The Obama administration is trying to reform the U.S. immigration law. The legislative process has already begun. The Judicial Affairs Committee of the Senate approved the bill which will now be considered by the full body. Dimitris Papadimitriou, president of the Migration Policy Center, has been studying for decades the immigration policy of the USA and Europe.
Papadimitriou believes that the immigration policy of a country must serve the needs and values of the country. The Obama administration’s immigration bill has achieved this goal. Papadimitriou outlined some of the main points.
“One of the problems the U.S. is trying to solve is that of the 11 million illegal immigrants. There are many who believe that those living illegally in the U.S. must leave the country. The new bill offers a lengthy road map to their “gradual legalization,” he said.
“Initially it starts with a census of all who are in the country illegally, imposing two small fines, asking them to learn English and American history. Illegal immigrants who take part in the census have the right to temporary residence and work in the U.S. as well as their children. After 10 years they will be entitled to permanent residence and a work permit. After three years and a few more examinations they can become U.S. citizens.”
An indicative point of the shrinking in the U.S. labor market is that from 1995 to 2006 approximately four and a half million Mexicans entered the U.S. illegally, while from 2010 onwards this rate has dropped to zero.
The economic crisis affecting the U.S., alongside European societies, creates problems in the integration and assimilation of immigrants.
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