 |
 |
|
|
 |
Who Would Make America More Attractive to Immigrants: Obama or MaCain? Bennett Wisniewski, Attorney at Law With less than a month to go before the 2008 presidential election, many people living in America and around the world are anxious to find out who the next president will be – Senator John McCain (R-AZ) or Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). This election will have a significant impact on the nation’s immigration policies as well as America’s popularity abroad. Would American become a more attractive place to immigrants under an Obama Administration or a MaCanin Administration? What are the candidates’ immigration policies? Obama Welcomed in Foreign Countries On 10/06/08, a Reader’s Digest poll was released which asked 17,000 people in 17 countries, including Brazil, Taiwan, Germany, India, Indonesia, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, France, South Africa, Poland, and Russia, whom they would like to see elected president. The results show that Senator Barack Obama is overwhelmingly favored in all foreign countries surveyed. What is particularly interesting is that embedded in this survey was the question “Would you be interested in moving to America if economic and political barriers were non-existent”. The results from this survey showed that the majority in India (73%), South Africa (65%), the Netherlands (55%) and France (52%) would be interested in moving to the U.S. America remains to be an attractive country for those pursuing the American Dream and it seems that under an Obama administration more people from other countries would consider immigrating to America. Senator John Mccain’s Immigration Policy Senator John McCain has proposed several changes to U.S. immigration policy. Particularly of interest to alien professionals and researchers, are his plan’s for high skilled foreign worker immigration:
However, despite these goals and his previous support for comprehensive immigration reform, Senator McCain’s current position is to secure America’s borders first before pursuing further immigration reform for high skilled workers. On his campaign website, Senator McCain states, “We must prove we have the resources to secure our borders and use them, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States. When we have achieved our border security goal, we must enact and implement the other parts of practical, fair and necessary immigration policy.” Senator McCain has stated that he wouldn’t vote for the immigration reform bill, which he had originally sponsored, if it came to a vote in the Senate today, because the boarder security issue has not been solved. . Therefore, under a McCain administration, immigration reform would be a future goal but it would take a backseat to border security, which is Senator McCain’s top immigration priority. It is unclear whether this position is reflective of Senator McCain’s true intent or whether it is an election year tactic aimed at appealing to US conservative groups, who traditionally oppose increased immigration and greatly favor increased border security. Senator Barack Obama’s Immigration Policy In contrast to Senator McCain’s immigration plan, Senator Obama’s plan is not preconditioned on increased boarder security. Although Senator Obama is committed to securing America’s boarders, he has not indicated that he would wait for the boarders to be secured before pursuing immigration reform. Specifically, Senator Obama’s immigration plan involves:
Although Senator Obama has not worked on immigration issues in the Senate as long as Senator McCain has, he has been active on immigration matters throughout his Senate career and there is every indication that he is a fast learner on immigration policy. However, there is limited information as on what priority he would put on immigration policy, and how skillfully he can maneuver a bipartisan passage of immigration bills. As is always the case with American politics, the future effect of this election on America’s immigration policy is difficult to predict. With the recent economic downturn and the growth of special interest groups opposed to immigration reform, there are additional obstacles for any administration to push through a comprehensive immigration reform bill. We all, however, can take some comfort in the fact that both candidates recognize that America’s current immigration policy is broken and needs to be fixed. * ------ (10/20/2008) For more immigration news, please click here |
|
"The best way to |
| New York | Houston | Chicago | Austin | Los Angeles | |||
