immigration
immigration bills
Bills in Brief
A bit of background
Bush put immigration policy - including tougher enforcement and the creation of a guest worker program - at the top of his second term agenda. But while Congress passed small measures in Spring '05 to stem illegal immigration and okayed a 700 mile fence on the Mexico border in late 2006, lawmakers never managed to get their political chicks in line for large scale reform. It now looks like they won't have the chance again under Bush's term.
In 2006 the House and Senate both passed broad immigration bills - coming from almost opposite directions - but no compromise was ever reached. The House bill focused almost exclusively on stopping the flow of illegals, while the Senate bill included measures to give illegal immigrants (who have been here two plus years) a road to citizenship.
immigration
Facts
The US is a nation of immigrants – and of ever changing immigration policy. Depending on where you stand, immigrants bring great diversity and a much needed labor force to our nation – or they take jobs from citizens and create poverty and a drain on social services. Illegal immigration – particularly from Mexico – presents the most pressing policy questions today with some politicians advocating an amnesty for Mexican workers, and others, including President Bush, proposing guest worker status as an alternative.
See also CJ's immigration bill brief for a glimpse of current immigration bills being debated in Congress.
General
Number of immigrants who arrive each year:
Legal immigrants:
Illegal/undocumented immigrants:
