Issue Description: Illegal Immigration

In order to deter illegal immigration while being sensitive to the position of unauthorized immigrants who arrived to the United States under ambivalent conditions, the United States must reform its immigration system at the federal level.

Executive Summary:

Broken immigration policy has contributed to a high influx of illegal immigrants in the United States. To date, an estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States (Immigration Policy Center 3). Because of years of inconsistent immigration policies, many of these individuals lack a path to citizenship, yet have family ties that to United States (4). Currently, a four-fold approach has been adopted for reforming immigration laws: 1) strengthening border security, 2) streamlining the legal immigration process, 3) providing a pathway to citizenship for select unauthorized immigrants, and 4) enforcing employment laws to deter the hire of undocumented workers. This issue paper will argue the merits of this multifaceted approach to reforming immigration policy in the United States.

Background:

• A population boom and lagging economy in Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s led to increased migration to the United States (Alden 110).

• In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which legalized over 3 million unauthorized individuals and increased border security (Alden 109).

• Still, lack of enforcement enabled employers to hire unauthorized individuals as seasonal migrant laborers following the reform (Alden 109).

• Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, border security became an issue of national security and warranted oversight by the Department of Homeland Security (Alden 111).

Current Status:

After two decades of ambivalent enforcement of immigration policy, millions of unauthorized immigrants exist in a precarious position. While 12 million unauthorized individuals live in the United States, 4 million children of at least one unauthorized immigrant is a United States citizen (Immigration Policy Center 4). Thus, in recognition of the humanitarian aspect of this issue, the executive branch has provided leadership on this issue by continuing to focus on border security, discouraging businesses from hiring undocumented workers, providing pathways to citizenship for mixed-citizenship families, and implementing improvements to the legal immigration system (The White House Office 3). Through both legislative and executive action, the federal government has prioritized legislation to discourage illegal immigration while addressing the presence of unauthorized immigrants.

Abilities/Strengths/Risk:

The issues surrounding immigration reform are politically sensitive and require both the support of the public and the cooperation of elected officials for successful implementation. The primary risk faced by policymakers in that Congress will not obtain the public support that is necessary for comprehensive reform, leaving an ineffective patchwork of reforms.

Recommendation:

In order to prevent the ambivalent environment that followed immigration reform policies of the 1980s and 1990s, the federal government must enact comprehensive reform measures. To avoid the piecemeal passage of legislation, a single reform measure must be implemented that achieves the four discussed objectives. During the 2014 Congressional session, a committee must review recent immigration reform measures so that any existing gaps in immigration policy can be addressed through appropriate legislation.

Works Cited

Alden, Edward. “Immigration and Border Control.” Cato Journal, vol. 32, no. 1, 2012, pp. 107-24.

Immigration Policy Center. Breaking Down the Problems: What’s Wrong with our Immigration System? Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2009. Immigration Policy Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.

The White House Office. Building a 21st Century Immigration System. Washington, DC: The White House Office, 2011. Whitehouse.gov.