Benchmark Assignment A

Jodie Annis
SW4710
Dr. Martin-Keys
October 3, 2014
Social Problem
11.7 million illegal
immigrants currently in
the United States.

Illegal immigrant: a
foreigner who enters the U.S.
without an entry or
immigrant visa, especially a
person who crosses the
border by avoiding inspection
or who overstays the period
of time allowed as a visitor,
tourist, or businessperson
(dictionary.com).



Unauthorized Population by
Country of Origin, 2012 (2014)
Why is this a problem?
Roughly 4.5 million native-born
U.S.-citizen children have at
least one unauthorized parent
(Taylor, 2014)
three-fifths of unauthorized
immigrants have been in the US
for over a decade (Taylor, 2014)
unauthorized immigrants
comprised 5.2 percent of the
U.S. labor force in 2010 (Taylor,
2014)

Unauthorized immigrants in the United States 2000-2012
(Taylor, 2014)
What Policies are currently in place?
Immigration and Naturalization Act
(INA)
Family-based immigration
Employment-based immigrations
Refugees and Asylee's
The Diversity Visa Program
Humanitarian Relief
US Citizenship
(2014)
Family-Based Immigration System
Category U.S. Sponsor Relationship Numerical
Limit

Immediate
Relatives (IRs)

U.S. Citizen
adults
Spouses,
unmarried
minor
children, and
parents

Unlimited
Preference allocation
1 U.S. citizen Unmarried
adult children
23,400*
2A LPR Spouses and
minor children
87,900
2B LPR Unmarried
adult children
26,300
3 U.S. citizen Married adult
children
23,400**
4 U.S. citizen Brothers and
Sisters
65,000***
* Plus any unused visas from the 4
th
preference.
** Plus any unused visas from 1st and 2
nd
preference.
***Plus any unused visas from the all other family-based preferences.
Worldwide level of family preference allocation: 480,000 minus visas
issued to IRs and parolees, plus unused employment-visas from previous
fiscal year. Floor for preference categories: 226,000.
Family Based Immigration
Requirements to qualify for Family Based Immigration:
Petitioner must be a US citizen or Legal Permanent
Resident
Meet income requirements
Sign an affidavit stating responsibility for caring for the
needs of immigrant (2014)
Who Enforces this Policy?
Federal Government:
US/Mexico Border
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
The current system is viewed as broken and undergoing reform
Border Security
Work site enforcement
Guest worker programs
Improve current immigration system
Improve the naturalization process
(Immigration Reform)


12 million Illegal Immigrants
Already Living in the US
"We are not going to ship back 12 million people, we're not going to do it as a
practical matter. We would have to take all our law enforcement that we
have available and we would have to use it and put people on buses, and rip
families apart, and that's not who we are, that's not what America is about.
So what I've proposed... is you say we're going to bring these folks out of the
shadows. We're going to make them pay a fine, they are going to have to
learn English, they are going to have to go to the back of the line...but they
will have a pathway to citizenship over the course of 10 years." (Immigration
Reform)
Going against current policy President Obama said:
Immigration and Naturalization
Act
Implemented in 1952
Currently most feel there is need for some type of reform
52 percent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to support a
candidate who backs immigration reform compared with 18 percent who said they
would be less likely
54 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes
immigration reform while only 17 percent said they would be more likely
Read more:
Support for immigration reform is broad and especially strong among persuadable
independents that Republicans need to win elections, Charlie Spies

(Poll)


Advocate Interview
Torres, Heather
How do you feel about the current family based immigration portion of INA?
The fact that a US citizen Is able to petition for immediate family to be brought to the
United states is greatThis does not include in-laws. BADI am not able to petition for
my Mother in law to be brought to the United States and my husband is not able to do so
until he is a citizen.
What do you like/dislike about it?
Everything takes months, months to process the application, months to resubmit what
they need, months for the waiver...next months turns to years and so on.
Also, the cost. In order to do it right you need a lawyer. Ours was 2500, it now cost up
wards of 5000 for a lawyer. The application fee is over 400, and suppose to be going up
this year. IF you are denied, you have to repay that fee to reapply.
How does this policy impact your life?
The policies impacted my life in many ways. The law when I went through this is
different now. Now when you apply you do not get sent back to Mexico
our lawyer told us to do it now would be way different than when we did it.
In my situation, him having to leave early and have to be in Mexico for 2 years caused
major hardships on us. I hated it. It was miserable for our entire family.
Advocate Interview Cont
Within your personal/professional circle, how do you see this policy
impacting lives?
The laws affect most of my personal circle. Our friends and family still fear
deportation due to being in the states illegally. The cost makes it hard for them to
even consider applying for residency. The lengthy process also detours them from
trying.
Do you support immigration reform?
The reform that has happened since allowing people to stay with their families
while going through the pain stacking process is awesome.
My Opinion
4.5 Million American children should not be deported nor separated
from their parents
While I understand the requirements for applying for family
immigration, these make immigration only possible for wealthy
families.
Limitations should not be put on Americans for who they can marry
American children should never fear that their parents will be
deported
I agree with president Obamas opinion on current illegal immigrants,
but going against current policy before it is reformed is not an
acceptable way to make change

Personal Story
One of my close family members, fell in love with, and chose to marry a Mexican
man that was in the United States illegally. She went on to have 4 children with
this man while he remained illegal. During this time of building their family they
were working towards his legal residency. This process was very expensive and
required them to find someone with a very substantial income to sign an affidavit
saying they would be fiscally responsible for him. This seemed unfair considering
he and his wife had been living successfully in the United States for years. Living
on a low income should not be the sole reason for a family to be separated from
one another. When this family got to the end stages of the legal residency
process he was forced to return to Mexico and wait for acceptance back into the
states. This whole family went together for one year and then the kids needed
to get back in school. This forced the family to be separated from one another
for a full calendar year. This does not seem right for an American citizen to be
separated from her spouse for so long. It seems that there could be an
expedited method for immigrants with American minor children.
References
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Dictionary.com. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/illegal+immigrant
How the united states immigration system works: a fact sheet. (2014, March 1). Immigration
policy center. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-
facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet
Immigration Reform. (n.d.). Immigration Reform. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://www.usaimmigrationreform.org/
Poll indicates support for immigration reform - Seung Min Kim. (n.d.). POLITICO. Retrieved
October 3, 2014, from http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/immigration-reform-support-
poll-99532.html#ixzz3F6fdRloo
Taylor, P. (2014, August 19). Unauthorized Immigrants Today: A Demographic Profile.
Immigration Policy Center. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-today-demographic-profile
Torres, Heather B. Personal interview. October 3, 2014