Immigration Reform In California

Imagine that you are a senior in high school. You are nervous and excited to start the process of getting a job and attending college. You obtain a couple of job applications and a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to fill out. Naturally, as you fill out these forms you ask your parents for your social security number, however, this is the moment you find out that you are undocumented. Shocked and in disbelief, you can’t help to see all your hopes and dreams go down the drain. Nevertheless, like many other undocumented students, you discover there is still hope for your situation. For instance, your research leads you to former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects minors who were brought to this country illegally as children. Created through executive action in June of 2012, DACA gives young undocumented immigrants: protection from deportation and a work permit. Subsequently, on September 5th, 2017, the Trump administration rescinds the DACA policy, and approximately 800,000 young immigrants will become eligible for deportation at the end of six months. Therefore, the only way to update our immigration system is for Congress to pass immigration reform, which offers a pathway to citizenship, plus, acknowledge that the 14th Amendment applies to homosexual conduct and illegal aliens.

of the United States. These are a few of the reforms that former President Bush had proposed so as to slow down the number of illegal immigrants that come into the United States each year.

Throughout history more often than not, many men have committed controversial acts affecting the United States greatly while holding the mantle of President. Every job has its perks and being the commander and chief of the free world comes with one known as Executive powers. With Obama using this to introduce his new Immigration policy plan he has stirred up far more conflict than any of his predecessors ever did. Well, except for Nixon of course but that’s a different story.

Immigration Reform At this time, the United States has allowed more immigrants to enter the country than at any time in its history. Over a million legal and illegal immigrants take up residence in the United States each year. Immigration at its current magnitude is not fulfilling the interests or demands of this country.

​Immigration is defined as the act of leaving your country of origin and going to another different one to stay there permanently (Dictionary.com). Reasons, why people escape or leave their original countries, are varied; ranging from war, poverty, natural occurrences such as earthquakes while others just take the step for fun purposes. A reform is a change from the way things were done originally and make them better. Therefore, immigration reform is a term that is frequently used in political talks that refer to the alteration of the immigration policy of the nation. The debate is currently prevalent in the United States of America. It is a topic that has been discussed and reforms put across since around 1986 but it’s never addressed fully due to the conflicting stands taken by the leaders, the democrats, and the Republicans always have different views. Recently, the President Obama tenure has reawakened the issue. Some people support the reforms while others do not. It is a time the United States of America undertook immigration reforms as a solution to its porous borders.

Back in 2007 there were several concerns over immigration as a whole and exploding proportions of illegal immigrants crossing the border in the Arizona area. Arizona attempted to resolve the influx of people across the border by imposing heavy fines on employers hiring illegal immigrants. At that time in Arizona there was a democratic governor Janet Napolitano that continually vetoed the Arizona’s legislature attempt to reduce illegal immigration. In 2009 the state replaced the Democratic governor with a Republican governor Jan Brewer who was supportive of reforms for immigration in Arizona. In 2010 the immigration problem was so sever that Arizona passed legislation allowing the state to enforce federal law for identification of legal immigration into the United States. This sparked a nation wide discussion on illegal immigration and immigration reform.

In the United States, immigration has been high topic of debate. As of 2015, 13.5 percent of the United States population of 321.4 billion were immigrants (Jie). Immigration has been shaping the way America works for many years now. It has brought changes to the economy, workforce, culture, language and politics just to name a few changes. America is often referred to as the melting pot of cultures. Where the “American dream” can be reached as long as you are willing to work hard. However, citizens also demand strict boarders to prevent illegal workers but we still want the free movement of goods. A lot of legislative bills have been past in recent years that have brought change to immigration and the way it is done. The top five bills that have affected the country are as follows; The Immigration Reform and Control Act, IRCA, of 1986 penalized employees for hiring unauthorized workers. However, did nothing towards changing the immigration system or provide resources to implement the employer sanctions provisions. The Immigration Act of 1990 overhauled the immigration system by raising the number of permanent vistas form 290,000 to 675,000 and allotted 555,000 visas annually of underserved counties. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibly Act, IIRAIRA, of 1996 dealt with government spending and a three or ten year bar on returning to the United States for people who were caught without proper documentations from applying for asylum status within one year

At the time the bill was going through Congress was controlled by Democrats while the White House was Republican (Wiener, 2013). President Bush hoped that a moderate approach would finally allow immigration reform to pass (Weiner, 2013). While the bill was being debated 63% of Americans, almost identical numbers from both parties, favored a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that passed background checks, had jobs and were willing to pay fines (Heimlich, 2007). With the War in Iraq lowering President Bush’s approval every year he needed a win in the legislative department and with over 50% of voters at the time saying that immigration reform was needed within the year it was clear he needed to back a plan (Heimlich, 2007).

California’s history continues to tell us that migration creates huge diversity. Many people came and continue to come to California for the opportunities and most importantly, because California has become a place where dreams can come true. Since the 1840s massive waves of people from all over began to come to California specfically because of the discovery of gold. People from the east coast began to make their way over to California because of the mere possibilities that they may get lucky and receive a fortune. Not only were people within in the United States migrating, but those even outside of these barriers came for the probabilities. We soon began to foster people from different backgrounds and ethnicities. We fast forward, closer

Franklin D. Roosevelt a former president previously stated "Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists..." (good reads, "Quotes about immigration"). As a result, we should know that if all immigrants are being deported back to their home countries all United States citizens should be deported back as well. The world is changing. It varies from climate change, to athletes not getting paid enough. Immigration has been seen more in bigger states specifically such as, California, Texas, Florida, and New York. Statistics say that there is greater immigration by 20% in larger states in contrast rather than in smaller states. Immigration Reform has been happening for many

“Pelosi said, "It is more important to pass comprehensive immigration reform, to me and to my caucus, than to win the election in November” (Foley, 2014). That was what Joe Garcia was trying to accomplish with his policy H.R. 15.

However, the benefits that this brings to Claifornia and overall, the nation, substanttially outweigh the negative effects of such acts. In face, the denial of immigrants proved to the most unfortunate in 2010 when "the H=1B visa denials cost U. S.-born tech workers as many as 28,234 additional jobs and as much as $2,747,775,000 in missed wages" proving that not only does California have the power to advance even further economically with their large borders easily accessible for immigrants but maliciously affected the economy of California which, in the grand scheme of things, affects the country's economy.

Due to the lack of Congress passing new immigration reform policies, President Obama took the controversial step and signed an executive order to alter the current immigration policy to provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status and to increase boarder security along with other features. President Obama did not want to pass the executive order, he would have preferred that Congress had acted on their own. When President Obama addressed Congress he stated "To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better," he said, "or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill." (Facts on File, 2015, Para 11) Congress failed to act, President

On January 2014, President Obama gave his state of the union address. He brought up some issues, including the plan for immigration reform. By training youth immigrants and natives to stimulate the economy and to create more jobs. This topic was barely touched in his State of the Union address, but he did say this short on immigration:

If Governor Brown does more work towards bettering the lives of immigrants here, it will completely change the way they interact with and contribute to society. Having less obstacles in their way, will make it easier for them to integrate. A change in behavior towards undocumented people in the state will move people close to achieving what President Nieto wants concerning their treatment.