Immigration Policy Jodie Annis Wayne State University SW4710 – Dr. Martin-Keys

United States Immigration One major problem identified in the United States Immigration process is that many illegal immigrants come to the United States and give birth to their children. This then automatically gives their children citizenship, leaving US citizens born to illegal immigrants (US Citizenship).

United States Immigration 11.7 million illegal immigrants in the US “An estimated 340,000 babies born in the United States in 2008 were the children of unauthorized immigrants” (Rodriguez, 2013). “Between July 1, 2010, and Sept. 31, 2012, nearly 23 percent of all deportations—or, 204,810 deportations—were issued for parents with citizen children” (Wessler, 2012). “annually, more than 90,000 parents with U.S.- citizen kids are removed from the United States” (Wessler, 2012).

What happens to the children? “About 5,100 U.S. children in 22 states have lost parents to deportation” “15,000 more (children) face similar threat in the next five years” “On average, 17 children are placed in state care each day as a result of the detention and removal of immigrant parents” “…younger children are transferred to state custody and put up for adoption, never to see their parents again…” “Child welfare departments and the federal government aren't required to track cases of families separated by deportation” (Rodriguez, 2013)

United Kingdom Immigration Children born in England do not gain citizenship if parents are not citizens. Must live in country for at least 5 years. Must not have broken any immigration laws while in country. (Become a British citizen, 2014)

England vs. United States Immigration The United States and the United Kingdom (UK) have similar immigration policy, but the UK has stricter rules in place. The United States deports more illegal immigrants than the UK. Due to babies born in the UK not automatically becoming citizens, children are not orphaned from parents being deported as in the United States. People do not migrate to the UK illegally to give birth to children, since there is not the benefit of citizenship like in the United States.

Proposed Policy Change Immigration policy is enforced by the federal government, therefore the following proposed policy changes must be approached at the federal level. Ending the right to automatic citizenship if born in the U.S. Ability for illegal immigrant parents of American children to apply for expedited citizenship without leaving the U.S. Enhanced security at borders and increased deportation of illegal immigrants without American children. Increased fines to those that employ illegal immigrants.

Goals of Policy Change Stopping automatic immigration would decrease the amount of migrants trying to cross the boarder by removing the reward and would end the problem of illegal immigrants having children that have American citizenship. Giving parents of American children a way to become legal without separating them from their children will hopefully lessen the expense on the US government of taking care of orphaned children from parents being deported. Increasing security at borders will help decrease the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country in the future. Increasing the penalty to employers that employ illegal immigrants will make finding employment more difficult, discouraging the migration of illegal immigrants.

Policy Feasibility These changes are very similar to what the UK already has in place, therefore the feasibility is very high for the UK. Supporting this policy change: These proposed policies fall between the Republican and Democratic Parties. Republicans are opposed to amnesty, but may be persuaded to support this because it does not propose automatic citizenship just an expedited application process. Democrats support amnesty, therefor may oppose making all illegal immigrants go through an application process even if expedited. Both parties support increased security at our boarders and of those who employ illegal immigrants unlawfully.

Policy Implementation Federal Representative Candace Miller – Republican Mrs. Miller has already proposed bills to increase security at US borders Proposing policy change: Bring information in organized fashion to Mrs. Miller. If Mrs. Miller likes the bill she could potentially present it before congress to be enacted, if she is opposed to the bill, this worker would need to seek out other representatives that would be willing to present the bill.

Personal View This worker has witnessed a family being ripped apart from one of their parents due to their illegal immigrant status. This worker has been a foster parent and has witnessed the impact growing up in foster care has on children. This worker’s personal connection to this topic. This connection makes this worker passionate about being a change agent to promote better outcomes for the population affected by immigration policy.

References Become a British citizen. (2014, November 12). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from Pitts, B. (2008, April 7). Illegal Immigrant Births. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from expense/ Rodriguez, C. (2013, October 27). Deportations: Missing parents, scared kids. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from left-behind/index.html U.S. Citizenship Through Parents or by Birth - FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2014, from citizenship-through-parents-or-by-birth.html/ Wessler, S. (2012, December 17). Nearly 205K Deportations of parents of U.S. citizens in just over two years - colorlines. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from html