04 Jun, 2009
Are Borders Safe Enough for Immigration Reform?
Posted by: admin In: Immigracion.com.mx
During the debate over immigration reform in Congress over the past few years, certain parties have consistently pointed to border security as a top priority. The continuing debate over what constituted adequate border security was a major reason why the immigration bill failed three times.
According to Sen. Chuck Schumer , the borders are now safe enough to take a step forward. “We can pass strong, fair, practical and effective immigration reform this year,” he said following a hearing on border security Wednesday.
Customs and Border Protection said that the number of people arrested while illegally crossing the Mexican border dropped 27 percent from the same period since last year. Along the Canadian border, the number of arrests was down 13 percent.
The shrinking labor market in the U.S. plus tougher border enforcement caused the number of undocumented immigrants to fall, said Schumer. Mr. Obama supports a “virtual fence” of sensor towers along the Mexican border and the “zero tolerance” jailing and deportation of apprehended undocumented immigrants.
Two of the country’s major labor union coalitions – the AFL-CIO and Change To Win have united to advocate for a major overhaul in immigration legislation which would help President Obama when he revisits the contentious issue this year. Both groups endorse allowing illegal immigrants already in the country legal status and push against any new program for employers to bring in temporary workers.
