The overlooked of Immigration Reform

photo from NYTimes

 http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/overlooked-us-immigration-overhaul-19061555
 
With the immigration reform bill evolving in the Senate it is difficult to see what type of restrictions they plan to institute. There are a few alternatives, many are opposed by Democrats. This includes a 13-year track to citizenship, but there must be a 3.4 billion dollar increase in border security first. Another requirement that isn't opposed by either side, is trying to control undocumented immigrants who have criminal backgrounds. The bill in the senate, permits someone to have 1 or 2 misdemeanors and 1 felony that cannot be related domestic violence, drug dealing, or DUI.

In this article, the writer shares a story about a few different undocumented immigrants who came here as infants and grew up as Americans. The first story is about Carlos, who lived in the United States for 29 years before he was deported during the first wave of deportations by the Obama Administration. The man lived here for 29 years, had a family and was culturally American, but he was still separated and deported to Tijuana much like other deportees.

GOOD! Some would say, an "illegal got deported". That is a major issue, especially with the way we handle post-deportation. These folks all end up in border towns where work is not available, therefore it impoverishes the entire community. This deportation put a relatively successful undocumented immigrant who was brought here as a child, back into poverty and away from his family. This creates the circumstances for an individual to sneak back into the United States, regardless of the consequences.

For Carlos, this deportation and overhaul of immigration reform is devastating. As an 18 year old Carlos, much like other 18 year old Americans, partied too hard and decided to drive home. He ended up getting a DUI, which automatically disqualifies him from gaining reentry into the United States. This makes me question what laws and histories we need to pay attention to as opposed to just a blanket law. I agree - we should keep out folks who have criminal offenses like domestic violence, etc. Although, determining the threat of someone who grew up in Urban America, who just got in trouble when he was 18 years old for driving under the influence is quite difficult. I don't think we should be deporting people that live here for 20+ years and as a child got in trouble. Although, it is difficult to say that this will be true for all offenders or if this is the outlier. This story puts me between a rock and a hard place for words.