New York Times (Room for Debate)
By Karthick Ramakrishnan
September 3, 2015
Nearly
two-thirds of Americans favor a path to legalizing the status of
undocumented immigrants, and this support has remained steady over the
past decade. That is to
say, immigration is not an issue that the majority of Americans are
actually angry about.
Despite
consistently high popular support for legalization, Congress has failed
to act. After the 2012 elections, reform seemed possible — many
conservative leaders, including
Paul Ryan, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly were supportive, and the
Senate passed an immigration bill with 68 votes in favor. But, many
House Republicans were worried about backlash from conservative
constituents, and Eric Cantor’s primary loss in 2014 effectively
ended any hope for congressional action for the foreseeable future.
But
just because our national Congress can’t act, it doesn’t mean that
undocumented immigration is the crisis situation current G.O.P.
presidential candidates make it
out to be.
What’s more, there is considerable progress at the state level.
The
Supreme Court’s 2012 United States v. Arizona decision arrested
momentum on restrictive state laws. Meanwhile, President Obama’s
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) — meant as a temporary measure that would spur congressional
action toward a more permanent legislative solution — instead spurred
state-level reforms.
Many
states began providing drivers licenses to DACA recipients and,
especially in Democratic-led states, this paved the way for even more
pro-integration policies.
California,
for example, has passed an array of immigration reform policies — known
as the “California Package” — that give undocumented immigrants access
to in-state
tuition and child health benefits, in addition to professional and
driver’s licenses, and low-cost auto insurance. California was once a
major battleground for opposition to unauthorized immigrants, but after
years of measures that actually help those immigrants,
Californians show overwhelming support for them.
Though
it is too early to make conclusions about the effects of these laws on
workers and households, the state will likely reap many of the economic
benefits that would
have occurred under federal immigration reform. Indeed, supporters of
these measures have included not only immigrant rights organizations,
but also police chiefs who believe the reforms will result in safer
roads and fewer unlicensed drivers; business groups
seeking economic growth and less labor uncertainty; and health
advocates pushing for preventative medicine rather than a reliance on
emergency care.
In
many ways, these measures benefit not only immigrant residents and
their mixed-status families, but also bring important benefits to the
state in terms of economic
growth, public safety and healthier communities. Finally, most of these
immigration laws have passed with Republican as well as Democratic
support, a kind of pragmatic, bipartisan leadership that the rest of the
country could benefit from — a model, if not
for Congress, then certainly to the other states.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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