America's border security from sea to shining sea / Tom Barry
As such, the president’s vision of
immigration reform is framed by political platitudes and slogans – such as the
stress on combatting transnational crime, deporting and excluding “criminal
aliens,” and fortifying border security.
Demographics and voting patterns,
particularly in swing states, dictate passing immigration reform -- as the
Republican Party elite has also come to understand belatedly.
Finally, after marginalizing the issue
during his first term, the president is throwing the weight of the White House
behind immigration reform, demonstrating the political will to stand firmly in
favor of an immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship. This
political will was conspicuously absent (albeit understandable given the
fierceness of the Republican anti-immigrant forces).
No doubt the dramatic post-election
configuration of pro- and anti-reform forces is eminently hopeful and welcome.
It would, of course, be unfortunate and tragic if quibbling about the
inevitable compromises (such as the inveterate progressive opposition to the
inclusion of temporary work programs) endangered the prospects of immigration
reform.
The incipient debate in Congress will focus
largely on compromises and reform measures driven by economic and political
sectors, including attempts by Republicans to eviscerate the intent of the
reform with mean-spirited restrictions and unreasonable requirements.
Obama’s Narrow and
Superficial Framing of Immigration Policy
The White House’s inclusion of such
bipartisan rallying cries as border security, transnational criminals, criminal
aliens, and playing by the rules may make good politics. But they underscore
the president’s own superficial grasp of the dynamics of drug, immigration, and
border control policies. The Obama vision of immigration reform – “where
everyone plays by the same rules” – appeals to those who insist that
immigration policy and immigrants uphold the “rule of law” fundaments of U.S.
society and politics.
The Obama administration’s commitment to
immigration reform is really less of a vision of the role of immigration in
America than a political strategy. By failing to frame a larger vision of
immigration and immigrants in U.S. society, Obama has kept the debate about
immigration reform limited to the usual narrow policy constructs.
In the White House’s limited framing of the
immigration issue and the need for reform, it sidelines fundamental issues such
as: the regulatory systems necessary to ensure that neither low-skilled or
highly skilled new immigrants displace resident workers; maintaining
environmentally and socially sustainable population growth rates in the United
States; and adverse impact of U.S. immigration policies (both deportations and
increased visas for highly skilled workers) could have on sending societies and
international development and cooperation.
U.S. citizens deserve broader and more
nuanced explanation of the benefits and the costs of immigration in our society
and economy.
By doing so, President Obama could broaden the consensus for
immigration reform, express his priority commitment to guaranteeing jobs and
livable wages for American workers, and help preempt the type of anti-immigrant
backlash that has soured U.S. politics and social relations for the past two
decades.
***
See related policy reports published by Center for International Policy:
Policy on the Edge: Failures of Border Security and New Directions for Border Control
http://www.ciponline.org/images/uploads/Barry_IPR_Policy_Edge_Border_Control_0611.pdf
Immigrant RIghts: Scope, Limits, and Implications
http://www.ciponline.org/research/entry/immigrant-rights-scope-limits-implications
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