The Hill (Op-Ed)
By Lizet Ocampo
August 5, 2015
Immigration
is back in the center of the spotlight both on the campaign trail and
in Congress. In fact, until yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee
was slated to consider
a Republican enforcement-only bill today. Instead they adjourned early
for August recess with a promise to take the issue up again in
September. However, today's much-anticipated first 2016 Republican
primary debate will surely focus on immigration.
Leading
up to the debate, we've heard much rhetoric from Republican
presidential hopefuls that feeds into negative, untrue stereotypes of
undocumented individuals. While
Republican leaders have spread mischaracterizations for a while, they
have gone into overdrive following Donald Trump's comments: "When Mexico
sends its people...They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime.
They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good
people." Since then, by ratcheting up their overt anti-immigrant
oratory or somewhat subtle tough-on-immigration stances to appeal to a
segment of the conservative base, other candidates and leaders have
confirmed that Trump is saying what they think. In fact,
once considered a potential supporter of comprehensive immigration
reform with a pathway to citizenship, Jeb Bush has also doubled down on
border security and enforcement -- the focus of his six-point
immigration plan released two days ago. When it comes to
the 11 million, Bush beats around the bush. He has not endorsing a path
to citizenship for the 11 million and instead offers a myopic focus on
enforcement.
Facts
matter, or at least they should to anyone who wants to occupy the Oval
Office. So let's look at how reality conflicts with what candidates
presume is true.
The
border is more secure than ever before. Resources and boots on the
ground are at an all-time high, and border crossings have dropped
dramatically to a 40-year low.
The bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the
U.S. Senate would have added even more resources and agents to the
border, about 80 percent more, and provide a total of 700 miles of
fencing, along with increased border enforcement technology.
The "secure the border first" talking point is a dishonest political
posture, not to mention also vague and lacking of realistic
implementation metrics.
Immigrants
are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. The
Trump-driven mentality is flashy but is not based in facts.
Unfortunately, Republican leaders
in Congress have ignored the reality and instead opted to pass for what
many are calling "The Donald Trump Act" in the House. Sadly, this
mentality has reached the Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate
Judiciary Committee was scheduled to markup Senator
David Vitter's bill today that undermines community trust policies.
Postponed now until September 10, it will be the first time the
committee marks up an immigration bill since the markup of S.744 over
two years ago, the bipartisan comprehensive immigration
reform bill. Similar to the House bill, the Republican Senate bill
presumes to know more than local law enforcement about community safety
and reprimands hundreds of states, localities and law enforcement
agencies across the country for working with their
communities to keep them safe. Ironically, the reason why these
policies exist is because of the lack of comprehensive reform - the
Republican Congress wants to penalize jurisdictions for trying to
address an issue that Congress has failed to address.
House
Republicans blocked the solution when they let the comprehensive reform
bill die. The bipartisan Senate passed bill would allow individuals
with longstanding ties
to the community to come forward, register with the government and
begin on an earned pathway to citizenship. As such, the pool of people
on which the government does not have information on would shrink,
allowing the federal government to focus its resources.
After lack of Congressional action, last November President Obama
announced programs that provide a temporary, narrow solution and a step
forward on security -- the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, focused on DREAMers and the
creation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, for parents of U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident children. We'd be well underway with a case-by-case
review of the programs' applicants and towards important
economic gains but a lawsuit is preventing implementation - a lawsuit
whose signatories are all Republican leaders strategically placed in the
most conservative courts.
The
public is way ahead of politicians. Time and time again, these
Republican leaders both in Congress and in the Presidential campaigns
are ignoring the three in four
Americans who oppose an enforcement-only approach and the sixty percent
who support a pathway to citizenship. They are ignoring that
comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship would
provide significant gains to our economy, increase GDP
by 1.2 trillion, increase the income of all Americans by $625 billion
and create 145,000 jobs per year, over 10 years. They are ignoring the
millions and millions of families who would be torn apart, the mothers,
fathers and children -- many U.S. Citizens
-- who live in fear every day. They are ignoring what's best for their
constituents and the country. They are ignoring and delaying a real
solution -- but they are sure listening to Donald Trump. Or, is this
increased rhetoric exposing what key Republican
leaders have thought all along? Now, faced with trying to win over the
most conservative wing of the Republican Party, Donald Trump's GOP has
made the immigrant community an adversary and punching bag. That's not
the way to win in November and certainly a
major step away from comprehensive solutions to bring our immigration
system to the 21st Century.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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