The Road We Never Traveled on Immigration

The immigration debate has become hyper-partisan in America. Immigration policy has been remarkably disjointed with administrations bouncing between open borders and cruel enforcement. Americans are overwhelmingly looking for common-sense solutions that combine serious border enforcement with empathetic policies. These policies should include secure borders, deporting criminals, creating a path to citizenship for DREAMERS and a way for those currently living and working in this country to come out of the shadows.

The path forward should look similar to President George W. Bush’s efforts while in office. He proposed many of these solutions with concrete and well-reasoned steps and had bipartisan support. In the end, Congress could not get comprehensive immigration reform past the finish line.¹ We have been paying the price in so many different ways.

What Did Bush’s 2007 Plan Propose?

President Bush proposed in his 2007 State of the Union a comprehensive plan to reform immigration.

Bush’s plan included a path to citizenship placing undocumented individuals “in the back of the line” for visa claims, behind those attempting to migrate to the United States through legal processes. President Bush looked to expand green card allocations per year and adopt streamlined asylum process.² President Bush pushed for technological upgrades to support the backlog of cases as well as expanding border security through technology.

What Public Opinion Backed It?

In 2006, Gallup ran a poll on immigration that reflected the public’s agreement on many of the policies that came to comprise Bush’s immigration reform bill, reinforcing that the majority of respondents considered it a priority that immigrants be able to find legal pathways to citizenship. That same poll confirmed that many Americans felt illegal immigration was out of control.³

What Was the H-2C Visa?

From the economic angle, President Bush proposed a temporary worker program to keep industries affected the most by crackdowns on the hiring of undocumented immigrants from losing droves of employees. The temporary worker visa (the H-2C visa) would protect the economic interests of immigrants and the economy overall while only granting limited access to residency and being malleable in times of economic boom and bust cycles.⁴

Why Does It Still Matter?

RDM does not believe that building walls is the answer. Nor is having open borders. Our government should not adopt cruel enforcement policies, yet a lack of enforcement is also extremely problematic. Deporting children and young people who have spent their lives here will not solve the immigration crisis. Businesses are also impacted by haphazard immigration policies.

President George W. Bush laid out a roadmap on immigration reform. It should be reviewed, updated and modified. Our politicians should then take affirmative steps to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Sources

1. “S.1348 – 110Th Congress (2007-2008): Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act Of 2007.” Congress.Gov, 2020, https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/1348. ↩︎
2. “President Bush’s Plan for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” Archives.Gov, 23 Jan. 2007, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/immigration.html. ↩︎
3. Newport, Frank. “Bush’s Speech on Immigration Closely Follows Public Opinion.” Gallup.Com, Gallup, 17 May 2006, https://news.gallup.com/poll/22834/bushs-speech-immigration-closely-follows-public-opinion.aspx. ↩︎
4. “President Bush’s Plan for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” Archives.Gov, 23 Jan. 2007, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/immigration.html. ↩︎

About the author

Michael Stage

Economics and political science out of DePaul, by way of Austin. Believes in a government that is responsive because it is built to be.