Immigration Reform Legislation: The Wasted Years and What Might Have Been.

 With immigration in the headlines again and the GOP doing its best to create a crisis over the issue its time to re-examine the past to understand what has taken place and chart a future that really matters and makes a difference for America, the people and a immigration policy that works.  And there is a reasonable road map to work from.

In June of 2013, the democratic controlled U.S. Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform legislation by a vote of 68-32.  Fourteen Senate republicans joined all democratic Senators and voted to pass the legislation.  The bill provided $30 billion to beef up border control security, including advanced security, 700 miles of wall, doubled the number of border security agents and other items part of the issues.  The George W. Bush Institute said the legislation was bullish on the U.S. economy.  It was a long debated bill by the U.S. Senate who came together and voted for a very good bill to address the immigration issue.  However, the republican controlled U.S. House failed to take up the bill and let it die.  The republicans wanted a piece meal bill instead and failed to even debate the Senate passed bill.

The failure of the republican controlled U.S. House to debate the Senate bill and offer a immigration reform bill to work out the difference haunts America to this very day.  And the Trump  administration refusal to introduced comprehensive immigration reform legislation the past 4 years violated Trumps and the GOP's promise to do so during the campaign of 2016.  If the Senate's 2013 immigration bill had  become law, the U.S. would be in much better shape today concerning the problem and well ahead in controlling the issue. 

The Biden administration has an immigration reform plan and a good place to start would be the legislation that was passed in 2013 as those issues are still applicable.  The outline is there for the legislation and its past time to act and those who continue to try and obstruct the issue should be held accountable.  There are no valid excuses to no  longer act on the matter.

This commentary written by Joe  Lorio