HOW DOES IMMIGRATION REFORM HAPPEN?

Immigration reform, is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform" means to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses. In the political sense, immigration reform may include promoted, expanded, or open immigration, as well as reduced or eliminated immigration.

An immigration reform is commonly more political in nature since immigration is mostly controlled by the government to begin with. Politicians all over the world are not only knowledgeable about immigration policies but have helped draft them as well.

Changing The Policies

The most important part of immigration reform comes about when policies regarding immigration are proposed to be changed. The changes are normally put in place by means of voting or passing a new law stating the change in the immigration policies.

Politician, who more often than not start these changes, find themselves in a position where they have to stand by different immigration policies. When certain politicians are in power, they represent certain ideas regarding immigration and their views , whether they are for or against, are normally a reflection of what they feel and think about the existing immigration policies and as such serve as a stepping stone for immigration reform.

In many countries around the world like the US, immigration reform is brought about as a result of a democratic vote. Congress presents and passes a concept that is voted on and is decided by the majority. Which is why as stated in the beginning, immigration reform is mostly political in nature since it relies heavily on political influence to get it implemented.

Strong Influence

In democratic countries, the strongest influence on reforming laws and regulations are the people of that country who will be complying with the same laws and regulations. Therefore, they have been given the right to vote and the ability to pass certain reforms that they wish to comply with.

However, one cannot help but notice how most immigration reforms are started not as a result of public demand but by political interest. The US in particular, is a country that accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than all other countries combined, believing that the influx of different cultures invigorates the country and that the US draws strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants who have proved to be the most restless, adventurous, innovative and industrious people as described by former US President Bill Clinton in 1998.

During his term he appointed the The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, which was led by former Rep. Barbara Jordan and ran from 1990 to 1997. The Commission covered many facets of immigration policy, but started from the perception that the "credibility of immigration policy can be measured by a simple yardstick: people who should get in, do get in; people who should not get in, are kept out; and people who are judged deportable are required to leave". Studying the existing immigration policies, it found that enforcement was lax and needed improvement on the border and internally.

For internal enforcement, it recommended that an automated employment verification system be created to enable workers to distinguish between legal and illegal workers. The second report discussed legal immigration issues and suggested that immediate family members and skilled workers receive priority. The third report covered refugee and asylum issues. Finally, the fourth report reiterated the major points of the previous reports and the need for a new immigration policy. However, few of these suggestions were actually implemented.

When the public finds political viewpoints about immigration interesting, they tend to pick sides and back it up. If they agree with a particular point of view, they vote in favor of it so it can be passed.

Consequences

When the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2000 happened, it brought about many cries for changes to be made in the immigration policy. The event affected the Americans' perspectives on immigration particularly when it came to light that a total of 20 foreign-born terrorists were involved, 19 of whom took part in the attack that caused 2,974 civilian deaths.

The terrorists had entered the United States on tourist or student visas. Four of them, however, had violated the terms of their visas and became illegal aliens. The attacks also exposed long-standing weaknesses in the U.S. immigration system that included failures in the areas of visa processing, internal enforcement, and information sharing.

Hence, changes like visa limits were implemented, more stringent and tighter restrictions on asylum applications made it easier to exclude suspected terrorists. In 2005, the proposal for the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act came into being but was never voted on by the Senate although parts of it were later incorporated in Senate proposals.

However, it is very important that any changes made to immigration reform be planned and drafted carefully before enforcing it because while it may be a popular viewpoint, it can end up making things worse so the public voting on these changes should be also made to understand it thoroughly.

 


 

 

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