| President Obama's Plans For Comprehensive Immigration Reform |
Law Offices of Giuseppe Scagliarini - Immigration Lawyers - International Lawyers
For Immediate Release
White House Announces Plans For Immigration Reform
Obama Administration to Make Good on Promise to Fix Our Nation's Most Complex
Problems
April 9, 2009
Washington, DC - As the New York Times reported today, the Obama administration
has reiterated its intention to tackle comprehensive immigration reform this year.
Recent statements from Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid have also signaled their
support. Yet some observers had assumed that the promise President Obama made
during his campaign to reform the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system during his
first year in office would be sidelined by the current recession. But, as the White House
made clear today, the President intends to make good on his promise. The following
is a statement by Angela Kelley, Director of the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) in
Washington, DC.
"We applaud the White House, Senator Harry Reid, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their
vision, leadership, and commitment to passing comprehensive and meaningful
immigration reform this year. The United States, now more than ever, needs workable
solutions that fix our broken immigration system, support our economic recovery, and
allow honest and hardworking people to become lawful and contributing members of
our society.
The White House said a key component of comprehensive immigration reform will be
the creation of a pathway to legal status for the roughly 12 million undocumented
immigrants now living in the United States. Although critics of reform often deride
anything short of mass deportation as a blanket 'amnesty,' a well-tailored legalization
program would, in fact, bring order and legality to bear on what is now a chaotic and
unregulated situation. Moreover, legalization would not add new workers to a U.S.
economy already reeling from high unemployment. Rather, it would give legal status,
and the full protection of labor laws, to workers who are already here. Undocumented
immigrants applying for legal status would not only have to register with the federal
government, but would also have to meet a number of other requirements, including
paying taxes, getting criminal background checks, learning English, and paying a fine.
In addition, comprehensive reform will have to address many of the other flaws and
inequities within our immigration system. It will have to reduce the enormous backlog
of applications for family reunification, which impose lengthy waiting times on
individuals abroad who are trying to rejoin their families in the United States. It will
have to create smarter and more targeted enforcement mechanisms that find
individuals who pose a danger to public safety or national security, rather than
expending resources on chasing workers and breaking apart families. And it will have
to consider appropriate legal limits on immigration that rise and fall with the labor
needs of our economy, rather than arbitrary numerical caps that bear no relationship
to labor demand.
The time is now to resolve this ongoing and complex problem. Fixing our immigration
system is an important part of addressing our nation's economic, healthcare, and
homeland security challenges. The White House has taken the first step today and we
stand committed in supporting their efforts towards achieving sensible and
comprehensive reform this year."
Source: Immigration Policy Center (IPC) www.immigrationpolicy.org
a division of the American Law Foundation (ALF)
Visit their blog at http://immigrationimpact.com/
Law Offices of Giuseppe Scagliarini
| Giuseppe Scagliarini, Esq. 37 Harrison Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Phone: +401-849-1220 Fax +401-633-7055 E-Mail: info@scagliarinilaw.com |
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