In several decades the US has achieved almost nothing in terms of immigration reforms

Despite years of debate and numerous proposals, the United States has achieved almost nothing on immigration reform in decades.

In recent years, attempts have been made for modernizing US immigration law through a series of legislative efforts; none has made significant progress.

“We haven’t gotten anywhere and we’re not going to get anywhere,” says William Galston, of the Brookings Institution and former White House domestic policy assistant during Bill Clinton’s two terms.

Border legislation

Last October, Senate Republicans insisted that additional aid for Ukraine should be tied to a bill addressing security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The border legislation, negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, was rejected by most Senate Republicans and some Democrats when Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump in February he opposed her.

Shortly after the February vote, Sen. Chris Murphy began talks with other senators to draft a bill that could receive enough bipartisan support, hoping to overcome opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.

The resulting new bill, similar to one proposed in February, failed less than four days after it was introduced. Senate Democrats have repeatedly sought to add immigration reform elements to spending bills.

In each case, Senate lawmakers ruled that immigration measures do not belong in spending bills, which can pass the chamber with a simple majority vote.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University, says immigration reform is dead by 2024.

“For various reasons,” he said, adding that “it has always been difficult to pass immigration reform in Congress. Donald Trump wants to make immigration one of the key pillars of his campaign. So he basically killed the efforts in the Senate and the House of Representatives earlier this year.”

According to Yale-Loehr, the country will not have any chance of immigration reform until 2025.

“And even then, it will depend on who is the president and who controls the Lower House and the Senate,” he predicted.

Under the Trump Administration, Republicans proposed immigration legislation focused on stricter enforcement and reducing legal immigration. One major proposal was the “RAISE Act,” which aimed to cut legal immigration in half within 10 years.

Another proposal was the “Security and Success Act,” which sought $25 billion for a border wall, increased border security and stricter visa controls. Both bills faced strong opposition and did not become law.

These efforts, Galston said, were not comprehensive immigration reform.

“See, the last time we had serious immigration reform was in 1986. The border bill that was crafted in the Senate [el año pasado] “It was just one part, an important piece, but still only one part of a much bigger picture,” he said.

Galston said the country missed its most recent best opportunity for immigration reform in 2013.

The Senate proposed a comprehensive immigration reform bill known as the “Gang of Eight” bill, named for the bipartisan group of eight senators who drafted it.

This proposal created a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the country, as long as they met certain requirements such as paying fines and back taxes, learning English and passing background checks.

The bill also sought to strengthen border security, improve the system known as E-Verify that employers use to verify the immigration status of workers and expand visa programs for agricultural workers, as well as the highly skilled.

Senate Democrats have repeatedly sought to add immigration reform elements to spending bills. In each case, Senate lawmakers ruled that the immigration measures do not belong in spending bills, which can pass the chamber with a simple majority vote.

Immigration and election

Immigration is one of the main issues in this US presidential election, according to a Gallup poll published in April. Republican voters are more likely than Democrats and independents to consider immigration the most important issue.

In the latest poll, 48% of Republicans, 8% of Democrats and 25% of independents said immigration was the most important issue facing the country.

Ironically, the impasse on immigration legislation has its roots in the last major reform, Galston said.

The Reagan-era legislation was a compromise between Democrats and Republicans aimed at providing legal protections to millions of undocumented immigrants while also focusing on curbing illegal immigration. And while it worked to help people obtain legal status, Galston explained, it failed to effectively address the latter.

“And it was on that basis that immigration reform was defeated during the Bush administration. And then again during the Obama administration in 2013, which really represented our best opportunity, it was a bill that did a lot of good things and was very tough on the southern border,” he said.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.