ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of A Sustainable Immigration System

893 Words4 Pages

Before seeking a sustainable immigration system, it is important to know how the current immigration system functions and its faults. People want to come to the United States; some want to be here temporarily, while others wish to live here permanently. Economic and political circumstances force families to move out of their home countries. Unauthorized immigrants who enter the United States through the southern border face dangers along the way. Local and federal policies criminalize undocumented immigrants, placing them at a social and economic disadvantage. This criminalization situates undocumented immigrants in disastrous circumstances due to the risk of detention and deportation. Those who manage to live in the United States without being …show more content…

In this paper, we analyze the proposed changes from S. 744 to see which ideas are sustainable compared to those that are not. Though we pay particular attention to visa regimes and immigrant integration through education, we know that the conversation about comprehensive immigration reform must include other aspects such as stratification and equity for all. Nevertheless, the highlighted topics in this paper are significant and relevant because they address issues relating to the three points in the immigrant’s journey: reason for departure, access into the country, and integration into society. Sustainability in this framework is not to be confused with the ecological concept of environmental sustainability. Sustainable open borders, as proposed within this paper, seeks to promote a viable and continuous immigration system that eliminates the suffering and inefficiencies tied to the current …show more content…

744 addresses the issues of border security, the oversight of the border, and goals that must be met before other provisions of the bill are implemented. The outlined goals regard the surveillance and effectiveness of the Border Patrol. Tackling surveillance, the bill provides the use of the National Guard to strengthen helicopter fleet and deploy additional mobile, video, and portable surveillance systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to achieve operations 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Aside from surveillance, the proposal allocates upwards of $30 billion to double the amount of Border Patrol Agents (BPA) to at least 38,405 and add an additional 700 miles of double border fencing. To vet the effectiveness and integrity of the proposed security measures, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is required to report to Congress on the effectiveness rate for each Border Patrol sector, the number of miles along the Southern border under persistent surveillance, resources and staffing at Ports of Entry (POE) (MPI, 2013). Although the sweeping measures provide an outline for a reformed border, the bill’s failure to address the environmental impacts produced by the proposed security devices, its economic efficiency and the international relationship between the U.S. and countries south of the border jeopardizes its intent of being truly

Open Document