Monday, October 21, 2013
Democrats Aim to Restore Immigration to Agenda
This article is about how President Obama and other Democrats wanted the issue of immigration to be one of the first back on the agenda of Congress following the government shutdown. Progress on this issue is said to be determined in the House of Representatives and by Speaker John A. Boehner. Democrats and Republicans argue that the Republicans passing a bill on immigration would be a good way for them to make a comeback after bad results in polls during the shutdown. Republicans believe that the President's recent attitude has made it harder to come to an agreement on immigration and that he is less likely to negotiate fairly after the shutdown. Many Democrats say Boehner could pass a bill similar to the Senate’s if he allowed a vote like the one that ended the shutdown, to pass legislation with both Democratic and Republican votes.
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While I agree that immigration reform is very important to the country, I'm not entirely sure that now is the right time to work on that. If it were up to me, I would deal with the financial matters facing the country long before our new deadline. It seems like all congress is doing is procrastinating making any real decisions on the federal budget. I also agree that the decision to move on to immigration is party motivated and does not have the publics interest in mind. I hope congress makes the right decisions for the people's sakes and not for party oriented advantages.
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely for passing an immigration reform bill. I am absolutely not, however, for a policy that will result in amnesty. We tried amnesty in 1986 and it clearly did not work—we are again faced with the same problem; we cannot do something that failed miserably the first time around. First and foremost, we must secure the border. This ought to be the number one priority. Before we begin a conversation about those already here, we need to reform entitlements: without a government dole, those who do not wish to work will simply leave. Those who want to work hard should receive work permits. From there, I am open to ideas. Second most importantly, should reform the legal immigration system in order to make immigration much easier. America needs people who are willing to work hard and change the world—legal immigrants are some of the best people to do this.
ReplyDeleteI think that if the Democrats and Republicans want to have a fair and reasonable negotiation about immigration reform legislation then ok. But I agree with Emily that it might be better to worry about the economy and federal budget now. I feel that the politicians, on both sides, will possibly trying to use this immigration legislation as a way to leverage a federal budget with spending increases in areas other than just what would be needed to accomplish, what should be, the first priority of this immigration bill; securing the border. Once the border is secure than we can deal with amnesty and other such issues that go along with it. The issue is, though, that just offering amnesty isn't going to get every illegal immigrant out of the shadows. Now I also think that we shouldn't start deporting every single illegal immigrant because, to be honest, the amount of resources that would most likely take would not be worth it in the end. This is something that, maybe, we should use our legal system for, in this case the immigration courts, since, as much as you may not like this fact, illegal immigrants came into this country illegally therefore have committed a crime. Crimes should be dealt with by the judiciary, not some politicians trying to earn brownie points with the minorities.
ReplyDeleteI think it's extremely immature to say that Obama willI try to"destroy the Republican Party and not to get good policies," in regards to Republicans attempt to reform immigrant laws. I would hope the President of the United States would have a bit more respect for his country than to completely throw his country's efficency to the wind in order to spite the Republicans. Also, I feel that it is completely hypocritical to accuse Obama of that, especially considering, in my point of view, "throwing the country's efficency to the wind" seemed to be the Republican party's tactic with the government shutdown. (Obviously, my conservative peers will argue Obama was sacrificing the efficency of the country) Hopefully this article does not represent the majority of Republican's opinions. If it is, than little has been learned from the shutdown ordeal.
ReplyDeleteI support the initiative to pass an immigration reform law, though it must be done very soon, as stated in the article. Beyond improving poll numbers, a popular, bipartisan law would help set a precedent for cooperation that would be beneficial in the next round of fiscal crises. I think it's encouraging that some Republicans are taking steps toward reform themselves, even if they don't have the full support of the rest of their party. It's in the GOP's best interest right now to try to steer our legislatures toward more cooperation and less standoffishness, especially in light of the recent shutdown. In terms of the specifics of the law, I support amnesty for those already here. I disagree with Andrew's distinction between "those who do not wish to work" and "those who want to work hard." Illegal immigrants don't make the dangerous trek into the United States because they're lazy, and I'd argue that any people given the opportunity would choose to work rather than survive on welfare.
ReplyDeleteImmigration reform is as a pressing issue as the financial crisis. I don't think pushing for a new immigration bill will distract the government from solving America's financial woes. In fact, I believe a busy government is a more effective one. Necessity breeds invention. The more pressure the more likely something will be done. I don't agree with Andrew's statement "we cannot do something that failed miserably the first time around." It's possible to grant amnesty for those already in the US as long as we learn from our mistakes in 1986. In order to restore faith in the people, at least to some degree, it's absolutely necessary for the GOP and the Democratic party to approach immigration reform as a united front. We need, now more than ever, a bipartisan agreement on reform.
ReplyDeleteImmigration reform is as a pressing issue as the financial crisis. I don't think pushing for a new immigration bill will distract the government from solving America's financial woes. In fact, I believe a busy government is a more effective one. Necessity breeds invention. The more pressure the more likely something will be done. I don't agree with Andrew's statement "we cannot do something that failed miserably the first time around." It's possible to grant amnesty for those already in the US as long as we learn from our mistakes in 1986. In order to restore faith in the people, at least to some degree, it's absolutely necessary for the GOP and the Democratic party to approach immigration reform as a united front. We need, now more than ever, a bipartisan agreement on reform.
ReplyDeleteI think the shutdown did hurt the Republican party more than the Democrats. Which is why the GOP should give in a little bit to show the people that they are flexible. And they know Obama wont give in, the hard negotiator he is. On the other hand, I don't understand why immigration is the first thing on the Democrats minds.
ReplyDeleteI agree that immigration should be in the forefront of Congress's minds. Our immigration laws are faulty as is, so seeing them change wouldn't be such a bad thing. I also don't believe that this would be much of a distraction. If our government can have bipartisan agreement on this, if it occurs quickly, it could spur on other reform. I think that this can be a huge segway into more bipartisan agreement, but it has to happen soon
ReplyDeleteIt's apparent that immigration has been an issue and I agree that now is the perfect time to reform it. I agree with Olivia, immigration is just as much of an issue as the financial crisis. It saddens me that there has not been any reform yet. Just as Kica Matos said, “It’s about keeping mothers with sons, fathers with daughters." Who could be against that?
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that immigration laws need reform, we must attend to the financial crisis first. The financial crisis, if unattended to, can be detrimental to our economy. I am thinking in the interest of the country when I say that the financial crisis needs to be at-nat while immigration reform on deck. However, as Olivia pointed out, there is something to be said a busy government being a better government. The best case scenario is that the government work on both topics at the same time. If this cannot be achieved, then importance must be placed on the financial crisis.
ReplyDeleteThe financial crisis in America should be the first priority of Congress and the White House. Immigration reform is also a very important issue, and I hope that the Democrats and the Republicans can work for the common good. I am not very confident that will happen after the government shutdown however. Legal immigrants in America who want to provide for their families and work hard should be encouraged, not discouraged. This country has been built up and strengthened by immigrants. It only makes sense to reform immigration laws.
ReplyDeleteWhat i found most interesting about this article was how the Democrats and Republicans view the effects on the parties if an immigration law were to be passed. On one hand there re those Democrats and some Republicans who think this kind of bill would look good for the republican party as it would show bipartisan cooperation, but a lot of Republicans refuse to believe the president would do anything to benefit their party. Some of the views on the actual solutions to our immigration problem are similar, so I think it is more an issue of bring the problems to the table and work together.
ReplyDeleteWhat i found most interesting about this article was how the Democrats and Republicans view the effects on the parties if an immigration law were to be passed. On one hand there re those Democrats and some Republicans who think this kind of bill would look good for the republican party as it would show bipartisan cooperation, but a lot of Republicans refuse to believe the president would do anything to benefit their party. Some of the views on the actual solutions to our immigration problem are similar, so I think it is more an issue of bring the problems to the table and work together.
ReplyDeleteI believe that immigration reform does deserve attention from out government but I also think that there are other more important issues that should be handled first. I say this not due to any insignificance of immigration reform but because of the motivation behind creating a new immigration bill. The article states that representatives in both the Democratic and Republican party believe that passing a bill will increase external efficacy towards the Republican party. This may be a good plan but I think poor reasoning. If the government truly wanted to reform immigration laws I think that they should take their time and consider different solutions to the problem as opposed to just cranking out a bill in order to gain popularity.
ReplyDelete"She needs to sort out her priorities" is what Ron Weasely would say about America. There are other pressing issues to deal with other than immigration; the financial crisis is only getting governmental attention right before its cut-off date. Not to say that immigration laws aren't important, but other things are waiting earlier for us.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of an amnesty law intrigues me. It seems like a beneficial way to account for many illegal immigrants because of its nature. Andrew says it was ineffective in the past, and I wonder what the statistic behind that is - I'm sure some progress was made.