Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement, Research Paper Example

Executive Summary

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security1, the United States illegal population in 2013 reached 11.7 million. This population cannot legally find employment, education, and will end up being disadvantaged within America. The new initiative of the government to provide an extended naturalization program for residents of the United States who have been in the country for years, and provide some residents a deportation exemption has sparked fears and arguments that as a result, immigration rate to America will further increase. Over the past years, several congressional and civic debates have been held. The dilemma of choosing between protecting homeland security and providing people a chance for a new life is still very problematic. Loosening immigration rules, however, would be saving the government money on administration, but at the same time, it would go against previous policies. The Obama administration in its first two years deported more illegal immigrants than any other government. Still, the new initiative would provide illegal immigrants to apply for temporary residency in the United States. The main argument that the opposition is using is that this step would encourage further illegal immigration, and in order to successfully complete an immigration reform, the Obama administration needs to address this issue effectively.

The below review of related policies and their implication will attempt to provide solutions and options for the Homeland Security in order to reduce the number of illegal immigrants and increase the country’s economic and social benefits originating from immigration. Our recommendation is that the Federal Government creates a comprehensive immigration reform that does not only focus on allowing existing illegal immigrants to stay, but also strengthens the border security at the same time.

Background Information

 As of 2012, there were as many as 40 million foreign born citizens in the United States, according to the Congressional Budget Office2, making up more than ten percent of the total population. Surprisingly, the largest group of foreign born population is Asian, followed by those arriving from Mexico and Central America. The Caribbean and South America as the region of origin only stands on the third place. In 2009, the total percentage of foreign born residents in the total labor force of the United States was over 15 percent, according to the 2010 Congressional Budget Office memo3. Current policies regarding immigration state that only those who can obtain a “green card” can remain in the country and become a legal resident. However, the number of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States is great. The current legislation limits the number of visitor, employment, and diversity program, student, and humanitarian visas, and this limits the opportunity of those who are looking to settle in America.

The Migration Policy Institute’s document4 states that the current immigration law  and enforcement are complicated. As an example, several government agencies are responsible for immigration control and policy enforcement, and there are several pillars of immigration control that need to be addressed by policies, such as: border enforcement, visa controls, information security and retrieval, engagement with employers, criminal justice system, and detention or deportation. Further, the immigration enforcement resources in the United States have been growing significantly in the past decades, and the costs rose even further after the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Reviewing the deportation system, Rosenblum and Meissner6 find that since the 1990-s, several shifts have happened.  One of them was the shift of focus on formal removals of illegal residents. As a result, escalated criminalization of illegal immigrants has added to the burden of minority groups living in the United States. President Obama has recently initiated a full immigration reform, and promised an executive order to change the policies of demonstration. While the  Dream Act in 2012 failed to gain support from the Senate, it is evident that policy changes are required in order to increase the efficiency of the system, reduce the cost of immigration control, and increase the advantages of immigration on the U.S. economy.

Policy Alternatives

Going ahead with deportation delay and legislation reform and legalizing those who meet the criteria. This is in line with the recommendations of the Independent Task Force Report created in 20097. Along with providing provisional citizenship, the reform would set strict requirements for applications, however, no comprehensive reform would be created.

Looking back, loosening immigration control and enforcement has been a huge source of political debate in the United States in the past decades. There is a risk that the President would fail to gain the support of the Congress again, and the cost of changing policies would significantly increase the budget of Homeland Security. Carrying out the reform in this form would facing difficult problems: In the2010 midterm election the Senate was controlled by the Democratic party and the House was dominated by the Republicans.  After the 2014 midterm elections, both the Senate and House have strong Republican dominance. This indicates that gaining  the support of the Republicans would be hard, and without their votes, the reform cannot be carried out. However, both parties are in the process of preparing for the next elections, and attracting votes from immigrants (mostly from Latin America) is likely to be in the focus of the campaign. In order to gain votes, it is possible that the Republicans would support a well prepared bill. Without support, the president would only be able to grant legal status for qualified applicants, and for some, this would not be enough.

However, the Congress is highly divided on this issue, which makes support for comprehensive reforms weak, and it is possible that the president will need to take unilateral action. The main benefit of this option is that the cost of deportations and alien citizen removals would be reduced. Another benefit is that by making naturalization easier for those who attended college or graduate school in America easier, the country can retain a large pool of talent, increase its human capital, and the country’s competitiveness. It is important to create a budgetary review regarding the costs associated with registering illegal immigrants who are planning to register as temporary citizens in the United States. In 2012, the United States granted more than one million “lawful citizen” statuses to immigrants. This number is likely to increase significantly if the president introduces the reform. At the same time, the number of illegal immigrants is likely to decrease, as well as the number of deportations. Given the fact that the costs associated with criminal justice procedures related to deportation are high, this could potentially result in cost saving.

Changing the immigration control system at the same time as making naturalization easier for eligible illegal residents. A better design of the immigration system, described by the Independent Task Force: strict and effective border control, and more efficient visa processing systems.

The economic efficiency of this option is questionable. According to the CBO report, large amount of funding would be required for the complete overhaul of the system, however, savings would be made in the criminal justice department. On the other hand, ensuring that those who are not economically beneficial for the country stay out, and those who are entrepreneurs, complete college education, or take active part in the society stay would increase the economic benefits of immigration for the United States. The main focus of this recommendation is to embrace “good” immigrants and keep out “bad” immigrants.

The political feasibility of this method is high, as the main point of attack from the opposition is based on the threat of increased illegal immigration. Looking at the statistics, it is fair to say that the number of illegal immigrants in the United States shows that border control, immigration and visa controls are not working according to standards.  Once this issue is handled by the Democrats, opposing Republicans  (several national leaders support the reform already) would be convinced of the benefits of the reform.

This solution would ensure that opponents of the reform would not have a valid ground for argument, and the United States could create a competitive advantage by increasing the number of immigrants within the system. It would make the job of criminal justice agencies easier, as documented immigrants will be easier to track. However, reforming the immigration control systems in the United States requires a significant amount of Federal Government investment. This solution is in line with the President’s current agenda, and the Independent Task Force’s report, stating that “the United States must generously welcome immigrants through an orderly and efficient legal system, must enforce sensible and understandable visa and immigration laws”8.

Seek approval and consult with the Independent Task Force to create a proposal that is acceptable to the Congress.

This solution seems to be the less logical, and the less effective. By procrastinating, the government would create a sense of uncertainty within law enforcement, immigration control, and criminal justice agencies. The above review of current policies has revealed that the system in its current form is ineffective. It does not prevent illegal immigration, and supports the marginalization of immigrants within the society, while criminalizing their lack of legal status.

Policy Recommendation

It is recommended that the President, in collaboration with the U.S. Homeland Security chooses a comprehensive reform option. Option two seems to be the most effective long-term solution, while Option one only provides short term relief, and carries the risk of increased illegal immigration. The third option would increase the time spent on preparing the bill, and gaining support now, instead of prolonging the decades old debate is not a feasible option two years before the elections. It is likely that the current Administration would not be able to design and start the reform and allocate the funding, if there were further consultations involved.

By choosing to changing the immigration control system at the same time as making naturalization easier for illegal residents, the government can increase the security of the country. However, there are some political and economic trade-offs involved. Murray9, “many people are still angry about the 1986 legislation that provided amnesty for illegal immigrants”,  referring to the debated Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Act of 1986. This means that the Democrats could lose more voters than win by pushing the reform forward. The evident lack of enforcement, signified by the high number of illegal immigrants means that reforming the system would cost more than expected. Further, there is a current debate between the Federal and State governments who is responsible. While the States might oppose the reforms centralizing immigrant control and administration10, and create political traction among local and  the Federal governments, given that placing immigration control solely under federal authority is likely to increase its efficiency.

It is recommended that the Obama administration focuses on communicating the benefits of documenting illegal immigrants towards opponents. Undocumented immigrants can become a part of the system, and their movements can be tracked easier. At the same time, strengthening immigration control would reduce the number of criminals and individuals who impose a risk on homeland security entering the country. President Obama, on the other hand, this way would be able to win over the support of some of the opposing Congressmen, who fear that loosening the criteria for legal citizenship would increase the rate of illegal immigration.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Date Verified: 1.1.2014

Congressional Budget Office (2012) A Description of the Immigrant Population—2013 Update.

Congressional Budget Office (2010) The Role of Immigrants in the  U.S. Labor Market: An Update

Doris Meissner,Donald M. Kerwin,Muzaffar Chishti, andClaire Bergeron (2013) Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery. Migration Policy Institute.

Marc R. Rosenblum and Doris Meissner (2014) The Deportation Dilemma: Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement. Migration Policy Institute. Independent Task Force Report No. 63. U.S. Immigration Policy. 2009. Ibid, p. 112.

Bruce Murray. Dealing with the Trade-offs of immigration policy.Analysis  Online. 2014.