Immigration: Reform or Conform?

By: Bailey Caskey

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and thus America became the land of immigrants. So why, in 2018, does immigration remain as one of the most important debates of our time? Peter Schuck, an author and law professor at Yale, proposes the complicated answer to the question: “Defining ourselves as a nation of immigrants, we also view immigration as a threat.” Since the independence from Britain, the United States has been struggling to establish a long-lasting immigration policy. Virtually every political campaign addresses their view on immigration. It is included as an important issue outlined on each president’s White House page.

Regardless of party beliefs, immigration is acknowledged as powerful force which shapes the future of the United States. Policies providing for immigration or preventing it influence the character of the country. American practices regarding immigration have contradicted themselves. Border security is a consistent concern for both sides of the aisle, but the American people also pride themselves on the capitalistic economy which promotes the free flow of goods, technology, and capital which of course includes human capital. However, as a caravan of immigrants comes to the country’s borders to apply for asylum and seek a better life, there are dozens of arrests made and tear gas is sprayed to deter immigrants.

There are two ideological poles that define the immigration debate. On one side, there are the promoters of more open borders who support providing the freedom of movement of migrants for liberty, escape from persecution, and economic freedom. On the other, there maintains great fear about immigrant impact of a variety of aspects within the country: environment, labor market competition, population growth and the use of public services.

According to Census Bureau Data, “immigrants comprise about 14 percent of the U.S. population: more than forty-three million out of a total of about 323 million people.” This population makes up roughly 17 percent of the workforce in the United States. Because there is such a large portion of both the population and the workforce in the United States, there have been numerous attempts of immigration reform in the past two decades as a way to minimize illegal immigration while ensuring safe borders. Easier said than done, the last time a comprehensive immigration reform bill was close to passing was in 2013, but it did not receive an adequate number of votes from the Republican controlled House of Representatives.

Passing comprehensive immigration reform is quite the task as it would need to address several issues within immigration including demand for high-skilled and low-skilled labor, the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, security both at the border and enforcement within the country.

The past two presidents, one from each party have attempted their own reforms for immigration, although both are distinctly different from one another. Under Barack Obama, the administration began a popular program known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Barack Obama signing DACA. 

(DACA) which protects the immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children. The program was well taken advantage of because “as of March 2018, more than eight hundred thousand had taken advantage of DACA.” After the establishment of the program, Obama urged Congress to pass the DREAM act, which was first introduced in 2001 during the presidency of George W. Bush. The DREAM act would have benefitted many of the same people, but it has yet to be passed under any administration, Republican or Democratic.

President Donald Trump’s efforts on immigration are more conservative and revolve around several different executive orders. His primary pinnacle for immigration reform is constructing a border wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. He has also ended ‘catch-and-release’ practices at the border which allow for migrants to remain in the United States until their court date.

The most controversial of Trump’s series of executive orders focuses on terrorism prevention. In the order, he banned entry of migrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for at least 90 days. This effort was widely protested and several legal challenges arose within the country. As a result, the administration has revised it twice so the Supreme Court would rule it constitutional. This third version of the order remains in effect.

The most recent news of the immigration debate within the United States has been regarding asylum-seeking migrants from Central America. On the quest for asylum, hundreds of migrants packed up in buses to travel for a month to reach Tijuana, Mexico and apply for asylum in the United States. The travelers endured all weather conditions and received ample news coverage leading up the 2018 Midterm elections. Donald Trump expressed serious concern of these migrants by tweeting :

“The Caravans are made up of some very tough fighters and people. Fought back hard and viciously against Mexico at Northern Border before breaking through. Mexican soldiers hurt, were unable, or unwilling to stop Caravan. Should stop them before they reach our Border, but won’t!”

and

“Our military is being mobilized at the Southern Border. Many more troops coming. We will NOT let these Caravans, which are also made up of some very bad thugs and gang members, into the U.S. Our Border is sacred, must come in legally. TURN AROUND!”

The caravan arrived in different segments into Tijuana totally nearly 5,000 people. From here, migrants await up to four or six weeks to present their claims of asylum to immigration officials. As a result, the city of Tijuana is struggling to accommodate this great number of migrants. The city announced Saturday, December 1st that it would close one of the shelters holding some of the migrants. The shelter was a sports complex close to the border, but is being closed for concerns of sanitation. The sports complex has been partly flooded and exceeded its capacity by nearly half. Mud, lice, and respiratory infections from these conditions are the biggest concerns. The remaining migrants will be transported to another shelter 10 miles away. The Mexican government has assured it will not force anyone to leave the complex, but they will no longer be providing food and medical services at this time.

A temporary camp set up in Mexico City for migrants from the caravan. 

Care for these migrants has extended farther than providing services and shelter, the Mexican government has been speaking out to the American government and asking for an investigation into the treatments at the border. Impatient for asylum, some migrants have flooded ports of entry to try to hurry the process along. In response, U.S. border agents have been firing tear gas at these migrants. Mexican officials feel unsettled by the use of force and how it will affect the situation and future diplomatic relation between the two countries, but U.S. officials are standing by their actions.   

The number of people applying for asylum is on the rise, but resources at the ports of entry for the Southern border have not changed. Nicole Ramos, a representative from a immigrant-advocacy group, Al Otro Lado, explains how blocking ports of entry ‘is creating its own lawlessness, and it’s forced people to try to cross who then get penalized” for bypassing ports of entry.

Under the Trump administration, the annual cap for refugees has been more than halved, although, the Obama administration faced criticism from immigration advocacy groups as the enforcement practices under his administration which oversaw the removal of more than three million migrants which surpassed both the Clinton and Bush administrations. President Trump’s increased deterrence policies including the tear gas incidents and his family separation policy have been greatly protested throughout 2018. Protesters have been calling for the allusive comprehensive immigration reform. Nonetheless, similar deterrence policies were followed by the Obama and Bush administrations, at a smaller scale.

Nothing less than complicated, immigration remains in the forefront of American politics and debate. Issues covered by the media like the incidents involving the Central American caravan are not indicative of alternative views on immigration, rather they reflect the complicated nature of the issue among the history of the United States.

Nonetheless, seventy-one percent of Americans consider immigration as a ‘good thing’ for the United States, according to a 2017 Gallup poll. The complication for the issue comes down to the differing nature of opinions regarding specific immigration policies like illegal immigration, undocumented immigrants already in the United States, and the structure and process of applying for asylum. Recent politics have ignited the debate again for immigration reform, but tangible change relies on the ability to pass legislation that can be constituted as comprehensive immigration reform which accurately reflects the complicated American attitudes about immigration. 

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