http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7788820
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/19/bernie-sanders-cant-escape-questions-about-2007-vote-on-immigration-overhaul/?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/bernie-sanders-immigration_n_7624086.html
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/bernie-sanders-and-immigration-its-complicated-119190
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dhs-scales-back-deportations-aims-to-integrate-illegal-immigrants-into-society/2015/07/02/890960d2-1b56-11e5-93b7-5eddc056ad8a_story.html
Immigration has almost always been a topic in American politics. We see many historical examples of there being a pushback against certain groups of people entering the country. Whether it was the Irish, Italians, or Chinese the United States has had a troubled past with these groups. However in contemporary times the group facing the most scrutiny from domestic parties are Latinos but more specifically Mexicans. As I'm sure we are all very aware of what some Republicans, with some questions on whether or not they have a brain, have said regarding Mexican immigrants in our country. The Republican plan over the past few decades almost always seems to include ramping up border security whether it be with a wall or with more security agents. While both sides of the aisle tend to agree that immigration reform is necessary they disagree on how it should be done. Democrats tend to focus on a path to citizenship and amnesty, not on walls and deportation.
The major difference between the Republican and Democratic plans for immigration is the pathway to citizenship which many deem as essential to helping keep families together. Democrats certainly want to do this rather than deport hundreds of thousands of people which would be costly and chaotic, while ripping families apart. A path to citizenship would help immigrants here legally gain citizenship, pay taxes, and become a full member of society. With it being easier for immigrants to gain citizenship you might even see a decline in human trafficking across the border. By removing the incentive and making the entire process easier you see less need to use an illegal means of achieving what they want.
Hillary Clinton has gone on record during her campaign as supporting immigration reform and as supporting programs President Obama has put into place. This year President Obama has changed track on how his administration handles immigrants who are in the country illegally. The current administration’s goal is to make sure most of the 11.3 million immigrants in the country illegally are able to stay here. Hillary Clinton is staged to support this policy and along with most Democrats.
Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s main opponent, has said that it is time for immigration reform yet he has faced some scrutiny when it comes to his voting record on the issue. During the first democratic presidential debate Sanders was confronted about his nay vote on the 2007 immigration reform package. As we are all very aware Sanders leans to the far left, and his answer is something we would expect to see out of a socialist. He says that he voted against the bill because it contained a provision that would allow for guest-worker status for illegal immigrants, which in his opinion would mean almost slave-like working conditions for those immigrants. However at the time Sanders argued that such a status would hurt the American wage earner and those words have rubbed many immigrants the wrong way. This controversy aside Sanders supports the classic Democratic plan of a pathway to citizenship.
Overall the Democratic plan for immigration focuses more on the humanitarian side of things. Democrats would rather keep families together, offer amnesty, and a pathway to citizenship. All of these things are drastically different than the Republican way which is either: allow them to stay temporarily as low earning workers, deportation, or a wall. Walls and fences only increase criminal activity to try and get around it, deportation destroys families and is costly, and allowing them to stay in order to earn a lower wage only tends to further hurt society. All in all the Democratic plan is one that is more sensible and something that may be able to achieved with minimal damage to our society.
Jacob Lee