Immigration: If Congress Won't Fix It, Should the President Do It?

Undocumented immigrants comprise 5.2% of the workforce in the United States.  In States like California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, the undocumented share of the workforce rises to as high as 25%. 

Estimates are that there may be some 4.5 million US citizen children with at least one undocumented parent living in the U.S.

However, some U.S. citizens just can’t get past the idea that these undocumented people are here illegally.  Some Americans assume that the only way to fix this problem is to deport everyone who is undocumented so that everything will be made “right” again in the US. 

Can America really afford to remove 11 million people from our schools, our workforce, our communities, our coffers?  These are 11 million consumers who buy goods, buy houses, have bank accounts, support our communities and work in our communities.  There are employers who depend on the undocumented workforce to fill the jobs that US citizens won’t take.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform involves proposals which try to balance the economic devastation to our communities, the separation of families, and the cost of massive deportations without undermining our own country’s economy.

Being here illegally does not make a person a “criminal”.  It is not a criminal offense to be in the US illegally.  Most immigration violations are civil, not criminal. 

Senator Marc Rubio (R-FL) says that our US Congress needs to fix our immigration problem. Recently, he said, “I believe that the president will be tempted, if nothing happens in Congress, he will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago, where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen…. A year from now we could find ourselves with all 11 million people here legally under an executive order from the president.”

If Congress fails to pass comprehensive immigration reform, should President Obama issue an Executive Order and fix the problem for them?