There has been a lot of talk about President Obama’s stance on immigration in the recent months. At the moment immigration is a top issue among many politicians, making the issue very volatile and filled with a lot of misinformation. In these three blog posts we want to clear up and clarify the stance the White House and the President has and has said they will take on immigration. The political talk in Washington, D.C. and any actions that take place in the next few months will have a huge impact on immigration in Greensboro, NC and we want you to clearly know what is going on and what might happen in the future. In this first post we will look at undocumented immigrants, one of the major immigration issues facing the nation at the moment.
The Issue
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants inside the United States of America’s boarders. Many of these immigrants are working at many different types of jobs in a wide variety of industries. Undocumented immigrants pay income, property, and sales taxes when they cash a paycheck, buy groceries, and rent or own a home in the United States of America, but it’s unknown if they are paying the correct amount due to their undocumented status. This can cause problems with economic projections. Undocumented immigrants are also denied benefits legal residents within the USA are granted.
The Plan
Deporting all 11 million undocumented immigrants is impractical. There isn’t an organization large enough to manage the deportation of 11 million people, plus the cost, an estimated $20,000 per deportee, would be too high for too little. What has been proposed is cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers. A provisional legal status has also been proposed, somewhere between legal and undocumented immigrant. This new legal status would be the first step towards permanent lawful residence which itself is the first step towards citizenship. Undocumented immigrants would have to pay taxes, fees, and possibly fines if they are applicable, but it would be an effort towards a legal status. Children who were brought to the USA through no fault of their own would have many easy avenues towards citizenship including college education or serving in the armed forces for two years.
This is just one immigration issue that is facing the nation and President Obama. Read part two to learn more about border security and part three to learn about streamlining immigration.