Republicans and Democrats Look to Immigration Reform

With over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S, immigration reform is among the most pressing political issues today.  Democrats and Republicans are looking toward a more comprehensive overhaul of the current immigration system, but progress is slow as bipartisan support meets partisan antagonism.

According to the American Immigration Council, current issues in legislation can be traced back to 1996. “After almost 20 years, the supposed reforms of 1996 have led to years of troubled enforcement policies, further undermined a system that could not respond quickly to changes in the economy, and often ignored the important contributions made by immigrants to this country,” the Council says on its website.

Current immigration laws seek to penalize immigrants but offer few other options. The Council argues that issues with the proper channels for legal immigration and an oversight of the work of immigrants to speed economic recovery after recession has led to an immigration system that isn’t functional.

Some Republicans, like former Florida governor Jeb Bush, have referred to the plight of undocumented workers as an “act of love” rather than a felony. But Bush received backlash from his comments, including criticism from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who stressed the need for a nation that “celebrates and welcomes legal immigrants.”

Others, including Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), supported Bush’s statement if not necessarily his phrasing. “Words matter, I know, but I believe if he had said it right—they came here because they love their families and they want to have a better life—that's the story of America," he told The Arizona Republic.

Texas Rep. Joe Barton (R-Arlington) is looking to introduce a bi-partisan bill to make sweeping changes to the nation’s immigration system, including offering a path to citizenship for children who are in the country illegally and a path to legal status for adults who have not committed violent crimes.

“If the only illegal act they committed was coming in the country without proper documentation, we put them on a path to legalization, not citizenship,” said Barton, as quoted in the Dallas News. He also recognized that many undocumented children have limited means to gain citizenship. “They are Americans, and we need to acknowledge that and find a way, to those that wish to be a part of the American dream for opportunity, to make them legal.” Barton said.

President Obama has proposed a four-part plan for reform, which would strengthen border security to keep communities safer from crime, streamline legal immigration to make it simpler and more efficient, provide undocumented immigrants with a legal way to earn citizenship so that they can “come out of the shadows,” and hold businesses accountable for knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

“Together we can build a fair, effective and common sense immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” says the White House.

However, many activists are not satisfied, citing the over 2 million deportations of undocumented persons during the Obama administration, and the President himself conceded that America’s deportation policy should be more humane after a recent meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucasus.

“It is clear that the pleas from the community got through to the President,” said the Washington Times. “The CHC will work with him to keep families together. The President clearly expressed the heartbreak he feels because of the devastating effect that deportations have on families.”

But Republicans quickly criticized the President’s comments, fearing that “more humane” equated to a “near abandonment of immigration enforcement,” according to a Fox News report.

"Our entire constitutional system is threatened when the executive branch suspends the law at its whim and our nation's sovereignty is imperiled when the commander in chief refuses to defend the integrity of its borders,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and 21 of his colleagues in a letter to the President.

Despite this, other politicians are hopeful and support bipartisan cooperation. “I’ve never seen a better political environment [for immigration reform,]” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told an audience at the Easley Rotary Club. “I’m not doing immigration reform to solve the Republican Party’s political problem. I’m trying to save our nation from, I think, a shortage of labor and a catastrophic broken system.

Sen. Dick Durban (D-Illinois) seems to agree: “We are dealing with the question of the 11 million people paying their taxes, having a path to legalization and, then, ultimately, to citizenship—tough issues… but we are coming together and I think we can do it.”