Why do immigration laws need reforming?


Quick Answer

Immigration laws need reforming in order to settle the legal status of approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants, to ensure national security by properly guarding the borders, and to ensure that legal immigration is sufficiently robust to benefit the economy, states the American Immigration Council. Americans are also concerned that reform is necessary for immigration laws to reflect American values more precisely and that the practices have to be changed from mere enforcement to an overhaul of current policies.

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Full Answer

Every immigration reform proposal since 2004 has had to address the fate of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, according to the American Immigration Council. This is an issue that needs to be addressed on humanitarian, political and economic levels. A large majority of Americans support some form of legalization for these immigrants through some initial registration and fulfilling of other prerequisites. This has been, however, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the passage of any reform legislation.

Many experts believe that getting over this stumbling block would allow authorities to focus their energies on more pressing matters such as border security and preventing those that may pose threats to the country from entering, states the American Immigration Council. Regulating the flow of legal immigration to suit overall economic needs is also seen as essential to any comprehensive reform and the future health of the economy.

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