross the U.S- Mexico border illegally In response President Bush sent National Guard troops to the border while Congress authorized a spending package to: Complete 650 miles of fences and barricades Increase surveillance technology Add thousands of border agents In early 2013 U.S Secretary of Homeland Security said border with Mexico was more secure than ever-apprehension at a 40-year low BUT figures released by U.S Customs and Border Protection showed a 13% increase in illegal immigrants being arrested at the border

The U.S.-Mexican border is more secure than ever. AgreeDisagree Recent increase in border arrests should be viewed as a sign of increased security U.S Customs and Border Patrol has more than doubled in size Deployment of National Guard wastes money Economic recession has reduced border crossings Stats show an increase in border arrests in the first part of security more important than ever Tanking economy caused number of arrests to decline- not border patrol Spillover violence from Mexico’s drug wars could make border towns combat zones

Activity Imagine you are the person written on your slip of paper. What, if any, impact do you think stricter immigration policies (and the border fence, in particular) will have on you?

A New Push for Reform A variety of developments in recent years have given immigration reform new momentum 2010 House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act Would allow undocumented children, brought to the U.S, conditional legal status and possible citizenship Failed in the Senate by 5 votes Pres Obama vowed to keep trying to pass the bill and in 2012 announced that the administration would stop deporting law-abiding undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S as children November Latinos made up 10% for first time ever and voted for Obama over Romney 71 to 27% Many believe Republicans will work to pass immigration reform in 2013 to help party win share of Latino voters

Skilled Immigrants Some officials have suggested creating temporary (“guest worker”) programs as a method of legally matching foreign workers with American business that want to hire them Others have advocated making the legal immigration process easier for highly skilled workers who want to work in the U.S ‘Gang of Eight’ bill called for a large increase in temporary work visas for high-tech workers from 65,000 to 110,000 annually The proposal has brought up debate over whether the government should be trying to attract more legal immigrants to work in the U.S

The U.S should allow more skilled workers to enter the country. AgreeDisagree Increasing the number of skilled immigrants would help the American economy These workers create jobs by innovating or starting new businesses They pay taxes Without them, American companies don’t have enough skilled workers to compete in the global economy To help the economy we should be putting Americans to work before foreigners Millions of citizens seek highly skilled jobs and could be trained if necessary Companies too often used skilled worker visa programs to get cheaper foreign labor- depresses salaries and discourages U.S students from pursuing higher degrees