This article is mainly about green cards visas, and plans to improve them. A green card is a permit allowing an immigrant or foreigner to live in the U.S. and be legally employed. In short, Obama wants to pass a series of laws which would allow the government to give out more green card visas. As the law stands now, dependents (children and spouses) are counted against the cap (the total amount of green cards given). In some cases, this rule has torn families apart because of restrictions on the amount of green cards able to be given out. If Obama changed the law and made it so that only the principals (the people being employed) were counted, then more green cards would be given out. Therefore, it would be much easier for immigrants to obtain one.
For example, right now there is a cap of 140,000 green cards. With the current laws, only 65,000, or only 46%, go to the principals. This article explains that if this "law" or "interpretation" were implemented, then all 65,000 green cards would go to the principals, and their dependents would automatically be given green cards, too. This is a very unique way of changing the law, because instead of having to pass an entirely different law, you just change the interpretation. Another big point this article mentions is that the President, using his executive privilege, can change this all on his own, without having approval from congress. This seems like a better idea than having to make up a whole different law because a new interpretation can be put into effect much more quickly than a new law.
Reyna and her family lived several months in the U.S. illegally, without a green card. They had to lay low for a while and weren't able to take full advantage of being in the United States. She mentions that once she and her family received their green cards, they were very relieved and "could let go of their fear of being deported." Renya's father also had to wait until he got a green card to legally work. If he got his green card earlier, he would be able to make more money and lead a better lifestyle, not to mention be able to support his children more.
Throughout the article, many different people give their opinions. It is clear that there are two sides to this matter, and a variety of different consequences could come about from just this one change. If more green cards were given out, then more immigrants would be able to work. This would improve thousands of lives, and the poverty rate among migrants in the U.S. would certainly go down. Immigrants won't have to waste time being afraid of deportation, and can quickly continue with their lives, or start new ones.
The other side of this argument is that it would draw even more people to come across the border illegally in hopes of receiving a green card. With more immigrants coming in, there still wouldn't be enough green cards, leading to the same problem as before. This process would essentially become a cycle where the amount of green cards increases but the amount of immigrants in need of one also increases. The changes the president is thinking about may also have some unwanted side effects. For example, unless specified, many of the newly available green cards would be spent on employees in off-shore companies, which would lead to several economic disparities.
As it is, it is very hard for immigrants to receive green cards. Even for Reyna's father, who was married to a U.S. citizen, it was nearly impossible and took time. Imagine how drastically different her life would have been if she had never gotten one. She may have been deported and even if she hadn't, she would have probably led a life of poverty, like so many other immigrants without green cards. So despite there being a possibility of a never-ending cycle, implementing this interpretation of the law will improve the lives of many immigrants.
~Rose Domonoske
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