One of the arguments in the immigration debate in this country against a "comprehensive reform" policy that would provide about 12 million illegal immigrants a legal path towards citizenship, is that it would give amnesty to those who did not follow the rule of law.But on Thanksgiving Day, the Washington Post reported that: "Hundreds of thousands of people may not be able to vote in next year's US presidential election because of a huge citizenship application backlog."
The story is another example of bureaucratic red, white and blue tape getting in the way of people trying to follow the legal policy towards citizenship. It is also more politics getting in the way of governing. The Post story is linked here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112102419.html
Those left waiting for citizenhsip will also be disenfranchised or not eligible to vote in the 2008 election.
Immigration, chief Hillary Clinton strategist Mark Penn said, is emerging as "a new wedge issue" for Republicans, who will attempt to use it to paint Democrats as weak on border security.
In last month's Democratic Presidential candidates debate, when asked about New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's proposal to provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, Clinton initially refused to answer, but her campaign put out a statement the next day saying she does support such a move.
All of the Democratic contenders have embraced some form of "comprehensive reform" -- including a failed measure, backed by President Bush, that would have given about 12 million illegal immigrants a path toward legal citizenship. Most of the Republican presidential candidates opposed that legislation and have focused their rhetoric on improving border security.
Polls showed a majority of Americans supported that legislation, but two-thirds also thought the United States was not doing enough to stem the tide of illegal immigration, according to an ABC News poll taken in September.
At the same time, according to a CNN poll last month, 76 percent of Americans oppose giving licenses to illegal immigrants, compared with 23 percent who favor it.
A Wedge issue is a social or political issue, often of a divisive or otherwise controversial nature, which is used by one political group to split apart or create a "wedge" in the support base of an opposing political group, with a view to enticing voters to give their support to the first group. The use of wedge issues gives rise to wedge politics.
And in this case, even for the Democrats, the complicated issue of immigration is not a valence issue. An issue that is uniformly liked or disliked among the electorate, as opposed to a position issue on which opinion is divided.
Post your position on immigration reform here. And be thankful you are not waiting in line for citizenship.
5 comments:
Our borders need to be secured. The borders with Mexico and Canada provide an easy route into the United States for drugs, terrorists, lowlifes, etc. Having said that, we need to find a more efficient way to get people into the country legally. Research should be done into faster, more accurate ways to run background checks. There also needs to be major reform in how we process citizenship applications or any other application. At some point, you just have to take a chance and let them in
I definately agree with Garrett. Having our borders as open as they are is not safe. However, I do feel that illegal immigrants already here should have a much faster route to citizenship. I guess I am pretty liberal on this issue, but I think immigrants really help to keep America running. Yes, as Garrett points out, background checks need to be done for security, however I think we need to end the red tape and grant citizenship. I think the whole system needs to be reexamined and reorganized. You need to prioritize what is important when letting in immigrants (because most the time, a lot of information is missing, leading to the long lines and red tape we now have).
Immigration is something that I feel very strongly about. The American immigration system is very rudimentary because it does not create a definitive solution to modern immigration. I'm not just talking about illegal immigration but also legal immigration as well.
I agree that boder security should be a priority but that is a short term solution. What about the illegals that are all ready here and are a vital part of the American economy? Many people don't understand the FACT that illegal immigrants have become a significant portion of the American labor industries because they work hard and they are much cheaper. Many cheap things that we take for granted like food will skyrocket if we kick them all out.
Also, many American companies might even go bankrupt if they have to hire legit workers because they cost a lot more. This not only proves that illegals are vital to America, but we should also create a long-term solution that encompasses the intricate details of this problem.
There is no simple solution for illegal immigration. The radical solutions on both ends (i.e deportation or amnesty) will only hurt the country.
Although I realize that for security reason are borders need to be secured, as a country founded by immigrants I feel that all people should be given the opportunity to become an American citizen.
Unfortunatly, the current immigration process is in desperate need of repair. It should not take a person over a year to be processed after completing their paperwork. It is because of this backlog that we have so many people illegally entering our country. People can't wait that long.
If we could just simplify and speed up the process, then we could make the illegals legal, and then they could start doing their part at citizen i.e. paying taxes and social security, which would in return benefit the country.
With that said, "illegals" are are an important part of the our country's economy, an therefore action should be taken to allow these people, whose only wish is to achieve the American dream, to become citizens.
Jenny
Paperwork backup seems to be the quintessential problem in American. Seriously. Maybe that's why there are so many problems with immigration. I know someone who was stuck in the Philippines for 10 years until he finally received his papers stating that he could come. He couldn't go back to Vietnam and he couldn't come to America, where his family was. Some people aren't as patient as him and would have just come here illegally anyways despite the government. And yes, illegal immigrants do make up a lot of the cheap labor. Doesn't make it right though. Illegal immigration has become a really bloated problem.
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