The Obama administration is more than keen to pass the immigration reform sooner than later which will create a long pathway to United States citizenship for the 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants into the United States.
The million-dollar question in this divisive decision in American politics is whether the immigration reform is good or bad for the people of America, for the economy and more interestingly for the working class. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an unemployment rate drifting around 7.8 percent as of December 2012. With this factual data at hand, one should be skeptical of adding more people into the workforce; what will be the end-result?
James Suroweicki, staff writer at the New Yorker said in an article on Feb. 22, that barring few men who are without high-school education this immigration reform will be a genuine boom to the U.S economy.
America’s dream of continuing the world dominance will require high-skilled professionals from the branches of science, math, engineering and technology to stay back and be worthy contributors to the economy.
In the presidential election month last year, former governor of Mississippi Haley Barbour said, “We are in a global battle for capital and labor, and we need to have what is good economic policy for America on immigration because we do need labor.
We need to have an immigration policy that is good economic policy, and then – and then the politics will take care of itself.”
The stereotypically opinionated believe Republicans are against a good immigration policy; but with supportive views seen across party lines there lies a different story.
Turning down the extreme rhetoric minimally, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Marco Rubio came out in open support for the reform, shattering the claim that the GOP has used immigration as demagoguery among minorities.
The caps on green card holders and the methodology to acquire one is also grieving, which the lawmakers will have to shed light upon. Engineers from countries like China, South Korea and India who are great in numbers have gotten their degrees from the U.S. but are queued up for years together to even have a chance at acquiring a green card.
The blue print of President Obama’s immigration reform on the official website of the White House suggests anyone who obtains a master’s degree from an American university in science, math or engineering will automatically be eligible to receive a green card. This is an efficient and easier way to boost the number of skillful workers in the U.S. economy straight out of college.
The key obstacle, though, which the Obama administration will face is the rancor and debate in Congress on reform. Few congressmen will be varying about alienating their voters who believe comprehensive immigration reforms amounts to amnesty.
Political pundits and analysts will also have a watch on who receives the most political mileage out of this decision. It will be a rather tedious task for the Republicans to be in the driver’s seat.
If the immigration reform does go through to become a law, President Obama will be portrayed as the captain of the ship; if it fails, then the blame will result in anti-incumbency in Congress.
These are tough but interesting times in the politically fractured city of Washington, D.C. If things go as planned according to President Obama, the immigration reform will be a reality by the end of this year.
Republicans face a tough challenge of decision-making in the days ahead. They will be on the constant look-outs for opportunities that will give them an advantage to take back the house and also win the presidency.
In November last year, President Obama secured around 70 percent of the Latino vote, the growing number of immigrants who play a role in shaping American politics cannot be overlooked or denied.
The Huffington Post in an article on Feb. 22 reported the possibility of 40 million Latino voters by the end of 2030 and more if this reform is a reality.
The numbers above will force both the parties to take a decision on the issue. It cannot in these changing demographics ignore immigration reform or shy away from it.
An effective strategy to turn the cards around will be the top priority of the Republican legislators. How they do it and when they do it is something we will have to wait to see.
Categories:
Time for immigration reform has come
Pranaav Jadhav
•
February 25, 2013
0
Donate to The Reflector
Your donation will support the student journalists of Mississippi State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
More to Discover