Do you think there is a need for comprehensive immigration reform? Why or why not? If immigrants are coming here with the focus of bettering their economic circumstance, should they be granted citizenship? Are our immigration policies good as they are? All of these questions are important when examining the immigration debate.
Read this article about the ins and outs of the immigration debate, and more specifically, on the power (or lack thereof) of the President to push this issue. Is the President more or less powerful regarding changing our immigration policies than you previously believed? What do you think the President should do, if anything? Has he done too much? Too little? Remember, opinions are perfectly acceptable as long as we have a valid reason behind it.
19 comments:
This is Jarrod Darrow from P1B.
I'd like to start by saying that aside from what I read in this article I know virtually nothing about our immigration laws and the situation with the large amount of children who have recently entered the country. With that being said, my uninformed opinion on immigration is that anyone who obeys our laws, is employed, and has their children in school, should be welcome in our country. The CNN article states that Obama has the power to instate weekly check-ins with an immigration officer as an alternative to keeping these new immigrants in a detention camp. I think this would be much better than keeping them in a detention camp because weekly check ins gives these immigrants a very good amount of freedom while we can still keeping our eye on them to see if they are behaving. But since these people are essentially strangers to us, only checking on them once a week is giving them a lot of freedom, because of this the penalty for missing a check up should be severe, like if you miss a check up in the first 6 months you're deported.
Immigration in America is a tricky subject to talk about. Reading the article, I was surprised at the lack of power Obama has to make any sort of reform for immigration. With the deadlock on making laws due to conflicts in the House, no solution is being implemented. Right now, the immigration policies are not good as they are. I think that instead of putting the immigrants in detention housing for the time being, the President should use his power to do a weekly mandatory check-in with immigration officials as an option, since that will give them more freedom considering they come to America to escape political and economic turmoil. I also think not only the president, but the whole law-making system should come to a set decision on immigration reform so that we can stop giving incoming immigrants an answer as to what the policy is, instead of the shaky idea that spouses and children may be able to stay but maybe not and so forth. But to say exactly what the immigration policy should be is very difficult, and is why there is so much debate.
America is a nation of immigrants. Most of our founding fathers who wrote the Constitution were first generation Americans. But immigration has changed over the past hundred years. People should continue to be able to come into America to better their lives but they can't break laws in order to do so. There is not much the president can do about immigration without the help of congress and federal agencies. Immigrants should have the natural rights (first amendment rights), and a right to a jury, but immigrants should continue to be deported for not legally completing paperwork to become a U.S. citizen. The president should do more to make sure the government is involved with immigration by providing services that do lead individuals towards legalization. The government could create cheaper, clearer steps for individuals to become citizens and be involved in each immigrants life. Each immigrant should have to have weekly check-ins with some kind of official or face deportation. These weekly check ins could require outline plans and dates for an individual to become a citizen. The government should provide materials for immigrants to learn English and aid in joining the work force. The president could order to have more National Guard border patrol also. The president must not however raise taxes to enlarge immigrant detention facilities.
(1B) The United States is one of the greatest countries in the world because of the freedom we bring to people. America was founded off of immigrants so I do agree that we should allow people into our country but only if they are true U.S citizens who pay taxes and abide by the same rules as everybody else. I feel like the President has a decent amount of power regarding immigration but to make any for sure changes that would greatly impact immigrants permanently the President would have to use Congress as well as the House of Representative. I do believe though that monitoring the immigrants by check ups would be a good way for them control immigration while the President finds a way to get them all green cards as well as permanent citizenship. The one thing I did not like though is how the President is trying to find a way to solve the U.S immigration problem by himself without having to go through Congress. Immigration is a big issue and I feel like Congress should have a say as well as the House because that way U.S would get their opinion in a way to this matter. The government should resolve this matter quickly though so that the immigrants do not have to wait since everybody gets a right to due process whether they are U.S citizens or not.
I do believe that there is a necessary need for immigration reform. I believe that the guidelines set in place of 140,000 green card available annually is a good number and isn't large enough to hurt the U.S economy with immigrants taking jobs; but with that being said the system is not working and there is hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the border each year. Although it would be nice to accept every person that needs help and wants to live in America it just isn't plausible, each country has a carrying capacity and allowing unlimited immigration would definitely overflow America's economy with too many workers and not enough jobs. The president is less powerful then I had previously thought, according to the CNN article the only major thing he can do to restrict immigration is send more National Guard members,the other options have to deal with controlling the immigrants when they are already inside America. Allowing unrestricted immigration is not good idea, the stress the immigrants would put on our economy would be far too large and the president must make some policy changes in order to slow down the amount of illegal immigrants. Although to do this he is going to need agreement from congress. Completely stopping illegal immigration but policy change is needed to slow it down.Regarding children that are held in detention camps right now, they should be granted citizenship especially if fleeing extreme violence.I like the idea of weekly check ups to monitor them and to make sure that they are succeeding here in America.But we cant just deport the parents and keep the children so that becomes a sticky situation and that is where the concept of 'anchor babies" comes into play.All in all I think Obama needs to make reform not for the immigrants already in America but create reform in order to keep them from entering. Heightened border security, crackdown on visas and green cards with any overstayed visits resulting in just punishment. The president has a tricky situation on his hands but he must act and not continue to let this disaster grow larger. Change is needed.
abdul-muizz naeem mian period 1b
being a first generation American who came to the united states from Pakistan the current immigration process is quite useless. its easier to sneak across the borders and get fake papers and become naturalized then too wait a period of ten years to be even eligible for citizenship. the president wants it to be easier for immigrants to attain citizenship according to many state of the union address and calls for immigration reform.our borders are insecure many people traffic humans and drugs quite easily. immigrants come to this country for one thing, a better life. the green card limit needs to be at least 500,000. there needs to be policies and institution in place to help provide information and assess to these immigrants so people don't illegal come to the u.s rather they do it the right way where Americas borders can be secure and they don't mooch of the American government.
Nowadays in politics, it is difficult to get anything done. Politics have become so polarized due to party alliances that it seems as though we are always in some type of stalemate between the President and the House. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that President Obama would like to take some independent action in order to get something accomplished. That doesn’t make it easy, though. Due to the checks and balances predetermined in the Constitution, the President isn’t able to do very much. According to the article, about the only thing Obama can do to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States is adding more border patrols. Otherwise, the powers of the President pertain more to what he can do once the immigrants are inside the country. Even then, the President can’t do much. Personally I feel as though the weekly check-ins would be the best thing for the President to implement. Detention centers do not give much freedom to people who wanted to come to America – the “land of opportunity”. Ankle bracelets have the potential to change the way the immigrants are perceived – similar to criminals on house arrest. Weekly check-ins, though, would allow the immigrants to experience freedom in America, while still complying with the law and remaining monitored.
Brandi Agle (1B)
I believe that their shouldn't be an immigration reform. Although they are coming to the U.S to get a better education, and have freedom, The U.S is getting over populated and we don't have enough resources to suffice all of them. I believe that immigrants who come over illegally get there citizenship way faster than going through the whole process. Having a visa is good so they can visit and get away from their economic problems, but whenever it runs out I think they should have to be deported back to where they came from. I believe that the border patrols need to tighten down because the immigrants keep adding up and if they don't minimize the surplus of people in the united states we won't have any resources to give to the Americans.
Immigration personally is a touchy subject to talk about myself being from a different country. That being said with the reading of this article truly opens my eyes as to how little power the president actually has on this entire issue of Immigration. Since this issue is a standstill at congress it is essential for the president to take some sort of action. The immigration issue is not being resolved as more and more illegal immigrants come to the United States. There needs to be a comprehensive reform made however not all immigrants should be granted citizenship. However with this new issue being presented of a large amount of children coming from Central America searching for a better future due to issues that are being presented in their country should not be treated as criminals or as illegal (adult) immigrants would, a majority of these children are young and scared and just want to be able to be free and happy. Regardless, the President does not have much power as he would like to have in order to control this immigrant situation. The CNN article states that the president cant "And no, the President can't increase the number eligible for green cards...." What he can do is limited to actually taking action. What he should do is get back with congress and push more the issues on immigration. Because if not the immigration issue will continue to grow and more immigrants will continue to enter the United States.
Immigration should be reformed because in a way there are a lot of lose ends, or topic matters that are troubling in regards to immigration. Though many immigrants coming to the states often times seek a better way of living socially, economically, and even physically, you can never be to certain in this day and age. With this being said, automatic or granted citizenship should not be certain, but worked for. The immigration policy is definitely not as good as they may appear to be. For example, the congress could find a better way to place immigrants instead of in detention camps. Let immigrants experience life in the states, they life they sought to achieve in coming here. In a sense the camps in which they are held in can be seen as captivity, rather than the alleged freedom and opportunity America has to offer. Obama has not done enough for immigration reform. If it takes him somewhat having to put his neck under the guillotine then so be it. If he truly seeks change then he may have to step out on his own, especially if the House is not making effective action towards immigration. However, if both the House and President Obama can come to agreeable terms with each other and devise a new effective immigration reform then that is a different story.
The topic of immigration reform has continuously evolved over the years in regards to the privileges of immigrants crossing borders to come into the US. Personally knowing the circumstances of immigrating into the states, it’s not an easy process. But in comparison to before and now the policies and reforms on the subject of immigration have very much changed. I believe that a stronger immigration reform should be implemented because many of the people coming into the country are doing so to better their life and future, thus congress shouldn’t immediately create a change where it will not favor new people coming in. Instead there should be policies developed where it can benefit not only current citizens but also immigrants who are trying to become citizens as well. Reading through the article reveals just how much power the President has individually and the power that he must share within congress. It’s only a matter of coming to a mutual agreement about reforms since one branch can’t solely implement it alone.
I do think that immigration does need to be reformed. There are holes in the system right now it is hard to find where there isn’t any. According to immigrationpolicy.org, eleven to twelve million undocumented citizens are currently living in the U.S. We are spending billions of dollars trying to contain the mass of unauthorized citizens, however I think it is just time for a new plan. Of course having the best life possible for you and your family is everyone’s hope and dream, however it is only fair that immigrants go through a legal process to meet everyone’s needs. With the recent situation about the dozens of children wanting passes into the U.S., the President does need a way to handle the situation. I feel that he should change the policy and do something for these kids while still maintaining the U.S. economy. Obama should “…tweak and fine tune existing guidelines on who to prioritize and prosecute in deportation hearings”, according to the cnn article. It is cost efficient and can be done in a speedily manner.
Immigration in America is more detailed than what's on the core. Everyone has general opinions. but I never knew how much work had to go into it until reading this article. I like the idea of bringing immigrants to school and making them have an education. This idea gives the America a more educated society. Immigrants are people too, so they should get freedom as much as everyone else but of course they have limits. I also never knew that the president had a limit on the number of people eligible for green cards. I think they should make it possible for more people to have chances to come here, but prove they are staying for the right reasons. It would be logical for the people to be checked before coming in, but let them live their life freely afterwards and keeping track of them often to see what they're up too.
Immigration reform is a very complicated subject of matter because every day more and more people are choosing to come to America believing that they will be offered better opportunities than where they currently reside. The only problem is that immigration reforms are becoming more strict almost restricting immigrants from coming into the United States. Possible reform that would grant immigrants better futures should be implemented, and since Obama cannot do too much towards the problem it is very important that at least some measures get drawn towards the reforms.
P. 1B
Prior to the article, I wasn't really knowledgeable at all of the President's involvement in issues concerning immigration. Adding on to that, the U.S.'s immigration policies seem quite complex and confusing so I'm not really well informed about that either. However, I do believe that there is a need for change when it comes to immigration policies because it seems as if immigration has been an ongoing conflict, but nothing ever seems to be done about any aspect of it. The immigrants that come to the U.S. in hopes of bettering their lives economically or making a better life for their children shouldn't be classified in the same group as those who come to America for all the wrong reasons. The changes that need to be done should be beneficial to those with good intentions, but should still be strict when it comes to those who tend to not follow the laws. After reading the article, I realized how little the president can do about immigration. The fact that he's trying to solve these problems without Congress' approval, however, is not right at all and it contributes to the whole situation where things won't get done because too much conflict arises when authorities clash. Instead of trying to solve these problems alone, the president should work together with Congress and try to solve these issues without further complication in hopes of bettering the nation for those who live in it and those who hope to.
1B
The president is both powerful and not powerful regarding immigration reform. The president, although he can't exactly make and change laws regarding immigration without breaking constitutional boundaries, he can raise public awareness about immigration reform and possible get people to favor changes in immigration laws; however, he has very little actual power in changing these laws. Obama is now overstepping his boundaries and I believe that he shouldn't be doing what he is doing, despite the fact that nothing is really getting done in Congress. Boehner isn't exactly doing anything wrong in his intentions to sue Obama, although it does sound kind of ridiculous to someone like me who isn't very knowledgable on political affairs. If Obama is truly passionate about reforming immigration laws, then he should do what he is able to do (the 5 things he can do that is mentioned in the article) so that the federal government powers are well balanced and so that there is no controversy regarding overstepping boundaries.
I was surprised to learn that the President had the authority to move more National Guard personnel to the border, but it makes sense considering that the President is the commander of the Armed Forces. Personally, I believe the President should continue to aid immigrant children by allowing them to attend school and work. It is typically not the children who made the decision to immigrate to America, and if these children remain in the U.S., it is better to educate them and prepare them to be valuable contributors to the nation and the economy. The same goes for adults: instead of pursuing a strategy which aims to deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible, the President should provide as much legal assistance as necessary to those facing deportation hearings. The president should also push for a clearer path towards legalization and citizenship (for both illegal and legal immigrants), possibly including check-ins periodically. While taking such a step is impossible without agreement from Congress (who are unlikely to work with President Obama), President Obama no longer has to think about re-election, and should therefore undertake an aggressive policy when dealing with Congress on the issue of immigration reform.
Immigration in America has been a topic of subject matter for quite some time now. I believe that immigration does need to be reformed because so many people want to come into the United States to better themselves financially and support their families. Everyone deserves the chance for equal opportunities, but it is only fair if there is a legal process in which immigrants must go through to be officially welcomed into our country. In addition to this information I believe that mandatory weekly check ins with an immigration officer would be beneficial because immigrants are still able to hold a reasonable amount of freedom while still abiding by America’s laws. With these check ins they could have the opportunity to show what contributions they have made to society, while still laying ground rules on what would happen if they were to miss a check in. (Such as deportation within a certain period of time) I also believe that if president Obama came to a compromise with congress about this issue it would not only help control the number of immigrants in our country, but also shorten the process in which immigrants must go through to become a citizen.
I believe there is a need for comprehensive immigration reform, but I also believe it does not need to be accomplished through executive action. I believe there needs to be reform because I truly think that all immigrants should be given a chance to prove themselves in America, and bring what they have to the table. However, not all immigrants are coming to America with the intent to do good, so that needs to be looked at even closer. IF and only IF immigrants are coming to America to better their economic situation, I would be happy to have them become citizens. However, in recent times, that is not the case the majority of the time. Drug cartels are sneaking their ways in through the border at even greater rates now because the Border Patrol has just received all these other responsibilities regarding "refugees" rushing through to the border. Drug cartels have always gotten through the border, just in recent days it has been much easier than they could have ever imagined. I do not believe our immigration policies are very good right now. It seems like the government is scared to deport illegal immigrants for fear of being called "racist". I fully support deportation of ALL illegal immigrants, and I believe this because Mexico currently will not release United States Marine Corps Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, despite evidence he may have taken a wrong turn. Sergeant Tahmooressi did not break the law, because he told Mexican officials he was in possession of firearms (registered firearms) and I believe he even offered to turn around and leave the checkpoint, but was taken into custody instead. Until the Sergeant is released, I have absolutely no issues with deportation of illegals. Lets say that the Sergeant is released. I would still be in favor of deportation of illegal immigrants, but I would give them the opportunity to become citizens, but they will have to be at the back of the line, behind the other people who want to become citizens LEGALLY. I think that the President has all the power to do what he wants. He uses his executive privilege very often, which I personally do not agree with, but if he does the right thing than all the power to him. The President has many options, but a few stood out to me. As we have seen with this Border crisis, the Border Patrol is stretched very thin, hardly able to do much "patrolling". Many would disagree with my opinion but I say to solve this border crisis, we need to militarize the border. With the conflict in the Middle East winding to an end, we have many troops we can utilize to our advantage. An article I read (http://navyseals.com/1590/new-us-special-operations-headquarters-to-help-mexican-forces-to-fight-drug-gangs/) shows that even in 2013, the military was being utilized to fight drug cartels in Mexico, which obviously would prevent them from crossing our border to harm U.S Citizens. The article says that the United States Northern Command in Colorado has utilized the Special Operations Command-North to deploy soldiers assigned to Naval Special Warfare Command (Navy SEALs, SWCC, or SDVT) to train Mexican Military Commandos to fight the drug cartels who are constantly murdering people every day. These soldiers see the drug cartels as Mexico's version of Al-Qaeda. Members of the Army's SOF Command (USASOC) have been deployed to Mexico to train these Mexican soldiers to fight as well. As for the actual border, I would like to see not only the National Guard deployed (which would be a very good move), but I would like to see a mix of the Marines and Army at the border helping out.
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