The time has come for Congress to discuss the problems with our immigration policy and produce legislation to address it.
It’s not an issue with simple solutions, and wading through the complexities of fixing our broken immigration system is not an easy job. But that’s what Capitol Hill is for, and the clock is ticking.
Legislators should take the first step of at least discussing reform, setting aside partisan politics – if only for a second – and agreeing that immigration is a pillar of America in need of repair.
American voters agree.
In Dec. 2014, 69 percent of voters in a Beyond the Beltway Insights Initiative poll said they would like to see the new Congress make legislation dealing with immigration, according to The Hill, an online news source.
There were about 11.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States in 2013, according to Pew Research.
That’s greater than the population of Los Angeles.
Many of these immigrants see themselves as Americans and contribute to the American economy.
Rather than addressing the fact that 5.1 percent of our country’s labor force was made up of undocumented immigrants in 2012, that maybe those hard-working people aren’t so bad and that maybe we should make their path to citizenship a little easier, congress sat on their hands.
Then, in November of last year, President Obama announced his executive action plan, in which his third step was to “deal responsibly with the millions of immigrants who live in this country.”
Now, a federal judge stepped in on Feb. 15, the day before people were to begin applying for work permits, to say that Obama exceeded his authority.
The stage is set for Congress to act, yet millions of undocumented immigrants remain casualties of political stagnation rather than beneficiaries of American progress.
Maria Lopez is a fellow California State University, Long Beach student and a member of Future Educated Underrepresented Leaders, a student organization that seeks to empower the undocumented CSULB community.
“According to the law, I’m a criminal,” Lopez, a senior Chicano and Latino studies major, said.
She is one of roughly 600 undocumented immigrants on campus.
Lopez was brought into the U.S. as a 3-year-old, unaware that she lacked citizenship until she began to apply for college.
“All of a sudden, education was cut off for me,” Lopez said.
Some people recognize that it is a touchy subject, but maintain that we have these laws for a reason.
“It does make me feel bad, but letting people break the law because we feel bad doesn’t seem logical,” Samantha Alonso, first year undeclared major, said.
There are two sides to every coin, and it’s a complex issue.
However, we elect our leaders precisely to deal with these complex issues, and there’s a very simple place to start: Talk about it.
11 million people aren’t going away.
Your move, Congress.
