Effective, comprehensive immigration reform requires that we address the status of the approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants who reside in the shadows of our society. These individuals make a significant contribution to the economic well-being of the country and should be afforded a tough but fair path to become full, permanent, contributing members of society. A clear path to earned citizenship would help restore the rule of law, avoid exploitation of immigrant workers, and protect opportunity for all workers, including native U.S. workers. As a country, we have at the very least implicitly invited these individuals in; attempting to force them to flee the country is wrong-headed, morally bankrupt, economically unfeasible, and doomed to fail.
Undocumented immigrants have circumvented the established, albeit inadequate, system for entering or remaining in the United States legally. The transition period on the path to earned citizenship should be determined by the time it will take to clear the backlog of those who have abided by the established system and who have been seeking to enter the United States through existing mechanisms. In other words, undocumented immigrants would be placed at the back of the existing backlog before earning their citizenship. In turn, comprehensive immigration reform must include a means of expediting the clearing of the existing backlog that has created delays as long as two decades for the reuniting of families separated by immigration.
For more on the Center’s policies on immigration, please see: