Obama vs. Romney: the Immigration Battle
By: Lusine Lisyanova
The November presidential election will have a drastic effect on the lives of immigrants living in the United States. The two candidates’ views on immigration are as different as night and day. Consequently, should Romney win, it will become much more difficult for illegal immigrants to secure a foothold in America.
At present, Romney is completely against granting amnesty to those immigrants who have come to the Untied States by unlawful means. Although he supports immigration, he only approves of immigrants coming to the US through lawful channels. He firmly stated that this nation should cease providing incentive for people to cross its borders without obtaining proper documentation first. In fact, Romney did just that when he was governor of Massachusetts – he vetoed legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition. He is also in favor of completing and strengthening the fence on the US-Mexico border and of enhancing employment verification systems.
Obama, on the other hand, is much more lenient towards illegal immigrants. In a July 1, 2011 speech at American University’s School of International Service, he stated that, “we have to demand responsibility from people living here illegally… They must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine and learn English… They must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship.” Furthermore, he is in favor of granting amnesty to those illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as children and are valuable members to society. Mr. Obama believes that what our country needs is immigration reform that will make our borders more secure and that will crack down on those employers who exploit an illegal workforce.
Thereby, Obama wants to create a way for the twelve million illegal immigrants living in the United States to eventually become citizens, whereas Romney opposes this entirely and wants the illegals deported. These two candidates’ stances on immigration will play a large role in the election, and we hope that in the end twelve million people will be given the opportunity to live the American dream.