A Challenge to the Presidential Candidates
A few weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama responded to a series of questions posed by ImmigrationProf blog on immigration. Although we have tried mightily, we so far have been unable to persuade any of teh other Presidential candidates to answer the same questions posed to Senator Obama. We publicly ask the candidates to take up our challenge and answer these questions.
Immigration Reform
As you know, immigration reform provoked a national debate in 2006-07, with a compromise reform bill ultimately self-destructing in the Senate. What would you do as President on the difficult issue of immigration reform? How should the nation address the 12+ million undocumented immigrants who live in the United States today? Is cooperation among the nations of North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) necessary to address the immigration and security concerns of the United States?
Family Immigration
Several family immigrant categories face severe backlogs, requiring some prospective immigrants to wait years – in some cases decades – to come to the United States. Do you agree that family immigration should remain the foundation of the U.S. immigration system and, if so, what would you do to address the backlogs?
Immigration Enforcement
Over the last few years, the Bush administration has ramped up the number of immigration raids at workplaces, homes, and public places. In many parts of the country, immigrant communities, as well as many lawful immigrants and U.S. citizens, have been terrified by the raids. What would the immigration enforcement priorities be of your administration and do they include immigration raids? Deportation of long time lawful residents convicted of certain crimes Over the past twenty years, Congress has dramatically expanded the definition of “aggravated felonies” under the U.S. immigration laws and effectively eliminated relief from deportation for long time lawful resident aliens convicted of such crimes. Many long term residents convicted of such crimes have been rehabilitated and have families, as well as communities, in the United States. Would you agree that such individuals should be allowed a second chance and that immigration judges should have the discretion to allow rehabilitated immigrants convicted of crimes to remain in the United States (as was the possibility prior to 1996)?
Deaths on the Border
In recent years, thousands of migrants have died seeking to enter the United States. Many knowledgeable observers blame the increased enforcement measures along the U.S./Mexico border over the last 15+ years for making the crossing a life-or-death proposition. Such measures have diverted immigrants away from large border cities and into remote and desolate deserts where migrants are more likely to die. What would you do to reduce the deaths along the U.S./Mexico border? If you did, why did you vote for the Secure Fence Act in 2006, which allowed for the extension of the border fence along the U.S./Mexico border that, according to many commentators, will do little to deter undocumented immigrants while, at the same time, increase the chances that they will die during their journey?
Elvira Arrellano
How would your administration have dealt with the case of Elvira Arrellano, the undocumented immigrant with a U.S. citizen son who sought refuge in a church for a year to avoid deportation and, upon leaving her sanctuary, was arrested and deported to Mexico? Arellano’s U.S. citizen son remained in the United States for a few weeks before rejoining her in Mexico.
Improving the Immigration Courts
Concern long has been expressed about the quality of the administration of the U.S. immigration laws, specifically the quality of the decisions of the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). This is a concern of some conservatives as well as liberals. Indeed, prominent federal Judge Richard Posner, a conservative law-and-economics scholar appointed by President Reagan to the federal bench, has been a vocal critic of the quality of the decisions of the immigration bureaucracy. What would you do as President to improve the quality of the decisions of the immigration courts and the BIA?
Local Immigration Ordinances
In 2006, the City of Hazleton, Pennsylvania passed an Illegal Immigration Reform Act, which was designed to drive undocumented immigrants out of town. Other cities have passed similar ordinances. After a trial this spring, a federal court in Lozano v. Hazleton struck down the Hazleton ordinance as infringing on the federal power to regulate immigration. Do state and local governments have any role to play in regulating immigration?
Asylum
Especially since 1996, the right to apply for asylum under U.S. law has been hampered by unrealistic filing deadlines and evidentiary burdens that result in denials of asylum to noncitizens who have legitimate claims of well-founded fear of persecution. What types of reforms, if any, would you seek in the asylum and refugee area?
Integration of Immigrants into U.S. Society
Many proponents of restrictionist immigration policies argue that immigrants pose a threat to national unity because they are not learning English or adapting to the “American way” of life. Yet studies show that the demand for English language instruction far outstrips supply. Moreover, our public schools are failing immigrants: the increasing segregation of Latino/as in public schools threatens the ability of our school systems to provide a means for integrating immigrant youth into U.S. society. As president, what would you do to assist immigrants to overcome the obstacles that currently hinder their efforts to more successfully adapt to life in U.S. society and become truly a part of America?
KJ