Future challenges on immigration
SHEELA MURTHY
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A look at how Barack Obama’s background and policies may impact any possible legislation on the immigration process.
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Photo: AFP
Hot button issue: Immigration is the next big issue after the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan.
As Indian nationals, we may wonder what we can expect from President Barack Obama or the new U.S. Administration in terms of a change in U.S. immigration law and policy. Will President Obama be able to introduce new laws that will substantially improve the conditions for Indians and other immigrants in the U.S.?
It is true that President-Elect Obama has a unique cultural background with a father from Kenya and a cultural anthropologist mother. He has lived in countries like Indonesia as a child and has cousins, relatives and other family members in Kenya.
Strong attitude
His unique background and cultural sensitivity makes him more sensitive to issues dealing with U.S. immigration law and policy. But he also has a strong protectionism attitude to help the American worker, prevent outsourcing especially in a weak economy, and recognises the importance of protecting our borders and our national security as part of the overall immigration policy.
Although many may think that he is the first child of an immigrant since his father was born in Kenya; in fact, he is only the seventh U.S. President who is first-generation American. The others had a parent or parents from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, or German (Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, James Buchanan, Chester Arthur, Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Hoover).
He is, of course, the first President with a parent from Africa or a country other than an European one, which makes his candidacy all the more unique and historic.
Even though the U.S. President is considered one of the most powerful leaders in the world, no U.S. President can ever legislate or pass a law (except in emergency circumstances as an interim measure) since enacting law is the task of the Congress. The President can make his viewpoint known and members of his party in either the Senate or the House of Representatives may empathise with him and, if they are like-minded, such individuals could introduce bills that are often hotly debated. Once the parties all agree to the terms in the legislation and it is passed by both the Senate and the House, then the President can sign the bill into law.
There are no specific pronouncements in any major speech of President Obama’s immigration law and policy position. One can try to glean his thought process and his bent of mind from his voting record on various immigration-related issues.
What he has said
Besides Obama’s voting record on specific immigration policy issues, he has pointed out that the U.S. must crack down against U.S. employers who violate U.S. immigration laws by hiring undocumented workers and violating wage laws.
While generally Indian immigrants tend to work in professional positions, many Indian nationals work in the lesser skilled manual jobs and are violating their legal status that could lead to problems for them and their employers.
Obama has also pointed out as part of his immigration policy that economic development in Mexico will help to stem the tide of illegal immigration in the U.S. It is possible that with the economic problems faced in the U.S. today and rumours abounding that Mexicans are returning to Mexico in droves to find work may have some truth in it but it is not a mass exodus that will solve the problem of millions of undocumented workers in the U.S.
At the end of the day, most likely, Obama will be preoccupied with dealing with problems with the U.S. economy and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan but immigration law and policy is a hot button issue that will not go away. After he is hopefully able to deal with the immediate crisis of the economy and the wars, taking a stab at improving U.S. immigration law and policy is the next big issue that Obama will need to address.
We wish him much success on this challenging issue, especially since we have a vested interest to increase the H1B quota for Indians, expedite the “green card” processing for faster green cards and generally provide relief from the interminably slow process we all need to endure today!
The writer is an attorney with the Murthy Law Firm ( www.murthy.com) and the keynote speaker at “The Obama Effects Conference” at the University of Minnesota on October 24, 2008, to analyze, and discuss the future of immigration law and policy in the U.S. in an Obama Administration. Write to her at: feedback@murthy.com
Track record
If one had to briefly summarise the immigration policy and track record of President Obama, it can be encapsulated as follows:
He has voted for Comprehensive immigration reform or CIR in July 2007, which attempted to eliminate the labour certification system and provide relief to undocumented workers who can get in line to become U.S. immigrants by creating a new Z class of visas but the process would have been slow and they would have to pay hefty fines and get behind all others waiting for years in line to get U.S. immigration or citizenship.
He has voted for the border fence with Mexico in Sept. 2006 as part of the immigration policy to ensure that although we need to recognise the work done by undocumented workers, we need to stem the tide of new illegal border crossings.
He has voted for the DREAM Act in Jan. 2008, where children of undocumented immigrants who complete their High School education in the U.S. should be eligible for legalisation since it is unfair to penalise children for the actions of their parents.
He has voted for the Guest Worker Programme in May 2006 where as part of the CIR a new visa class of Y visas would be created to recognise the need for immigrants to enter the U.S. on a short-term basis to undertake work that is not being done by U.S. workers like working in farms, crab picking, etc.
He has voted against declaring English as the official language in the U.S. in June 2007.
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