New Border Tsar appointed while US immigration reform debate continues
April 16 2009 by Liam Clifford
President Obama has announced the appointment of a new ‘Border Tsar’ to take care of matters including US immigration, illegal immigration and drug crime on the US border with Mexico, but pressure still rises on the president to take measures to help those already in the country illegally.
US immigration policy reform has also been loudly advocated by the AFL-CIO and Change to Win trade unions this week. These unions, which together represent 17 million workers, claim that reform that helps unregistered workers step out from the shadows and begin the process of becoming citizens will benefit American workers in the long run, through job creation and tax income.
The unions also argue that making their members continue to work in the US on guest worker visas will keep wages depressed. They propose the creation of a new commission to help better align US work permits granted with the needs of the labour market.
During the coming few months, as Obama works out his strategy for US immigration, he will no doubt bear in mind the 67% majority of Latinos that voted for him in the election. This compares to just 56% who voted for the Democrat candidate in the previous election.
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