Reforming the immigration policy of the United States is a subject of political discourse and contention. Immigration has played an essential part in American history, as everyone except for the Native Americans and descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States is descended from people who migrated.
Illegal immigration is extremely controversial in the United States, receiving much attention in recent decades yet yielding little legislative consensus or action. Since the failure of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, no significant immigration reform legislation has been enacted. As of 2022, the DACA program is prohibited from adding new beneficiaries but has not been ended or struck down due to the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California.
Background In the United States of America, immigration reform is a term widely used to describe proposals to maintain or increase legal immigration, while decreasing illegal immigration. Notable examples of reform being enacted is the guest worker proposal supported by President George W. Bush, and the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization or "Gang of Eight" bill which passed the U.S. Senate in June 2013 .
Proponents of greater immigration enforcement argue that illegal immigrants tarnish the public image of immigrants, cost taxpayers an estimated $338.3 billion (however, opponents claim that this figure is erroneous and misleading assertions and state that published studies vary widely but put the cost to government at a small fraction of that total), and jeopardize the safety of law enforcement officials and citizens, especially along the Mexican border.
Since early 2013, the term immigration reform has been applied to efforts to "overhaul" the broken immigration system in the United States. In his November 20, 2014 speech on immigration, U.S. President Obama summarized the need for revision to immigration laws and procedures as follows:
Critics of Obama's immigration positions and actions have nevertheless also called for policy changes. "Standards for immigration reform" announced in January 2014 by Congressional Republicans are mostly compatible with the Obama administration's legislative proposals, except that the Republicans favor step-wise implementation (rather than a package approach) with border security and interior enforcement preceding "paths" to legal status. Journalist and immigration critic Roy Beck supports portions of this agenda involving "immigration reduction": specifically endorsing bills to limit family-sponsored immigration to spouses and children, to end "birthright citizenship", and to tighten "interior enforcement" and employer verification requirements.
In November 2015, U.S. House of Representatives speaker Paul D. Ryan indicated that the House majority would not try to work further with the Obama administration on immigration reform.
As of 2022, the DACA program is prohibited from adding new beneficiaries but has not been ended or struck down due to the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California.
Immigration reform in the United States (1986 to 2009) The most recent major immigration reform enacted in the United States, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants, while also legalizing some 2.7 million undocumented residents who entered the United States before 1982. The law did not provide a legal way for the great number of low-skilled workers wishing to enter the United States. Following this 1986 law, almost 12 million undocumented workers came illegally across the U.S. border. It was estimated that this illegal workforce made up about five percent of the U.S. workforce. It was also estimated that about 70 percent of those illegal workers were from Mexico.
Former Mexican president Vicente Fox wrote that, in 2001, President George W. Bush and the leadership of both parties of Congress were ready to pass significant immigration reform legislation benefiting Mexican emigration to the U.S.Fox, Vicente (2007), "Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President", p. 230. The immigration reform that Bush and Fox hoped for was put on hold after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, and in 2006 the U.S. Senate passed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. Neither bill became law because their differences could not be reconciled in conference committee. The legislative negotiations and national activism behind immigration reform from 2001 to 2007 is the subject of the 12-part documentary film series How Democracy Works Now.
In 2009, immigration reform became a hot topic again since the Barack Obama administration signaled interest in beginning a discussion on comprehensive immigration reform before that year's end. The proposed comprehensive immigration reform plan had bipartisan support as one of its goals, and included six sections designed to have "something for everyone". These six sections were: to fix border enforcement, "interior enforcement", such as preventing visa overstays, preventing people from working without a work permit, creating a committee to adapt the number of visas available to changing economic times, a program to provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants, and programs to help immigrants adjust to life in the United States.
Individual states can only regulate or produce immigration policies to the extent it doesn't conflict with federal law, due to the naturalization clause being one of the enumerated powers of Congress.
Effect of media coverage on public opinion A 2010 study examining the years 1992 to 2009 found that when immigration issues receive national media attention (as estimated by the number of mentions of immigration by CBS, ABC, and USA Today), established residents living in places that have seen influx of new immigrants suddenly become much more politicized against immigration. The study reported that during a period of high national attention to immigration, anti-immigration attitudes among established residents in fast-changing counties increase by 9.9%. The study's author said that ethnic and racial surroundings appear to affect Americans' political attitudes far less than previously thought: "Those who live near larger proportions of immigrants do not consistently exhibit more negative attitudes." Rather, the author concludes, "day-to-day encounters can be shaped by salient national issues." The study's conclusions are still only tentative.
Effects on the US economy Other studies suggest that immigration reform which includes legalization of unauthorized immigrants might add considerably to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over 10 years, and increase wages for workers generally.
Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, founding director of the North American Integration and Development Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, has estimated that in just the first three years following legalization for undocumented immigrants, the "higher earning power of newly legalized workers translates into an increase in net personal income of $30 to $36 billion, which could generate $4.5 to $5.4 billion in additional net tax revenue. Moreover, it is estimated that an increase in personal income of this scale would stimulate consumer spending sufficient to support 750,000 to 900,000 jobs."
A 2013 study by the Workers Defense Project and the University of Texas sampling construction sites in five Texas cities, found half of construction workers there were undocumented.
High cost of immigration enforcement Immigration enforcement has increased rapidly since the 1990s. The U.S. Border Patrols's annual budget has increased by 714 percent. The cost went from $362.2 million in the fiscal year of 1992 to $2.7 billion in the fiscal year of 2009. Also the U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement has grown 73 percent, from $3.3 billion since its inception to $5.9 billion in 2014.
Revision of H-1B visa President Donald Trump signed the "Buy American, Hire American" executive order in April 2017 that would direct U.S. agencies to propose rules to prevent immigration fraud and abuse in the program. They would also be asked to offer changes so that H-1B visas are awarded to the "most-skilled" or highest-paid applicants.
Effects on people
Broken families The U.S. immigration system determines who enters the country, and how many, either by order or under certain circumstances. It also decides who can apply for permanent visas for family and relatives. Advocates of increased admission of family members characterize the system as "broken," for preventing family reunification. They argue that family reunification will reduce waiting lines and conflicts over the number of visas of children and spouses. Approximately 5,100 children with a detained or deported parent were in the public child welfare system in 2011. Advocates for reducing immigration have, however, argued that making family reunification migration easier would tend to erode important distinctions between citizens and non-citizens, and lead to higher overall immigration levels.
Loss of cultural identity The past 20 years have seen growing anti-immigrant policies that have created a hostile environment for migrants. To gain legitimacy in the United States under such conditions, non-citizens portray themselves as what they believe best embodies the American identity. This legitimacy process disregards the cultural identities of non-citizens. It forces them to conform to a "national political imagination." A "national political imagination" prioritizes the American identity as the standard. Therefore, the cultural identities of migrants are deemed different and are disregarded. This perpetuates the exclusion of distinct cultural identities and promotes a single national identity. The emphasis on this legitimacy process limits proper understanding of the needs and interests of non-citizens. This can impede progress towards immigration reform.
Civic organizations Following the 2016 elections, non-citizens started to rely more on civic organizations than on government offices. Civic organizations demonstrated to be better positioned to support immigration reform without disregarding diverse cultural identities. Such organizations build trust and conduct outreach to immigrant communities. They do so by effectively translating information, which ensures that these communities are properly informed and empowered to self-mobilize.
Arizona SB 1070
In 2009, services provided to illegal immigrants, including incarceration, cost the state of Arizona an estimated $12.7 billion.
Citing Congress' failure to enforce U.S. immigration laws, the state of Arizona confronted reform and on April 23, 2010, Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (Arizona SB 1070)-- the broadest and strictest immigration reform imposed in the United States.