President Obama Forges Ahead with Immigration
Posted Apr 24, 2009
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President Barack Obama's Deputy Assistant and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Cecilia Muñoz, reaffirmed on April 8, 2009, the President's campaign promise to push Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation. The Administration has acknowledged that the current economic problems in the country make immigration reform even more difficult. There are concerns surrounding this contentious issue among critics and strategists on all sides. Nevertheless, President Obama's Deputy Assistant asserts that she will [re]start this passionate and divisive debate this year. Further announcements are expected in May 2009, followed by the establishment of working groups to begin the difficult work of crafting policy and proposed legislation.
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Shift to Employer Enforcement
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Consistent with his campaign trail declarations, President Obama has already shifted enforcement focus away from worksite raids on undocumented workers, to instead crack down on employer violations. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will recall mention of this policy shift in our March 1, 2009 article, Obama Administration Increases Employer Investigations. Critics argue that the worksite raids, which epitomized the Bush Administration, along with the recession, would have forced many undocumented workers out of the country, and that President Obama's focus on noncompliant employers does not produce this result. Supporters point to the employers who violate employment law and policy as the attraction for undocumented workers in the first place.
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Controversy over Undocumented Immigrants
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One of the most controversial aspects of Comprehensive Immigration Reform is any proposal to permit a path to citizenship intended to bring from the shadows the estimated twelve million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. (Generally, the "path to citizenship" is a means to achieve permanent residency or some other form of legal status. However, the path-to-citizenship terminology is often used in an effort to appeal to voters, most of whom may not be aware of immigration terminology and process nuances.) These proposals for relief typically come with significant conditions, including benefits processing at the back of "the line" (with the creation of a queue of some type) and various significant fines and penalties. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers can find a summary of President Obama's immigration voting record as a U.S. senator in our January 2, 2009 article, President Obama and U.S. Immigration Policy.
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Conclusion
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Despite the immediate urgency created by the current economic crisis, President Obama continues to tackle long-term problems like energy and health care, because he sees them as intrinsically related to long-term economic improvement and stability of the United States. It seems that the Obama Administration also sees a similar link between improved immigration policy and the economy. There are many experts and reports that point to the value of immigrants to the economy and to economic recovery. MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers generally fit within the category of legal immigrants who would also like to see some relief from their struggles and years of waiting for immigration benefits. While discussions of CIR in the media often focus on illegal immigration, true reform would address the fundamental problems within the current system and, hopefully, lead to some important improvements, including an increase in the immigrant quota numbers to reduce the long wait for "green card" applicants. We will continue to follow the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and all useful information will be shared with our readers.