According to the Associated Press: “Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., Albio Sires, D-N.J., and Joe Baca, D-Calif., members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, heard three hours of often emotional testimony. Women whose husbands are being detained talked about their longing to be reunited, underage workers detailed deplorable working conditions and city and religious officials lamented the impact on the community.”
Based on recent occurrences it seems that the country will be ready for an overhaul of our immigration system when the subject resurfaces before Congress.
Prior to the enforcement-only kick that the US has been on for the past year, the immigration laws clearly needed changing. However, rather than change the laws, the policy was geared toward lax enforcement. Now, rather than fixing the problem, the outdated laws that serve noone, the environment has become one in which the policy is mass enforcement to the point where immigrants are allegedly being denied basic due process such as in the Postville raids and a young undocumented woman was allegedly beaten to death while her attackers used racial slurs. Our lawmakers must do better than they have in 2009 and pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform that balances: enforcement with improving avenues for legal immigration to keep America competitive and an earned legalization program for the undocumented.
