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  1. Should the U.S. government provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants? Explain your answer(s).
  2. If the government were to provide a path to citizenship, what obligations should the undocumented immigrants meet? Consider current requirements for citizenship as well as extra obligations you think appropriate. Explain your answer(s).
  3. If the government does not provide a path to citizenship, what other actions should be taken? Consider solutions such as a green card type of status, mass deportations, civil court actions, laws to criminalize crossing the border without documentation, etc. Explain your answer(s).

Take Action

  1. Explore the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration organization.
  3. Consider the positions of FAIR, a con-immigration organization.
  4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.
  5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing U.S. national senators and representatives.

Sources

  1. Francine Kiefer, “Immigration Reform 101: How Is ‘Legal Status’ Different from Citizenship?,” csmonitor.com, Jan. 31, 2014
  2. USA.gov, “Deportation,” usa.gov, Apr. 18, 2022
  3. Dan Clark, “Is Living as an Undocumented Immigrant in the U.S. a Crime?,” politifact.com, Dec. 1, 2017
  4. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, “Amnesty,” law.cornell.edu, Dec. 2021
  5. James P. Sterba, “Carter Plan Would Give Amnesty to Illegal Aliens Already in U.S.,” nytimes.com, Apr. 18, 1977
  6. Evan Wyloge, “The Immigration Reform and Control Act: What It Is, Why It Matters,” asu.news21.com, Nov. 6, 1986
  7. Library of Congress, “A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States, 1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986,” guides.loc.gov (accessed May 24, 2022)
  8. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, “8 CFR Subpart A - Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) Legalization Provisions,” law.cornell.edu (accessed May 24, 2022)
  9. Mónica Ortiz Uribe, “‘My Life Could’ve Been Completely Different’: Revisiting Impacts of 1986 Irca Amnesty,” elpasotimes.com, Feb. 17, 2021
  10. Nancy Rytina, “IRCA Legalization Effects: Lawful Permanent Residence and Naturalization through 2001,” dhs.gov, Oct. 25, 2022
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  14. Mark Krikorian, “Obama’s Unprecedented Amnesty,” nationalreview.com, Nov. 18, 2014
  15. Dara Lind, “The Disastrous, Forgotten 1996 Law That Created Today’s Immigration Problem,” vox.com, Apr. 28, 2016
  16. White House, “President Bush’s Plan For Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov, May 15, 2006
  17. Donna Smith, “Senate Kills Bush Immigration Reform Bill,” reuters.com, June 28, 2007
  18. American Immigration Council, “The Dream Act: An Overview,” americanimmigrationcouncil.org, Mar. 16, 2021
  19. U.S. Congress, “S.264 - Dream Act of 2021,” congress.gov (accessed May 26, 2022)
  20. U.S. Congress, “H.R.6 - American Dream and Promise Act of 2021,” congress.gov (accessed May 26, 2022)
  21. Undocumented Student Program, “DACA Information,” undocu.berkeley.edu (accessed Jan. 30, 2018)
  22. Homeland Security, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” dhs.gov, Jan. 29, 2018
  23. Vanessa Romo, Martina Stewart, and Brian Naylor, “Trump Ends DACA, Calls On Congress To Act,” npr.org, Sep. 5, 2017
  24. Michael D. Shear and Emily Cochrane, “Trump Says Administration Will Try Again to End ‘Dreamers’ Program,” nytimes.com, June 19, 2020
  25. Nina Totenberg, “Supreme Court Rules For DREAMers, against Trump,” npr.org, June 18, 2020
  26. Tal Kopan and Jeremy Diamond, “White House Proposes Path to Citizenship for 1.8 Million People,” cnn.com, Jan. 26, 2018
  27. Rafael Bernal, “Trump Says He’ll Sign Order with ‘Road to Citizenship’ for DACA Recipients,” thehill.com, July 10, 2020
  28. Joseph R. Biden, “Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” whitehouse.gov, Jan. 20, 2021
  29. Ken Stone, “White House Walks Back Trump Vow He’ll Give Dreamers Path to U.S. Citizenship,” timesofsandiego.com, July 10, 2020
  30. U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement, “CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2023,” cbp.gov, Nov. 14, 2022
  31. Eve Zuckoff, “Migrants on Martha’s Vineyard Flight Say They Were Told They Were Going to Boston,” npr.org, Sep. 15, 2022
  32. Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “New York Declares State of Emergency over Migrant Arrivals, Citing Dwindling Shelter Space” cbsnews.com, Oct. 7, 2022
  33. Rafael Bernal, “Poll: 70 Percent of Americans Support a Path to Citizenship,” thehill.com, Feb. 16, 2022
  34. J. Baxter Oliphant and Andy Cerda, “Republicans and Democrats Have Different Top Priorities for U.S. Immigration Policy,” pewresearch.org, Sep. 8, 2022
  35. Laura Collins, “Solutions for Undocumented Immigrants,” bushcenter.org, Jan. 19, 2021
  36. Randy Capps, Julia Gelatt, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, and Jennifer Van Hook, “Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins,” migrationpolicy.org, Dec. 2020
  37. New American Economy, “Undocumented Immigrants,” newamericaneconomy.org (accessed June 2, 2022)
  38. Giovanni Peri and Reem Zaiour, “Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants Would Boost U.S. Economic Growth,” americanprogress.org, June 14, 2021
  39. White House, “Remarks by the President on Immigration,” obamawhitehouse.archives.gov, June 15, 2012
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  41. fwd.us, “Dreamers by the Numbers,” fwd.us, Mar. 1, 2021
  42. Laurence Benenson, “Fact Sheet: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),” immigrationforum.org Oct. 16, 2020
  43. Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix, “A Deeper Look at the DREAMers Who Could Feature in the Legalization Debate in Congress,” migrationpolicy.org, Feb. 2021
  44. Nicole Prchal Svajlenka and Trinh Q. Truong, “The Demographic and Economic Impacts of DACA Recipients: Fall 2021 Edition,” americanprogress.org, Nov. 24, 2021
  45. Richard Barth, “Dreamers Are Essential To America. Let Them Become Citizens,” forbes.com, Nov. 29, 2021
  46. Tom Jawetz, “Restoring the Rule of Law Through a Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System,” americanprogress.org, July 22, 2019
  47. Miriam Jordan, “The Overlooked Undocumented Immigrants: From India, China, Brazil,” nytimes.com, Dec. 1, 2019
  48. David J. Bier, “Why the Legal Immigration System Is Broken: A Short List of Problems,” cato.org, July 10, 2018
  49. Matt O’Brien, “Rewarding Bad Behavior Is the Worst Approach to Illegal Immigration,” thehill.com, Mar. 1, 2018
  50. James Carafano, Lora Ries, Chad Wolf, Ken Cuccinelli, and Mark Morgan, “Heritage Experts: Biden’s Amnesty Proposal ‘Trades American Interests for Far-Left’s Political Aspirations,’” heritage.org, Feb. 18, 2021
  51. .Joseph Chamie, “What Should Be the Consequences for Illegal Immigration?,” thehill.com, Feb. 5, 2021
  52. Lora Ries, “Does the US Owe Amnesty to Future Illegal Immigrants?,” thehill.com, Oct. 26, 2020
  53. Emily Sacia, “Cochise Sheriff: Border Crime at ‘All-Time High,’ Immigration Reform Needed,” cronkitenews.azpbs.org, Apr. 27, 2022
  54. David Inserra, “Dreaming of Amnesty: Legalization Will Spur More Illegal Immigration,” heritage.org, Oct. 30, 2017
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  56. Ilona Bray, “Consequences of Unlawful Presence in the U.S.—Three– and Ten-Year Time Bars,” nolo.com (accessed May 31, 2022)
  57. Ilona Bray, “The Permanent Bar to Immigration for Certain Repeat Violators,” nolo.com (accessed May 31, 2022)
  58. Bryan Baker, “Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2015–January 2018,” dhs.gov, Jan. 2021
  59. Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova, “Refugees and Asylees in the United States,” migrationpolicy.org, May 13, 2021
  60. Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler, “Estimating the Illegal Immigrant Population Using the Current Population Survey,” cis.org, Mar. 29, 2022
  61. Diana Roy and Claire Felter, “What Is Temporary Protected Status?,” cfr.org, Mar. 28, 2022
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  63. Ryan Baugh, "Refugees and Asylees: 2019," dhs.gov, Sep. 2020
  64. Michael Howell, “Why America Has to Avoid Amnesty,” thehill.com, July 17, 2020
  65. Alex Nowrasteh and David J. Bier, “Three New Ways for Congress to Legalize Illegal Immigrants,” cato.org, Apr. 10, 2019
  66. Ashley Nunes, “A Path to Legal Status but Not Citizenship,” nationalreview.com, Mar. 31, 2017
  67. White House, “Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families Together,” whitehouse.gov, June 18,2 024
  68. Ilona Bray, “Can Undocumented Immigrants Get Drivers’ Licenses?,” lawyers.com (accessed Dec. 4, 2018)
  69. National Conference of State Legislatures, “States Offering Driver’s Licenses to Immigrants,” ncsl.org, Oct. 11, 2022
  70. National Immigration Law Center, “Current & Pending State Laws & Policies on Driver’s Licenses for Immigrants/February 2014,” nilc.org, Feb. 2014
  71. National Immigration Law Center, “State Laws Providing Access to Driver’s Licenses or Cards Regardless of Immigration Status,” nilc.org, Feb. 2014
  72. Kirk Semple, “In Trenton, Issuing IDs for Illegal Immigrants,” nytimes.com, May 16, 2010
  73. Migration Policy Institute, “Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States,” migrationpolicy.org (accessed June 22, 2022)