Immigrants have been a source of hard work and innovation for America over the centuries. Without a doubt, the melting pot of our country has led to the most dynamic, most creative, and most successful nation in the history of the world.
It’s also necessary to recognize that, as a nation, we need to maintain control of our immigration system. The current system we have in place, when it works, does a great job of ensuring that highly skilled, hard-working, and invested immigrants can come to this country and integrate, becoming new Americans who contribute greatly to our society.
However, our immigration system and its shortcomings has also resulted in over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. These individuals are generally law-abiding people who work hard and contribute to their local communities.
Rounding up and deporting that many people is a nonstarter—it would be prohibitively expensive, disruptive, and inhumane to many communities, so a pathway to citizenship must be provided.
See Andrew’s policies on the DREAM Act, and Southern Border Security for a more complete view of how he’d address this complex issue.
Problems to be Solved
- check11+ million undocumented immigrants are currently living in the United States
- checkMany have built families here and have become integral members of their communities
- checkTheir undocumented status can lead to fear and exploitation
- We have to face facts that there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. Millions of them pay taxes and have American children. Deporting them is impossible and inhumane. Having them continue to live in the shadows brings with it many problems and drawbacks. We need to bring them into the formal economy through a pathway to citizenship. I am the son of immigrants and understand those who have come here to build a better life for themselves and their families.
Goals
- checkBring the 11+ million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and into the formal economy
As President I will...
- Secure the southern border and drastically decrease the number of illegal entries into the US.
- Provide a new tier of long-term permanent residency for anyone who has been here for a substantial amount of time so that they can come out of the shadows, enter the formal economy, and become full members of their community.
- This new tier would permit individuals to work and stay in the country, provided they pay their taxes and don’t get convicted of a felony.
- This tier would put them on a longer, eighteen-year path to citizenship (the same amount of time it takes those born in the US to get full citizenship rights).
- Invest heavily in an information campaign to inform immigrant communities of this new tier of residency.