The Great Divide: The Politics of Illegal Immigration in America

For almost two decades, successive US presidents and Congresses have viewed porous national borders and the presence of 10-12 million undocumented immigrants in the country as a pressing problem. A majority of Americans have shared this view that remedial government action is urgently needed, and new grassroots movements have emerged favoring immigrant rights, on the one side, and tougher enforcement and border control, on the other. Against this backdrop, the White House and Congress have worked together several times to advance a comprehensive immigration reform package comprising four core elements: (1) new measures to strengthen enforcement of immigration laws and border control; (2) improved employer sanctions to penalize those who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants; (3) an earned legalization program that would allow most undocumented immigrants living in the country to gain legal status; and (4) revision of the legal immigration preference system to allow US businesses to have easier access to immigrant workers or foreign guest workers. While national policymakers largely agree on the essential building blocks of comprehensive immigration reform, each legislative effort has been derailed by disputes over which of these elements should take precedence over others. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.