US 'broken immigration system' needs to be fixed — White House exec

As United States President Barack Obama continues to push for immigration reforms, his administration presented four principles to fix America’s “broken immigration system.” In an email on Friday, Cecilia Muñoz, Director, Domestic Policy Council of the White House, said the US "immigration system is broken. It has been for some time." "Right now, there are 11 million people living in a shadow economy. There are Americans waiting in long lines to reunite with their families. There are employers who are exploiting the system by hiring undocumented workers, and that threatens the wages and working conditions of American workers," Munoz said. "None of this is good for the economy, and it isn’t fair for the middle class," she added. According to the 2011 Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are around 260,335 irregular Filipinos in the US, which means they are not properly documented or do not have valid residence or work permits, or are overstaying there. Earlier on Tuesday, the White House released a fact sheet which details the key principles Obama believes should be included in “commonsense immigration reform” that can build “a fair, effective and commonsense immigration system that lives up to (America’s) heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.” The US government noted that the reform is a way to ensure responsibility from everyone in the country, which “guarantees that everyone is playing by the same rules.” According to the White House, “too many employers” in the US manipulate the system by hiring undocumented workers, which it noted is neither good for the economy or for the US itself. To address these issues, Obama believes the four following principles should be included in immigration reform: (1) Continuing to Strengthen Border Security: According to the White House, though Obama has doubled the number of Border Patrol agents since 2004 and border security “is stronger than it has ever been,” further tools for US law enforcement, as well as enhancements in technology and infrastructure, will lead to safer communities and a stronger system to remove criminals as well as apprehend and prosecute national security threats. (2) Cracking Down on Employers Hiring Undocumented Workers: The White House said “Businesses that knowingly employ undocumented workers are exploiting the system to gain an advantage over businesses that play by the rules,” and that Obama’s proposal is designed to stop unfair hiring practices and hold these businesses liable. (3) Earned Citizenship: Instead of deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, which the White House says is impractical, Obama’s proposal will give these people a legal way to earn citizenship that will eventually get them to pay taxes and “play by the same rules as everyone else.” According to the statement, illegal immigrants must be held responsible for their actions through “passing national security and criminal background checks, paying taxes and a penalty, going to the back of the line, and learning English” before their citizenship is earned. Obama’s proposal, the White House said, “will also stop punishing innocent young people brought to the country through no fault of their own by their parents” and will give these youth the opportunity to earn their citizenship more quickly if they serve in the military or pursue higher education. (4) Streamlining Legal Immigration: The White House said for the sake of America’s economy and security, legal immigration “should be simple and efficient.” It also said the US immigration system should be designed to reward anyone “willing to work hard and play by the rules.” Obama’s proposal aims to provide visas to foreign entrepreneurs who want to establish businesses in the US and to help foreign graduate students in the fields of math and science to stay in America. The White House also noted that the proposal “will also reunify families in a timely and humane manner.” - VVP, GMA News