Barack Obama
In reply to the discussion: PBO & Michelle visit with Immigration Protestors in D.C. Tent~Solidarity~ Si se Puede [View all]newthinking
(3,982 posts)I am sympathetic, but very concerned that the groups pushing this reform seem to not be recognizing and including *all* the families that are broken up by the immigration system. The current immigration "reform" proposal wants to make non-nuclear relatives equivilent to immediate (nuclear family) petitions. Immediate relatives (Spouses and minor children particularly) *always* need to get top priority. That is simply common sense.
Wait times for Citizen immediate relatives have dramatically increased this year, seperating spouses and minor children with waits of more than a year or several years, primarily due to pulling resources off of immediate family petitions to process Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA) and Provisional Waiver, two administrative changes made to assist undocumented immigrants.
The people using these new processes get to stay with their families, so they should not have been processed at the expense of other families who are physically seperated.
While I am sympathetic and am in favor of humanely resolving honest immigrants (documented or undocumented) that are stuck in an awful system, I would feel better about the current movement if it was more inclusive. Fix the broken system, don't fix it depending on who has more lobbying power. Fix it for all and make sure that spouses and minor children are given fast processing (like business already has?).