¶ … Immigration between the Obama Administration and Congress:
United States immigration policy has been an issue of major political debates and controversies for several decades. The controversy surrounding the nation's immigration policy is partly because policymakers are increasingly considering the need to maintain global competitiveness through attracting top overseas talent against the need to curtail illegal immigration and secure the country's borders (Lee par, 1). In the past few years, the debate on immigration has focused on how to restructure a more bureaucratic visa application process and deal with millions of undocumented immigrants that are already living in the country. These initiatives have focused specifically on addressing young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents. In addition, the current focus on U.S. immigration policy looks at implementing policy at local level without endangering public trust across immigrant communities.
Obama Administration v. Congress:
As the controversy continues, the issue of U.S. immigration policy has attracted different arguments between the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress. These differing arguments have had significant impacts on the country to an extent that federal...
The slow pace of comprehensive reform has partly been influenced by these arguments though the Obama Administration and U.S. Congress have constantly showed willingness to adopt a bi-partisan approach towards immigration. The other reason for the slow progress is because the Obama Administration has leaned towards enforcement-based policies for preventing illegal immigration. On the other hand, states have adopted restrictive immigration policies, which have contributed to huge divisions between federal and state authorities.
One of the major arguments between the Obama Administration and the Congress on immigration surrounds the proposal by the government to adopt a comprehensive approach towards immigration reform. The Obama Administration has sought to achieve this objective through the enactment of the
DREAM Act i.e. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors legislation. The legislation has attracted considerable debates because it is geared towards providing a
framework to
citizenship for undocumented youth who were brought to the United States with their families or parents. While the bill passed the House in late 2010, it did not garner adequate votes and support to trounce a Senate filibuster. The Obama Administration has been pushing for the enactment of this legislation since it would no longer deport undocumented youths who immigrated to the country before 16 years and below 13 years.
The U.S. Congress has opposed this measure as evident in the fact that the bill has continued to stall at the Congress on various occasions. The Congress has in turn argued and supported a piecemeal approach towards…
