The U.S. Congress does have the ability to enact effective immigration reform but in order to do so; Congress needs to refocus their views from being prevention oriented to assisting immigrants in entering the U.S. legally and for a lawful purpose. Immigration reform should provide for the ability for more workers to legally enter the U.S., especially in industries such as agriculture and construction which require a large workforce.
The true crux of the problem with immigration reform is that it is generally focused on keeping people out of the United States; as opposed to welcoming them in due to the economic needs of our country.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), was enacted in 1996 with the focus being to prevent illegal immigration through a restructured deportation process, curb the use of public welfare benefits by legal immigrants and make it more difficult for terrorists to use the U.S. immigration process to enter the country. Clearly IIRAIRA was implemented as a preventive measure, however, but in enacting this Act Congress failed to consider the two main reasons why immigrants enter this country illegally: 1) the immigrants’ ability to make an honest wage for a day’s work and 2) the huge demand by domestic employers for inexpensive labor – especially in agriculture and the construction industry. …show more content…
businesses, primarily in agriculture and construction, even as these businesses are unable to find Americans to fill these jobs.” (Kopits, 2017)
Kopits makes a compelling argument for a “market-based” immigration policy which would provide Central Americans with the ability to legally purchase a work visa at a set rate which would then create a revenue flow to the U.S. government. In addition, a market-based policy would negate the need for human smuggling rings. (Kopits,
The true crux of the problem with immigration reform is that it is generally focused on keeping people out of the United States; as opposed to welcoming them in due to the economic needs of our country.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), was enacted in 1996 with the focus being to prevent illegal immigration through a restructured deportation process, curb the use of public welfare benefits by legal immigrants and make it more difficult for terrorists to use the U.S. immigration process to enter the country. Clearly IIRAIRA was implemented as a preventive measure, however, but in enacting this Act Congress failed to consider the two main reasons why immigrants enter this country illegally: 1) the immigrants’ ability to make an honest wage for a day’s work and 2) the huge demand by domestic employers for inexpensive labor – especially in agriculture and the construction industry. …show more content…
businesses, primarily in agriculture and construction, even as these businesses are unable to find Americans to fill these jobs.” (Kopits, 2017)
Kopits makes a compelling argument for a “market-based” immigration policy which would provide Central Americans with the ability to legally purchase a work visa at a set rate which would then create a revenue flow to the U.S. government. In addition, a market-based policy would negate the need for human smuggling rings. (Kopits,