SUMMER 2025

News and Views

Solving America's Undocumented Immigration Problem

There are two major reasons why many immigrants have entered the United States without permission: first, they are seeking jobs that would otherwise go unfilled, and second, they lack legal pathways for admission to the country.

These immigrants are often concentrated in the most dangerous, hazardous, and otherwise unappealing jobs in the labor market. In a certain sense, they are providing huge benefits to the economy, by enabling many businesses to thrive, and by allowing U.S.-born workers to fill jobs more aligned with their skills and preferences.

Some would argue that the entire country benefits from the presence of people with the courage and determination to rebuild their lives in America -- making them “Americans” from the moment they enter the country. 

There is no denying, however, that they are bypassing the normal migrant review process that would screen them for health and safety risks. Given this serious omission, the United States must make appropriate investments to secure our borders.

However, mass deportation is not the best solution for several reasons: it’s probably impossible to achieve; it’s damaging to the American economy; and it’s punishing for many other people, including citizen spouses and children of undocumented immigrants. In this edition of our newsletter, we’d like to suggest some possible ways to correct this problem. We begin, however, by explaining the limitations of the current immigration system.

Has Congress Given Up on Bipartisan Immigration Reform?

Conventional wisdom holds that Congress has abandoned bipartisan immigration reform since the "Gang of Eight’s" failed effort to overhaul the immigration system in 2013. The legislative record, however, tells a somewhat different story. In a report just published by the Bipartisan Policy Center, researchers analyze immigration-related bills introduced on a bipartisan basis since the beginning of the 114th Congress in 2015 and find consistent engagement across party lines to advance an array of immigration reforms. These efforts have largely been unsuccessful, but they highlight potential paths forward for members of Congress interested in passing bipartisan immigration bills.

President Ronald Reagan signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986

Instead of an Amnesty Program, Establish an Earned Legalization Program

There are two general types of legalization programs: an amnesty program and an earned legalization program.

An amnesty program grants legal status to a group of undocumented immigrants without requiring them to meet specific conditions beyond their presence in a country for a certain number of years. This was the type of program passed in 1986 which required continued residence in the U.S. since before January 1, 1982.

An earned legalization program requires undocumented immigrants to meet certain conditions, such as working for a specified period, paying fines, avoiding criminal behavior, and/or demonstrating English language proficiency, before being granted legal status. Essentially, amnesty is a "blanket forgiveness," while earned legalization requires individuals to "earn" their legal status. 

Since undocumented immigrants had to avoid normal screening procedures for potential immigrants, it makes sense for some requirements to be imposed in the legalization process.

However, given the benefits brought to the economy by undocumented immigrants and the limitations on legal pathways for admission, these requirements should not be excessive.

Moreover, the U.S. should continue to fund educational programs helping to facilitate the integration of immigrants into American society.

Avoid Implementing a

Restrictive Immigration System

One of the concerns of the Trump Administration and many Republican voters is that the large number of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, who have settled in the US over the last 30 years will deviate from the values and traditions that have characterized American society throughout our history.

Instead of bringing in more immigrants, we have to ensure that those who are already here are fully integrated into American society. For some Americans, the racial and religious dimensions of the immigrant population are worrisome and disturbing. They believe we have reached a moment in our history when we have to implement the kind of severe restrictions on immigration that we did a century ago, when we banned Asian immigration and greatly curtailed immigration from southern and eastern Europe.

There are many reasons why this argument doesn't make sense. For one thing, the percentage of immigrants in the United States (roughly 15 percent) is much lower than at least 20 other countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and many European countries, including Austria, Norway, and Sweden. For another, the U.S. has a below replacement birth rate of 1.6 today, roughly half the 3.29 rate a century ago. This means that the U.S.-born workforce will not be able to meet the labor force needs of the future. And finally, the immigration restrictions of the 1920s likely contributed to the severity of the Great Depression.

The diversity of the American population is an asset of great value, enabling the U.S. to draw on talent from around the world and maintain our global leadership role. Diversity should not be eliminated; it must be understood and respected. And legal immigration numbers should meet the needs of American industry.

The New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition,

c/o Einstein's Alley, P.O. Box 175, Plainsboro NJ 08536,

info@njbusinessimmigration.org

THE NEW JERSEY BUSINESS IMMIGRATION COALITION