President Donald Trump signaled he would be open to amnesty as part of comprehensive immigration reform despite aggressive deportations of undocumented immigrants under his watch. Immigration reform advocates say there can be no reform without amnesty — these people are fully integrated into their communities and deserve nothing less. Immigration hardliners say giving undocumented immigrants amnesty incentivizes breaking the law and is unfair to those who came here legally. What do you think?
PERSPECTIVES
According to Gallup, a majority of Americans support a path to citizenship or legal status for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S.
Proponents of amnesty say it is the only realistic way to address the large number of undocumented immigrants in the United States. There are around 11 million undocumented immigrants. The vast majority of these people are law-abiding, integrated members of their community. President Reagan recognized when he granted amnesty to millions that undocumented immigrants are no different than any other immigrant who come to the United States seeking freedom and opportunity.
Indeed, even attempting to do so would require a massive expansion of government bureaucracy, particularly in the form of new government workers to round up illegal immigrants, process them, and deport them. The inhumanity of this approach goes without saying: Individuals would be ripped away from their families and communities. And there would also be dire economic consequences from removing millions of hard-working residents from the domestic labor pool. It’s time to face the facts: The millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States are overwhelmingly law-abiding, tax-paying, and hard-working. Grant them amnesty and let them continue to make America a better place.
MORE: 5 reasons to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants
President Barack Obama’s moves toward amnesty were met with heavy resistance. For immigration hardliners, many of those arguments still hold true. They worry amnesty will incentivize illegal immigration into the U.S., criminals may be able to avoid detection and gain legal status, and new residents would overwhelm social services and become a burden on taxpayers.
We are proudly a nation of immigrants. People the world over are attracted to the United States because we are a nation of laws. Granting amnesty to those who broke the law and putting them on a path to citizenship would be unfair, would encourage more bad behavior and would impose significant costs on American families.
43.6%: Trump’s approval rating
60%: Americans who support pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. #MorePopularThanTrump
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) March 1, 2017
Trump wants to pass a bill to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants + possibly citizenship for Dreamers.
I feel…good?
Yes, goodish pic.twitter.com/f6Uq3qx288
— Christie Mayer (@IDzine01) February 28, 2017
If we give amnesty to 12 millions illegals, 30 years later we’ll have 20 millions new illegals. That’s what has happened since 1986 amnesty.
— Sparc (@king_sparc) February 23, 2017
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