Obama Immigration Policy: The 1st Year
As reported by ImmigrationImpact.com
This month marks the 7th anniversary of the DHS which is home to the nation’s three immigration agencies (ICE, CBP and USCIS). It also marks the end of a sweeping internal review ordered by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano which has not been made public.
The Immigration Policy Center has released a report entitled DHS Progress Report: The Challenge of Reform to assess the 1st year of the Obama Administration’s immigration policy.
On the plus side, there has been more public engagement and discussion of DHS priorities. ICE has announced, although not fully implemented, numerous detention reforms. It has done away with the massive worksite raids of the past few years, placing greater emphasis on employer violations. The Obama Administration and USCIS have made some genuine inroads into immigration fee reform, backlog reduction, and expanded naturalization and integration efforts. Secretary Napolitano has also invested significant time and resources into developing plans for comprehensive immigration reform.
These are just some of the examples of changes within the last year. Ultimately, this first year was mostly frustrating—a year where the promise of reform seems to fight daily with the dynamics of an entrenched belief in an enforcement driven culture. For every two steps forward, it seems that the Department takes one steps backward.
It has been reported that today President Obama is scheduled to meet with two key congressional players in the movement for immigration reform—Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)—who are working together behind the scenes to draft a bipartisan immigration bill. The President is expected to ask the Senators to produce a reform bill blueprint that “could be turned into legislative language.” Some think that the meeting is another positive signal from the White House, and others view it as a “last-ditch effort in an election year.” Although interpretations are mixed, a spokesman for the White House affirmed that the President is still committed to reforming our immigration system. More on this
Tags: Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Department Of Homeland Security (DHS), DHS Progress Report, Immigration News, Immigration Policy, Immigration Reform