Why Isn’t Immigration Reform A Done Deal?

Miami, FL (Law Firm Newswire) October 23, 2013 – Politics is holding back immigration reform. It is depressing that a whole nation waits on the political aspirations of a few wanting to toss dirt at the President.

“When the House broke for the summer, it did not escape anyone’s attention that the immigration reform bill was left on the table. There was no vote held, despite the high hopes held by the nation’s immigrants, and those who support them, for a landmark revamping of the immigration system,” said Larry Rifkin, a Miami immigration lawyer and managing partner at Rifkin & Fox-Isicoff, with law offices in Miami, Florida and Orlando, Florida.

As Fall began to creep across the nation, and political pundits started taking bets on the future of immigration reform, it became clear, once again, that the reform bill would likely still remain on the floor of the House for some time to come. Is its passage this year plausible? It does not seem like it.
“There is too much political bickering gumming up the works,” indicated Rifkin. “Politicians are more intent on scoring points for their party, stalling immigration reform and planning for the next election. What is going on right now is show and blow —- show that they are ostensibly working hard, but blow immigration reform out of the water, again.”

There are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and they are a crucial part of the American workforce, despite the fact the many people seem to treat them as invisible. Many of these individuals are hired for a less than minimum pay job, something employers find attractive to maintain their profit margins.
Do Americans fight for the jobs immigrants perform? No. If they did want those jobs, they would be in the fields working. They are not. Thus, the reform bill, drafted by the Gang of Eight was looking attractive. It supposedly offered many benefits for immigrants, plus addressed border security, upped employer verification and created a pathway to citizenship. It was considered to be the kitchen sink of all bills to date, and thus, many thought it would stand a good chance to pass, as it seemingly addressed each political party’s concerns.

“Had that bill passed,” Rifkin pointed out, “the nation possibly stood to see a revenue increase of a trillion dollars, give or take, by the year 2044. There were other provisions, that, generally speaking, also seemed to be fair and equitable, or had minimal downsides.” Despite what appeared to be a relatively fair omnibus-style bill that did a credible job of dealing with immigration reform, the House decided to pass a mixed jumble of smaller bills, maybe, instead of one complete entity. House Republicans are still seemingly stuck on the path to citizenship.

The bill was touted as being unique in that it was the most comprehensive compilation of rules and regulations to date, one that had the potential to address a great number of both political parties concerns. Nationwide polling showed support for the bill, and yet, it remains in limbo and still generates inflammatory political arguments.

“In the meantime, nothing is being done and it appears nothing will get done in the foreseeable future. House Republicans do not want to pass the bill as their main concern lies in not handing the President what would amount to a political win. In stalling the bill, they can tell the electorate Obama cannot accomplish anything. In doing that, immigration reform, badly needed for the good of the whole nation, is stalled while politicians play petty politics,” Rifkin outlined.
Voting for a politician is supposed to mean the individual is elected to carry out the will of their constituents. What appears to be happening instead is that politicians are more concerned about party politics, than what is good for everyone; what is good for America. “Will immigration reform die once again? Possibly,” said Rikfin, “A bitter pill to swallow to be sure.”