Dear Readers:
This is our last issue before the 2016 presidential election. This publication has reported on five previous presidential elections and in no instance, has the contrast between the two major party candidates been as stark as this year. Mrs. Clinton does not have a perfect pro-immigration record or platform, but most in the pro-immigration community support her. She once opposed drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants in New York State. She was in the Obama Administration during the height of the record-setting deportations. When thousands of children from Central America were fleeing hideous violence in their home countries, Clinton was hardly advocating opening our arms as a country to these kids.
But as a candidate, she has embraced a robustly pro-immigration comprehensive reform plan. She supports dramatically increasing legal immigration – both family and employment – and in putting undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship. She also supports the enforcement provisions that were included in the Senate’s 2013 immigration reform bill. The one area she has hinted at changing from that bill regards the H-1B visa program which has come under fire in recent months for perceived abuses by the staffing industry. Clinton has promised that immigration will be one of her “First 100 Days” issues. Presidents traditionally have taken advantage of their honeymoon period to pass a signature bill. So if she wins, it is very likely immigration reform will come up very early in 2017 as a major legislative action.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, has made his anti-immigration positions the centerpiece of his campaign. It started with his early speech labeling undocumented immigrants as being rapists and criminals and advocating for the building of a massive border wall. His position on legal immigration are someone vaguer, but on various occasions he has invoked protectionist rhetoric accusing immigrants of taking jobs from Americans. The fact that Senator Jeff Sessions, one of the most anti-immigrant members of Congress, is his main advisor on immigration issues, readers should be worried. Sessions opposes all immigration – both illegal and legal. Very clearly, if Mr. Trump wins, pro-immigration advocates will have a major fight on our hands.
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As always, we invite you to contact us if our firm can be of assistance. Please visit our web page at www.visalaw.com for information on reaching the firm or scheduling a consultation.
Regards,
Greg Siskind
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.