Immigration Issues

Classified, as I am, as a non-resident alien over here, i tend to take an interest in the immigration laws of the USA - particularly if they pop up in the news. Like, for example, the relatively recent news that the government has decided to allow J-1 visas (exchange visitor visas - and the current type that i am on) to be issued for five years instead of the current three. Currently, there is something of a storm-in-a-teacup brewing over here as a result of some of the newest legislation that the Bush administration wants to introduce - but fear not, this isn't going to affect me as it is an attempt to reform current legislation on what happens with illegal immigrants here in the US - a major problem over here. Current figures have the number of illegal immigrants in the US at 12 million - a significant proportion of the 350 million population (nearly 4%). Whilst this may not seem like a lot, consider that the UK population is currently estimated at around 60 million - and it sharply puts things into perspective. Quite a number of these sneak across the border from Mexico - but also, a significant percentage are made up of people who come over on business, tourist or temporary visas and merely stay longer than it allows.

Whilst the topic is rapidly becoming a national issue, there is also the problem that such illegal immigrants comprise about 5% of the US workforce - concentrated in areas such as construction, agriculture and cleaning jobs. The current reforms suggest building a large fence across the border to prevent illegal entering of the country - and then try and deal with those immigrants there. A major issue of contention in the new bill, though, is the suggestion that after 11 years, some paying of taxes and learning English, that the illegal immigrants can apply to become citizens. With all the protesting, and bouncing of the bill from place to place, it's becoming hard to separate the facts from the fiction right now - but it is clear that many people see the reforms as a sell-out - as one Democrat senator put it 'they're going to have to come up with something smarter than a 700-mile fence'.