US Immigration Policy and the Case for Family Unity

Abstract

Executive SummaryAs the Trump administration contemplates immigration reform, it is important to better understand what works and what does not in the current system. This paper reviews and critically evaluates the principle of family unity, a hallmark of US immigration policy over the past 50 years and the most important mechanism for immigration to the United States. Since 1965, the United States has been admitting a relatively high proportion of family-based migrants and allowing for the immigration of a broader range of family members. However, restrictive annual quotas have resulted in a long line of prospective immigrants waiting outside of the United States or within the United States, but without status. Further policy changes have led to an increasing number of undocumented migrants and mixedstatus families in the United States. Several policies and practices contribute to prolonged periods of family separation by restricting travel and effectively locking in a large number of people either inside or outside of the United States. On top of that, increasingly aggressive enforcement practices undermine family unity of a large number of undocumented and mixed-status families. Deportations -and even a fear of deportationcause severe psychological distress and often leave US-born children of undocumented parents without economic and social support.A recent comprehensive report concluded that immigration has overall positive impact on the US economy, suggesting that a predominantly family-based migration system carries net economic benefits. Immigrants rely on family networks for employment, housing, transportation, informal financial services, schooling, childcare, and old age care. In the US context where there is nearly no federal support for immigrants' integration and limited welfare policies, family unity is critical for promoting immigrant integration, social and economic well-being, and intergenerational mobility.Given the benefits of family unity in the US immigrant context and the significant negative consequences of family separation, the United States would do well to make a number of changes to current policy and practice that reaffirm its commitment to family unity. Reducing wait times for family reunification with spouses and children of lawful permanent residents,

United States Immigration Policies in the Trump Era

“…McHugh (2018) notes that the recent actions that the Trump administration has taken on immigration "… have deepened the sense of crisis in many immigrant communities" (p. 1). Gubernskaya and Dreby (2017) write that: "While it is not feasible to deport all 11.1 million unauthorized individuals, such measures amplify the fears of family separation among unauthorized immigrants, legal migrants, and US citizens alike" (p. 418). According to Lind and Zarracina (2019), the Trump administration's immigration actions have made: "the lives of those who are already here more precarious … Anyway you slice it, more immigrants are more at risk than they were the day before Trump arrived.…”

“…Among the policies that the Trump administration has been implementing are: aggressive and large scale deportations of undocumented immigrants and legal immigrants with minor legal or criminal offences; significant to substantial reductions in almost all categories of immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including H-1B and other employment visas, student visas, and family unification visas; substantial reduction in the number of refugees accepted into the United States; officially banning immigrants from selected Muslim countries; extreme vetting of all individuals who apply for all types of visas; denying various types of applications without providing request for evidence or intent to deny; ending the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs; enforce all court decisions to remove non-citizens from the United States; excluding immigrants from privacy protections; hiring substantially more immigration enforcement officers to make arrests of immigrants and patrol the U.S.-Mexican border; end the catch-and-release policy; increase mandatory minimum sentences for illegal reentry into the United States; reform laws on interior enforcement; end work authorization to spouses of H-1B visa holders; end international entrepreneur parole; introduce ideological vetting or screening; strengthen and expand the e-verify program; reduce legal immigration; official presidential national emergency declaration to build a wall on the Mexican border; placing thousands of children and adults in detention facilities in what many claim are "cages" across the United States, with children separated from their parents; deporting parents while their children remain in detention in the United States; providing financial and other important resources to state and local governments who cooperate with U.S. immigration policies; threatening to punish local and state governments who try to protect the human rights of immigrants; threatening and punishing countries which refuse to cooperate with U.S. immigration policies; ending temporary protected status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, and Sudan; arresting immigrants seeking refugee status or asylum at the U.S.-Mexican border; and preventing immigrants seeking asylum at the Mexican border from entering the United States (Cervantes & Walker, 2017;Gubernskaya & Dreby, 2017;Hiemstra, 2017;Heyer, 2018; Issuance of Certan RFEs and NOIDs, 2018; Khullar et al, 2017;Klingner, 2018;Kocher, 2017;Landgrave & Nowrasteh, 2019;Latinos and the New Trump Administration, 2017;Lind & Zarracina, 2019;Mayda & Peri, 2017;McHugh, 2018;Patel & Levinson-Waldman, 2017;Pierce & Capps, 2017;Pierce et al, 2018ab; Presidential Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency, 2019...…”

“…Pierce et al (2018a) note that: "The Trump administration has not only broadened the discretion of immigration enforcement agents to detain unauthorized immigrants far beyond those who have committed crimes, but it has also restored a nationwide system (known as Secure Communities) for identifying unauthorized immigrants stopped by local police and insisted on greater institutional cooperation from local law enforcement in identifying and holding them" (p. 1). Gubernskaya and Dreby (2017) point out that: "Under the new guidelines imposed by the administration, all unauthorized immigrants, and those with legal status who have criminal convictions, are eligible for deportation regardless of familial ties in the United States" (p. 418).…”

“…Scholars and activists have presented a number of mostly interrelated implications of the Trump administration's immigration measures. Among the implications of the Trump administration's immigration policies are: loss of talented or highly skilled professionals; loss of employers; loss of tax payers and tax revenues; increase in negative opinions of the American government and society; reduction in the number of immigrants in the country; increase in crime rates; division within the American society; lack of cooperation with the United States in international politics and relations; loss of prestige of the United States in the international arena; and the slow growth or stagnation of the population of the United States (Batalova & Fix, 2017;Bose 2018;Cervantes & Walker, 2017;Gubernskaya & Dreby, 2017;Heyer, 2018;Hill & Wiehe, 2017;Kaba, 2017a;Khullar et al, 2017;Latinos & the New Trump Administration, 2017;Mayda & Peri, 2017;McHugh, 2018;Patel & Levinson-Waldman, 2017;Pierce et al, 2018b;Rose-Redwood & Rose-Redwood, 2017;Table 19: Doctorate recipients, by ethnicity, race, and citizenship, 2019; Table 53: Doctorate recipients with temporary visas intending to stay, 2019; Wood, 2018).…”

“…Cervantes and Walker (2017) presented five reasons why the Trump administration's immigration orders harm children: "1) Tear families apart, 2) Harm children's short-and long-term mental health, 3) Undermine children's economic security, 4) Threaten children's access to education and basic needs, and 5) Endanger the lives of asylum-seeking children and families" (p. 2; Linton et al, 2019). Gubernskaya and Dreby (2017) claim that policy makers must not underesti-mate the significant social costs of immigration enforcement. "The deportation of a family member leads to significant family trauma for unauthorized and US citizens alike.…”