Immigration Reform is a sensitive subject in the current political climate. New laws are needed t...
Immigration Reform
Immigration Reform is a sensitive subject in the current political climate. New laws are needed to mediate the growing tensions between undocumented immigrants and U.S. Citizens
by Nicole Branning
1. Stakeholder
1.1. Policy makers regarding undocumented immigration
2. Stakeholder
2.1. Documented immigrants and U.S. Citizens
3. Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) This would granted three-year, renewable work permits and exemption from deportation to illegal aliens with children who are American citizens or lawful permanent residents.
4. Pro-Argument
4.1. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. It is unrealistic and inhumane to deport these individuals from their families and lives in the United States. These immigrants should be offered a path to legal status and eventually earned citizenship. This track to citizenship should be realistic, rather than being so burdensome that it prevents integration. Allowing these immigrants to regularize their status will not only strengthen our national security, but will also stimulate the economy and enhance America’s rich, vibrant, and diverse culture. (AJC, 2016)
4.1.1. Legal status would boost the economy, but the resulting productivity and wage gains would be much higher if the vast majority of the undocumented population are granted citizenship (Lee, 2014).
5. The executive orders entitled "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements" contains several sections which undermine human rights, including the expanded use of detention, limits on access to asylum, enhanced enforcement along the US-Mexico border, and the construction of a 2,000 mile border wall.
6. Stakeholder
6.1. First generation undocumented immigrants
7. Stakeholder
7.1. Children of undocumented immigrants
8. Against Argument
8.1. Some strongly advocated for immigration reform that focuses on enforcement and upholding the rule of law, including elimination of enforcement waivers that have been abused by previous and current Administrations. Any immigration reform proposal must first guarantee that our immigration laws are enforced both at the border and within the United States. They remain opposed to amnesty and do not support a special pathway to citizenship that rewards those who have broken our immigration laws (Goodlatte, 2016)
8.1.1. Our national and economic security depend on requiring people who are living and working here illegally to come forward and get right with the law. There will be no special path to citizenship for individuals who broke our nation’s immigration laws – that would be unfair to those immigrants who have played by the rules and harmful to promoting the rule of law (Boehner, 2014).