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All-American Presidential Forums on PBS" Moderated by Tavis Smiley

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THE ISSUES

MORE ON TAVIS SMILEY

VIEWER POLL

What would you most like to see in a new immigration policy?

A guest worker program.
Giving priority to immigrants based on their education and job skills.
Giving priority to immigrants who have family in the country.
Increasing fines on companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Increasing border patrol and putting up a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Prosecute and deport all illegal immigrants.
Provide amnesty to all illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.
There doesn't need to be a new immigration policy; the existing policy should be enforced.

 

Polls are not scientific

RELATED LINKS

Maria Elena Salinas

"There's so many cities out there where you have thousands of people that are immigrants that are saying, ‘enough is enough. We are tired of this immigrant bashing and this dialogue that seems more like a monologue instead of a debate on immigration.’"
Maria Elena Salinas
Univision Anchor

Read the interview

IMMIGRATION

The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, but recently the subject of immigration has become front and center in American politics. Massive demonstrations across the country and heated debates about new immigration bills in Congress underscore the passion surrounding the issue.

Some people believe that immigrants provide a needed domestic workforce, while others believe that they take jobs and resources from citizens, as well as bring down low-income wages.

Much of the new policy proposals focus on illegal immigration. According to The New York Times, since 2000, approximately 850,000 people1 have moved to the United States each year without authorization.

Currently, the Senate is considering a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bill2 "sets forth border security and enforcement provisions," "establishes a temporary guest worker program," and introduces procedures for illegal immigrants to become legal.

On the minds of many Americans:

1 Building coalitions—is the immigration issue bringing African American, Latino, and Asian communities together or dividing them?

2 Effect on U.S. citizens—are immigrants taking away jobs or lowering wages for citizens?

3 Benefits for illegal immigrants—should drivers' licenses or other benefits be granted to illegal immigrants?

What do you think?

 

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