In the United States, the fight against illegal immigration is still a debate that has borne more questions than answers. Over the past years, illegal migrants have set camp in the country while the lawmakers have been unable to find a lasting solution to this crisis. Currently, proposals have been pushed forward to streamline the immigration laws and policies such as strengthening the U.S border security and making amendments to the immigration process. However, as these proposals make proper steps in curbing the immigration crisis, the biggest problem the nation faces is what to do with the high number of illegal immigrants without appropriate documents already in the country. In the long run, the U.S government should be blamed for this immigration crisis, as on one side they threaten to deport all immigrants while on the other offer healthcare and education for them. This paper offers three solutions on the ongoing rage of how to solve the immigration crisis in the United States.
A substantial number of illegal immigrants get into the United States under the family reunification program since they have a relative living or working in the country (Tepperman, 2017). The program, which reunites immigrants with their loved ones in the country, should not be lousy and allow the immigrant population to grow. Experts point out that the guest workers program should do a better job of controlling this immigrant population. Criticisms of the program by some of the legislators should serve as a cry for reforms of the guest worker program. The program grants temporary visas for those illegal immigrants seeking employment in the U.S. However, the ineffectiveness of the program`s processes and policies juxtaposed with the relocation of the recruitment sites from more populated cities to the less populated ones have contributed more to the immigration crisis. Migrants now prefer to enter illegally rather than use these programs.
Furthermore, policies such as controlling the wages of the guest worker, are driving employers into hiring undocumented workers who are way cheaper than their registered counterparts. Significant reforms at the guest workers program are necessary to curb illegal immigration into the country. If the programs were to make changes in their processes and policies, then the issue of occupation-based immigrants illegally getting into the country will be averted. The country`s economy will also grow due to the available migrant labor. Moreover, the guest worker participants will benefit through adequate wages that can sustain them, improving their civil rights standards, and the option of seeking a permanent visa. Nevertheless, reforms to the guest workers program play one fundamental solution to the immigration crisis faced by the nation.
Another solution for the immigration crisis is to reform the current legal immigration structure. The number one contributor to illegal immigrants in the country is the difficulties of seeking a legal visa with the majority opting to illegally gain entry into the country (Cornelius, 2017). The legal process has proven to be too expensive for most immigrants, sometimes with the process completely being inaccessible or takes too much time. These challenges should be analyzed and proposed changes implemented for a smoother process in the immigration system. The current immigration policy prohibits employers from hiring undocumented workers. However, the policy did not offer solutions on how to avoid this crisis, with a vast number of employers not obeying the policy.
As a remedy, the U.S government should enforce a policy that requires all employers to use the E-Verify federal program when hiring an employee mandatorily. The E-Verify program contains records of all documented workers eligible for hiring by employers. The system, if efficiently implemented, will provide a strict employment ground for undocumented workers to seek employment opportunities anywhere in the country. Furthermore, hefty penalties should be introduced to employers who fail to follow the policy. With the E-Verify and streamlined legal immigration application process in check, the number of undocumented workers in the country will decrease hence reducing the overall illegal immigrants entering the country.
Ending the birthright citizenship is also an excellent legal reform of the immigration law. There has been a debate on who should be given automatic citizenship by birth. Experts have argued that awarding birthright citizenship to children of parents who are in the country illegally further impacts the immigrants’ population. The birthright citizenship policy is a loophole that illegal immigrants exploit since they want their children to have a U.S citizenship (Wang, 2017). Amendments to the birthright policy should be made to control the immigration crisis. As part of a recommendation to this policy, a proposal should be supported that requires at least one parent of the child to be a citizen.
Emulating Canada`s point-based system is another solution that can eliminate illegal immigration in the United States. Recent statistics on illegal immigration in Canada have revealed that the point-based system has reduced the number of illegal immigrants in that nation. According to the system, immigrant applicants are graded depending on their skills, level of education, language fluency among many other factors (Islam, 2018). Those immigrants who score the highest in the system get higher chances of being accepted as legal migrants. The U.S government should support the efforts of some of its top officials in bring back the point-based system. Those in support of the system argue that the system will bring high-skilled workers into the country contributing to economic growth. To make the point-based system work efficiently, U.S should look to Canada for inspiration on the success of solving the immigration crisis. Rather than limiting immigrants into the country, United States should improve the policy for those already in the country.
To conclude, the issue of illegal immigrants in the United States is far from being resolved. The current policies and legislation have proved to be ineffective in curbing the immigration issue with calls for better reforms to be undertaken being sabotaged by political games. The debate has brought division in the government instead of them sitting down and agreeing on finding solutions to the crisis. Regardless, it is evident that significant reforms need to be done on the current immigration policies to avert a crisis that is threatening to destroy the nation in one way or the other. First, the lawmakers should amend the family reunification and guest worker programs that have become inefficient. These programs must ensure that participants get access to jobs while employers do not look for cheap labor among the undocumented workers. Secondly, the legal immigration policy should be modified to accommodate improved E-Verify program as well as ending the birthright citizenship policy. Lastly, the U.S should borrow a leaf from neighbouring Canada on how to successfully implement a point-based system for containing the already present legal migrants while limiting immigration into the country.
References
Cornelius, W. (2017). Reforming the management of migration flows from Latin America to the United States.
Islam, M. (2018). Point Based Skilled Migration: Is it an Efficient Tool to fine tune Labor Market Issues and boost Productivity? (Doctoral dissertation).
Tepperman, J. (2017). Canada’s Ruthlessly Smart Immigration Policy. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/opinion/canada-immigration-policy-trump.html?_r=0
Wang, S. H. (2017). Fetal citizens? Birthright citizenship, reproductive futurism, and the “panic” over Chinese birth tourism in Southern California. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 35(2), 263-280.
