Your Thoughts Re: Prospects for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
During August, President Obama made it clear that he backs comprehensive immigration reform and that despite the raucous debate over healthcare; a comprehensive immigration reform bill will be introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) shortly after Labor Day, and voted on by the Senate, and hopefully by the House of Representatives, early in 2010. Yet, there is reason to doubt that comprehensive immigration reform legislation will be enacted into law in 2010, or that it is a wise idea to enact an immigration law in the midst of a severe economic recession.
The Obama Administration has enraged pro-immigration advocates by expanding the 287(g) program whereby local police help ICE enforce federal immigration laws. With over ten million undocumented persons present in our country, do we want them to be so afraid of the police that they are afraid to report murders, rapes, robberies and other felonies? Of course, the Obama Administration is trying to restrict the 287(g) program to arrest only those who commit severe crimes. Whether this approach will be successful remains to be seen.
Another point of contention is the Administration's strong support of the E-Verify program for federal contractors. Last month, the U.S. District Court Judge in Maryland upheld the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule which will require certain federal contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system for all new hires, as well as existing employees working on a federal contract. Immigration advocates point to the errors in the E-Verify program and contend that thousands of U.S. citizens will be deprived of job opportunities if this system is implemented nationally...
In the wake of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, the acknowledged champion of immigration reform, we should reflect on how Kennedy changed the face of immigration in America. In 1965, he helped abolish the "national origins quotas" which favored immigrants from Western Europe and excluded those from Asia as "racially ineligible".
Kennedy sponsored the Refugee Act of 1980 which allowed persons fleeing persecution in their home countries an opportunity to seek asylum in the U.S.
He also supported the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which was signed into law by President Reagan. However, throughout his career, Kennedy "believe(d) that there were issues you could give in on and then come back later and fix,... that when you didn't get all you wanted the first time, you kept coming back and making it better" stated Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center.
From Andrew Carnegie and the Chinese railroad workers of the 19th century to Sergei Brin (Google), Andy Grove (Intel), Jerry Yang (Yahoo), the thousands of Indian programmers and physicians, Filipina nurses and the Mexican workers who pick our crops, clean our homes and build our cities, immigrants have always played a vital role in making the United States a prosperous country and the land of opportunity.
We link to the most significant immigration legislation that has been introduced in 2009 from our "Immigration Legislation" page at
http://shusterman.com/toc-leg.html#3
The Obama Administration has enraged pro-immigration advocates by expanding the 287(g) program whereby local police help ICE enforce federal immigration laws. With over ten million undocumented persons present in our country, do we want them to be so afraid of the police that they are afraid to report murders, rapes, robberies and other felonies? Of course, the Obama Administration is trying to restrict the 287(g) program to arrest only those who commit severe crimes. Whether this approach will be successful remains to be seen.
Another point of contention is the Administration's strong support of the E-Verify program for federal contractors. Last month, the U.S. District Court Judge in Maryland upheld the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule which will require certain federal contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system for all new hires, as well as existing employees working on a federal contract. Immigration advocates point to the errors in the E-Verify program and contend that thousands of U.S. citizens will be deprived of job opportunities if this system is implemented nationally...
In the wake of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, the acknowledged champion of immigration reform, we should reflect on how Kennedy changed the face of immigration in America. In 1965, he helped abolish the "national origins quotas" which favored immigrants from Western Europe and excluded those from Asia as "racially ineligible".
Kennedy sponsored the Refugee Act of 1980 which allowed persons fleeing persecution in their home countries an opportunity to seek asylum in the U.S.
He also supported the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which was signed into law by President Reagan. However, throughout his career, Kennedy "believe(d) that there were issues you could give in on and then come back later and fix,... that when you didn't get all you wanted the first time, you kept coming back and making it better" stated Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center.
From Andrew Carnegie and the Chinese railroad workers of the 19th century to Sergei Brin (Google), Andy Grove (Intel), Jerry Yang (Yahoo), the thousands of Indian programmers and physicians, Filipina nurses and the Mexican workers who pick our crops, clean our homes and build our cities, immigrants have always played a vital role in making the United States a prosperous country and the land of opportunity.
We link to the most significant immigration legislation that has been introduced in 2009 from our "Immigration Legislation" page at
http://shusterman.com/toc-leg.html#3
Hi Jen,
I have a general thought on reform. We have this bureaucracy called the U.S. government, which seems to come up with limitless ideas on needed reforms.
Except for the one most urgent, reform of the government itself. That will only happen when we break the stranglehold of the two party system on this country.
I believe Republicans and Democrats could never be so united as to be in opposition to that particular reform.