Illegal Immigration and the Obama Administration
Introduction
The current influx of illegal immigration at the United States and Mexico border affects every aspect of American life. For each individual residing in the United States, citizen or alien, the legal status of each person should matter to all of us. Currently, in the United States, the majority of our hospitals, classrooms, and prisons remain overcrowded. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the political, social, and economical issues that have slowly resulted due to weak attempts to combat the flood of illegal immigrants crossing into America (Savino 88). Political analysts have suggested that President Obama will utilize his last two years in office addressing illegal immigration and the issue of amnesty (Shear, Preston & Parker 1).
Illegal Immigration
In order for the U.S. to adequately control the flood of illegal Mexican emigrants, a collaborative effort must be put forth by both the U.S. and Mexican governments. With solid aid and support of the Mexican government, we could work together to solve security, and ultimately, socioeconomic issues that would benefit the two countries the most. The Mexican government, for example, must accept responsibility for their role in the illegal emigrant push of their citizens into the United States (Savino 87-88).
In the past few weeks since the midterm elections were held, the Obama administration has been leaning closer to going forth with a proposed Executive Order on immigration reform. Due to the fact that the majority of victors in this month’s preterm were members of the Republican Party, President Obama and his staff are not rushing any action that could hinder the current run-off elections still ongoing in a few states. However, White House insiders do believe that President Obama could sign an Executive Order on immigration reform as soon as December (Liptak & Bash 1).
Ultimately, this would give amnesty to over two and a half million illegal immigrations currently residing in the United States. In addition to those few million that would receive pardon, an additional three million illegal immigrants, parents of current “green-card holders” would also receive citizenship. Arguably, the cost of properly deported the individuals already in the United States would be far too costly on both the American and Mexican government. As many analysts have suggested, dealing with the issue of immigration reform does not help President Obama’s approval rating. However, since he campaigned on the promise of easing immigration issues, there are hopes that successful changes to the immigration laws may prove as his final step for having a legacy within the Office of the President (Shear et al. 1).
Political Issues of Illegal Immigration
Immigration reform has been a major topic of the Obama administration, as well as prevalent among the George W. Bush and Clinton administrations as well. However, due to population growth, the need to assess and control illegal immigration is direr than ever. Understandably, it is difficult to develop one single strategy to tackle the issue of illegal immigration; it is part of, and affected by, an even larger cycle of issues that must be addressed as well.
The legal channels for coming to America take time, cost money, and can even be difficult, and unattainable, for many emigrants, leading to their desperation to immigrant. Developed countries, such as America, are highly desirable to emigrants residing in developing countries where they experience socioeconomic inequality. Additionally, the Mexican government has ultimately failed in accepting responsibility for why their citizens wish to leave, and diligently work on making living conditions more acceptable (Shear et al. 1).
Drug trafficking is related to illegal immigration as well; many illegal immigrants work for drug cartels, and thus are able to financially and socially stay “off the radar”. Also, as the U.S. population becomes more addicted to illicit drugs, such as methamphetamine, illegal immigrants from countries with high production rates, such as Mexico, will become even more prevalent. Studies have found increases in drug trafficking and abuse in American directly related to influxes of illegal immigration (Singer 470).
Conclusion
Unfortunately, I cannot lay out an exact plan of action that would prove effective at tackling the issue of illegal immigration. I do know that a collaborative effort is central to developing a successful strategy. In general, I feel the issue should also be addressed as a human rights issue, similar to human trafficking. This is primarily due to the fact that countries, such as America, continue to experience floods of emigrates from Mexico due to poor socioeconomic conditions. I sympathize with those individuals that illegally enter our country in hopes for a better tomorrow.
One major key factor that I see at play is the poor state of our economy. Currently, the national unemployment rate remains alarmingly high in the United States. Waves of illegal immigration can drive down wages and demand within the labor market, and there is evidence to suggest that we are now seeing this occur here in America. While I have good faith that the Obama Administration will do its best to alleviate some of the strain caused by illegal immigration, there is no certainty that one solution can prevail.
Works Cited
Liptak, Kevin & Dana Bash. “The Immigration Waiting Game Will End Soon.” CNN News.
Web. (14 Nov. 2014).
Savino, David. “The Dream Act and the Reality of Setting an Informed Agenda for
Immigration.” Journal of Management Policy & Practice 15.1 (2014): 86-91. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Shear, Michael, Julia Preston & Ashley Parker. “Obama Plan May Allow Millions of Immigrants
Singer, Michael. “Drugs and Development: The Global Impact of Drug Use and Trafficking on
Social and Economic Development.” International Journal of Drug Policy 19.1 (2006): 467–478. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
