The Politics of Immigration Reform

Abstract

The U.S. is the target for international migration, more now than ever. Population growth and economic stagnation in the Third World are increasing the pressures for outmigration, and current immigration law is wholly incapable of responding to the ever increasing flow of illegal immigrants. Border apprehensions of illegal aliens in the U.S. were up 40 percent during 1983, and total apprehensions reached 1.25 million by the year's end.¹ Recent public opinion polls have disclosed that an overwhelming majority of the American public demands immigration reform, and yet we as a nation have been distinctly unwilling or unable to respond to this clear public sentiment. This article will discuss the politics of the issue: the current “Simpson-Mazzoli” Immigration Reform and Control Act, previous immigration legislation, current counterproposals for U.S. immigration policy, and the political realities of immigration reform.