Immigration Issues and the 2000 Presidential Election
Posted Nov 03, 2000
With Election Day fast approaching on Tuesday, November 7, 2000, we thought it would be useful to highlight some issues pertaining to the Presidential elections and immigration issues.
This year, immigration issues have received a lot of attention, especially with the increasing importance of the Latino vote. The candidates have also expressed their views on a wide variety of immigration related topics.
Anti-immigrant sentiment has decreased sharply in recent years, most likely due to the success of the U.S. economy. At the same time the percentage of Latinos in the population has increased, and many immigrants have become U.S. citizens during the past decade. Accordingly, politicians are courting these new voters.
Republican George W. Bush has gained the support of many new Americans in his home state of Texas, and has made several favorable statements on immigration matters. He is trying to improve the image of the Republican Party with respect to immigration issues. Governor Bush is in favor of enabling persons who were wrongly denied legalization under the 1986 program to regularize their status, though it is unclear how far he would go in supporting the various elements of the LIFA (Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act) agenda. He has also stated that spouses and children of lawful permanent residents waiting in line for immigrant visas should be allowed to visit in the meantime. Furthermore, in Governor Bush's view, all immigration applications should not take longer than180 days to process.
Democrat Al Gore is in favor of LIFA, including relief for people wrongfully denied legalization, as well as updating the registry date, restoring 245(i) and broadening the NACARA (Nicaraguan / Central American) program to include persons from certain additional countries. He is also in favor of due process reform, to mitigate the harsh effects of the1996 laws that impose new penalties on old offenses, tearing families apart. In addition, Vice President Gore would like to make any needed changes to the asylum process to make sure that applicants are treated with respect and cases are processed in a fair and efficient manner.
Both the major candidates favor some form of INS restructuring that would divide the agency into two, one for enforcement and the other for processing applications. Vice President Gore also wants to make sure that both branches will be treated with equal importance in terms of funding and authority.
This year, the major party candidates are much closer together in their views on immigration than in past elections. It is quite likely that most new Americans will make their choice based on other issues, such as education, health care, and economic policies. This year, as many of you are aware, it is an extremely close election and it may take well into the night to count the final results, so expect many of your friends and co-workers to be sleepy on Wednesday. Commentators have said the outcome of some House and Senate races may not even be known until later in the week.
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