Hope for Non-U.S. Citizens: Obama Promises Immigration Reform

Hope came to many within the immigrant community on April 9, 2009 when the New York Times published an article on their front page proclaiming that President Obama has promised to support a plan to reform the U.S. immigration process. According to the New York Times, President Obama has pledged to support a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will offer a path to legalization for people currently in the United States without immigration status.

Immigration advocates are extremely optimistic that immigration reform will indeed occur as President Obama has promised. Andrew Hernandez, a Latin-American scholar in Texas, said that while he is surprised that President Obama has promised immigration reform in his first term, his level of support has remained high enough that he should be able to push the legislation through. Furthermore, President Obama has support in the form of the American public on his side. In addition to the popularity of President Obama, two-thirds of Americans have consistently said in national polls that they support a fair system of legalizing illegal immigrants.

As recently as a few weeks ago, immigration experts were of the opinion that immigration reform would not be possible because of the poor economy. Instead, they claimed, immigration reform would have to wait until the economy was stabilized and on its way to recovery. However, now those same critics are not only saying that immigration reform is possible despite the current economy, but it can actually be used as a stimulus to help improve the economy. According to the American Immigration Law Foundation, legalizing non-U.S. Citizens without legal immigration status will improve wages and working conditions for all workers in the United States and increase tax revenues for local, state and the federal government. The Foundation supports its conclusion by arguing that on average, legal workers earn 15% more than their illegal counterparts doing the same job and that by legalizing workers, they will be forced to pay taxes.

Immigration advocates are of the impression that immigration reform could happen as early as November 2009. This is great news for the 12 million people currently living in the United States without legal immigration status.

Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC and is conversant in Mandarin Chinese. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3721 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a free consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.