home > by publication type > daily analysis > The Immigration Non-Debate
Email
| Author: | Lee Hudson Teslik |
|---|
Men stand next to a Mexican flag along the border fence dividing Mexico and the U.S. on June 27, 2008. (AP/Guillermo Arias)
For all the hot rhetoric it prompted during the presidential primaries, the immigration debate has gone dormant since Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) began the general election campaign. In large part, analysts say, this is because the candidates are fairly aligned on the matter. "Both men have lots of good will among pro-immigration activists, but not much from hard-liners," summarizes an article from McClatchy. The result is that the candidates, while occasionally sparring (WSJ), have increasingly kept mum on the issue, according to an AP analysis. While both McCain and Obama are keen on courting Latino swing voters (NPR), neither wants to alienate elements in their parties that favor tougher immigration measures.
But despite a low campaign profile, some experts expect both Obama and McCain to make immigration policy reform a priority (AZ Republic) if elected. Few question the pressing need for reform. Economists and business leaders alike decry standards they say make U.S. businesses less competitive internationally (YaleGlobal) by preventing them from hiring skilled foreign laborers. They say policy should better distinguish between unskilled workers and those that add significant value to the U.S. economy—particularly in sectors dependent on a highly specialized workforce, such as information technology and petrochemical engineering.
Meanwhile, homeland security watchdogs criticize immigration policy, which has led to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, for making the United States more susceptible to terrorism. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, says in a CFR.org Online Debate that "the home front is the real front, and denying the enemy access must be one of our key defensive goals." (This point of view is disputed, however—the Heritage Foundation's James Jay Carafano argues in the same debate that immigration does not pose a national security threat.)
Both Obama and McCain have presented strategies for addressing these concerns. McCain cosponsored a 2006 immigration reform bill that drew sharp opposition from elements within his own party. He was the only Republican presidential candidate to support the bill, which among other reforms proposed a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States. Obama also supported the bill. McCain has since said he would not push the same legislation again, and has said that his first goal on immigration as president would be to secure U.S. borders against illegal immigration. Still, in debates during the primaries, McCain reiterated that he would also push for a more comprehensive, bipartisan policy solution, including a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Obama, for his part, has supported an amendment to the immigration reform bill mandating that jobs be offered to U.S. workers at a "prevailing wage" before they are given to guest workers. He has also supported funding to improve the efficiency of immigrant screening procedures, and voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. At the same time, Obama's Illinois constituents include many Mexican immigrants, and he is considered a progressive voice on immigration policy. He has supported granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, calling it a "public safety concern," and supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States.
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.