Originally Posted by dtrt09

From Julia Koehler at ImmgrationProf:


"It seems more useful to work for piecemeal reforms, in incremental pieces. Starting with a moratorium on raids, ending all 287g programs, and closing down the detention center network. The Obama administration must be questioned about the fact that the President himself is saying, he can't predict whether immigration reform can pass, yet he is stepping up 287g programs. I think stopping the increased unjust "enforcement" that is part of the Obama administration vision has to be the most urgent goal, not "CIR."The only enforcement that serves justice and fairness to Americans and immigrants, is enforcement of labor law and of safety regulations - OSHA needs to be strengthened and get the billions of dollars that the Obama administration has budgeted for ICE.

Piecemeal increments are more likely to be achievable I think, such as stopping deportations of anyone who is not convicted of a violent crime, and establishing a visa with the right to reside and work in the US - and travel back and forth - for the 12 million undocumented people. Most of my undocumented friends do not have American citizenship high on their priority list. But being able to go visit their families and come back to their job here is #1 on the list of many people I know. Not to say this is easy to achieve. But again, all "CIR" proposals in the public realm right now that I know of are more unjust than beneficial.


The whole idea that CIR needs to include a "fine" , which everyone has seemed to agree to, promotes the underlying concept that undocumented people are criminals of some sort who need to acknowledge their misdeeds and accept a punishment. This concept is baseless and only justifies the "enforcement" that we are seeing now. This is just one example of the fundamentally harmful provisions of all CIR proposals that I have heard of.