Immigration Reform: Comprehensive Solutions for Complex Problems

Abstract

In January 2004, after more than two years of silence, President George Bush reignited the national immigration debate when he proposed a new guest worker program. Members of Congress of both political parties have entered the debate by introducing proposals of their own. While the content of immigration reform proposals varies "sometimes dramatically" nearly everyone from all sides of the 59 immigration debate agrees that the current system is not functioning well, is not in the best interests of the U.S. and needs to be reformed. This debate is likely to continue for several years; immigration reform has always been a contentious issue in this nation of immigrants. This paper explains why the current system is inadequate and needs to be overhauled and lays out National Council of La Raza's principles for comprehensive immigration reform.