Echoes of Ellis Island

 

Background (to date):
    In June 2013, with support of then U.S. President Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan immigration "overhaul bill" which was more comprehensive than unsuccessful proposals of President George W. Bush (who had sought "legal status over time" for undocumented immigrants without another "blanket amnesty" as in 1986). The Republican controlled House of Representatives, however, did not act on the 2013 Senate bill.

   In November 2014, Obama announced "deferred actions"  enabling about half of undocumented immigrants to legally live and work in America. These measures, somewhat exceeding those exercised by prior presidents, and expanding on his 2012 DACA ("Dreamers") program, were blocked by court challenges. Addressing such objections to his actions in advance, Obama told Congress to "pass a bill" instead. There were, however, no further attempts at bipartisan immigration policy overhaul during the remainder of his presidential term.

  In 2016, Donald Trump declared his desire to "have Mexico pay" for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. After being elected president that November, he suggested that in places it could be a fence instead of a wall. In September, 2017, acting ahead of threatened lawsuits by state attorneys-general, the Trump administration announced that DACA would end after six more months unless Congress passed legislation formally authorizing it. In January, 2018, Congressional indecision on such legislation delayed passage of the annual federal budget shutting down government operations for a few days. A proposed "path to citizenship" for DACA recipients was part

of a  "Framework on Immigration Reform and Border Security"  announced by the White House on January 25, 2018. On June 12, a "discharge petition," to enable a "moderate" variant of this White House plan failed, by two votes, to pass the House of Representatives.

 

  General articles here below

  Specific analyses, listed to the left* here, and in

  Commentary section at bottom of this page

   *Smartphone users see here, under "Migration today / US Immigration...", for links

 

 

"Immigration Debate Shines Spotlight on Divided House GOP"

(NPR, June, 2018)

 

"Dreamers," Mistrust in Congress, US shutdown

(New York Times, January, 2018)

 

Democrat deal with Trump on "Dreamers" ?

(NPR, Sept, 2017)

 

"A giant exercise in ignoring reality"

(Congress failing to acknowledge a choice limited to

(a) failed executive actions, (b) failed immigration policy, or

(c) enacting "something like DACA,"  Economist, Sept, 2017)

 

Proposal to make E-verify mandatory for new hires

("Legal Workforce Act" introduced, House of Reps, Sept, 2017)

 

Minding the door (proposed RAISE Act of 2017)

(Economist  February, 2017)

 

Latinos, immigration and the White House, 2016

(New York Times interview of Jorge Ramos, March, 2016)

 

GOP's immigration "crossroads"

(Brooks, New York Times, November, 2015)

 

Court battle over executive actions

(Vox, February, 2015)

 

Delaying executive action until after mid-term elections

(Wall Street Journal, August, 2014)

 

Executive action instead of legislation

(New York Times, June, 2014)

 

No U.S. immigration policy overhaul in 2014

(New York Times, February, 2014)

 

The Case for Republican Inaction

(National Review, January, 2014)

 

Republican List of Principles

(New York Times, January, 2014)

 

Receding Roar?

(Brooks, New York Times, July, 2013)

 

Republicans shun 2013 bill

(Horsey, Los Angeles Times, July, 2013)

 

2013 "Immigration overhaul" bill in the U.S. Congress

 

2013 "Immigration overhaul" bill: historical perspective

(Keeling, Los Angeles Times, July, 2013)

 

President Obama's speech on 2013 immigration bill

(White House website, June, 2013)

 

"The Gang of Eight's Immigration Fight"

(New Yorker, May, 2013)

 

Background on the 2013 "Immigration Overhaul" bill

 

 

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSES

Economist: Migrants maybe

Economist: Legalization without citizenship IV

Cruz (R-AZ): Legalization without citizenship III

Pearce (R-NM): Legalization without citizenship II

NY Times: The role of business

White House / CBO: Economic benefits of reform

Klein: Legalization without citizenship I: the concept

Economist: "Of Fences and Good Sense"

 

This page last updated 12-June-2018