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Policy Issue and Solution Paper
Illegal Immigration
Son Tran
Liberty University
CJUS 601: Criminal Justice Program Evaluation
Professor: Dr. Nancy Alleyne
November 26, 2023
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Introduction
“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer
and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” – James
Truslow Adams. Throughout history, the United States is a nation of immigrants including
approximately 45.3 million immigrants in the U.S as of 2021 (Ward & Batalova, 2023).
Moreover, there are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the Unites States.
Also, some young people, who brought into the U.S as minors, spent most of their life illegal in
the U.S. during Obama’s term, he created an program which was Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals to help those people live in the U.S legally for work and school. However, President
Trump ended up this program because he thought the illegal immigration is a cause of crimes
growing up in the States as well as recession of the U.S economy. Thus, the United States
Congress should consider an act to solve this fact to assist those immigrants as well as make
American great again. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has their mission to
mitigate the illegal immigrants who are trying to cross borders illegally. As a result, the criminal
discrimination are increasing including human trafficking, smuggling, and drugs. Furthermore,
these illegal immigrants threaten the nation security that the enemies send people into the U.S for
attacking. Therefore, the Department of Homeland Security has to face with the impacts which
not only secure the borders and protect American people safety but also prevent crimes growing
up into the U.S such as human trafficking, smuggling, especially terrorism attacks from enemies.
Due to pros and cons of immigrants into the U.S, policymakers should consider reforming the
immigration laws for benefits such as economic, security, and humanitarian concerns as well as
protect immigrants from discrimination according to the American Dream Act. “Live as people
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who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servant of God” – 1
Peter 2:16.
Immigration Policies
After the big terrorism event on September 11, the Congress passed the USA Patriot Act
which reduce the rights of immigrants to expand time of deportation as well as allow attorney to
detain aliens without charge or recourse to due process. Moreover, the Congress also passed the
Homeland Security Act which are fundamentals to create the Department of Homeland Security
in 2002. The Department of Homeland Security consolidated 22 federal agencies in
responsibilities to immigration enforcement including Customs and Border Protection,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Citizenship and Immigration Services. During
Bush’s Administration, he consolidated the immigration policy to prevent the threat from
immigration terrorism and reform the security border to reduce the illegal crossing borders that it
is a cause of discrimination. For instance, he signed both the Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Entry Reform Act of 2002 and Secure Fence Act of 2006 and renewed the USA Patriot Act. In
addition, the Department of Homeland Security also improved their processing system to issue
the nonimmigrant visa to secure the people arriving into the U.S including the Biometric
Identification System, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, and the Electronic
System for Travel Authorization. Those systems help the Department of Homeland Security to
minimize the risk of terrorism from immigration as well as protect the nation security. Beside
prevention of terrorism immigration into the U.S, President Bush also gave more opportunity for
legally immigrants who want to come to the U.S for work and make American great again. He
stated, “Nearly all Americans have ancestors who braved the oceans – liberty-loving risk takers
in search of an ideal – the largest voluntary migrations in recorded history. Immigration is not
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just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future”. For example, the Congress
passed the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 that it allowed high-skilled immigrants with advanced
degrees come to the U.S to work, and they can brought their family come into the U.S with them
as well. Similarly, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was passed by the Senate in
2006 in order to legalize illegal immigrants and expand legal immigration, but the House of
Representatives did not pass the act.
Immigration Policy is a fact that the Congress has to consolidate to not only assist legal
immigrants stay in the U.S but also mitigate the risk of illegal immigrants including criminal
discrimination, terrorism attack and national security. After winning the presidential campaign,
President Obama reintroduced the Dream Act in 2009 which allowed to legalize illegal
immigrants who came into the States as children, but it failed in the Senate. Similarly, he created
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program which allowed to legalize the illegal
immigrants who spent their childhood in the States that they can grant the work permit and delay
their deportation. During Obama’s Administration, he was trying to support the Act and
programs to assist immigration policy which affect to their life and the U.S economy. As a result,
he removed more illegal immigrants than other administration. It was about 1.2 million of illegal
immigrants who were removed from the interior of the United States during Obama’s
Administration. “Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of
a stranger – we were strangers once too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a
nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too” – President Barrack Obama. He knew that
immigrants are one of resources to make American great again, so he supported for immigration
policy during his terms to assist not only legal immigrants but also illegal immigrants to be able
to grant more benefits since living in the U.S. In 2014, President Obama introduced the
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Accountability Executive Action which grants work authorization to millions illegal immigrants
as well as assists the H1-B visa changing their job easier. However, the courts blocked his action
in late 2014, but it was still useful to assist immigrants to settle their life in the U.S.
The immigration policies were still impacts during the 2016 presidential elections
including decreasing illegal immigrants’ population, growing up the U.S economy, and securing
the national borders. Donald Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, promised that he would
put American first by reducing immigrants who take Americans job, commit crimes, and
represent national security threats. Therefore, after winning the campaign, President Trump
issued a lot of executive orders to reduce the visas issuance to immigrants from several Muslim
countries which was potential threating the national security. Also, he halted the DACA program
and lent support to the Raise Act in 2017 which would have cut legal immigration by half.
Moreover, he built a wall across the length of the southern borders to prevent illegal entry.
During Trump’s Administration, he was trying to curb immigration and reshape asylum policy
because he claimed that immigration is a cause to make America worse and worse due to
increasing the crimes, unemployment, and threating the national security. However, President
Biden reversed all Trump’s policies including lifting the suspension of green card processing,
ending the travel bans, and halting construction of the U.S – Mexico borders wall. President
Biden stated, “We can’t stop people from making the journey, but we can require them to come
here, and they – that they come here in an orderly way under U.S law”. Therefore, the challenges
of the U.S Congress is to consider the benefits as well as the limitations of immigrants that they
can consolidate the immigration policies. These immigration policies not only maintain the
human rights including civils rights and liberties but also protect the national security from
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terrorism attacks. “There shall one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among
you” – Exodus 12:49.
The Advantages of Immigrants
The United States of America is a nation of immigrants, so immigration policies are
powerful key to make the nation more productive capacity as well as enhancing the influence in
the world. Immigrants give the U.S economy a change to get more profitably by bringing
innovative ideas and entrepreneurial talent. Especially, the Covid 19 pandemic made the U.S
economy recession, and the Congress needs to create some acts to grow up the business and get
more jobs for citizens. During the pandemic, the United States has to face with a shortfall in
supply as well as the number of labors in special fields such as healthcare and childcare. Thus,
immigrants’ labors are potential facts to grow up the labor force and overall productivity. Also,
immigrants assist to grow up the U.S population which drive the expansion of the labor force and
contributes to overall economic growth. Moreover, the labor market gets more benefits due to
increase the immigrants because they are willing to participate into the labor force more than the
native who were born in the States. As a result, the U.S economy can get recovered quickly after
the pandemic recession. Especially, the immigrants would like to join in the high-skilled jobs in
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) that it drives the economic innovation and
competitiveness. They make the U.S economy more flexible and profitably that it allows the U.S
producers to keep the price down and to respond to changing consumer demands (Griswold,
2022). “No matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or how and who you
love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny” – President Barack Obama.
President Trump used to claim that immigrants draw out American jobs that it makes the
U.S economy get worse. However, immigrants do not draw out American jobs. They just tent to
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fill jobs that American cannot fill from high to low level of employment. For instance, they join
not only the high-skilled jobs such as medicine, physics, and computer science but also the
lower-level employment including restaurants, hotels, and domestic services. In addition, they
create more jobs for American in the high-technology and make the U.S economy more
productive and competitive. For example, they develop new products, the Java computer
language, to explore the new jobs to the market that American have opportunity to get
employment. Also, President Trump tried to reduce to issue the nonimmigrant visa which
affected to the economic in tourist field as well as reducing the number of international students.
As a result, the tourist industry would lose millions of visitors, and American universities would
lose hundreds of thousands of international students who are potential high-skilled labors for the
U.S economy in the future. The Department of Homeland security should control the borders
better to protect the national security for terrorism instead of closing the borders. The problem
need to be focused on how to keep the wrong people out of the nation due to commit terrorist act
instead of reducing the number of hardworking, peaceful immigrants come into country for work
and study. According to Christian viewpoints, everyone has rights to live, rights to speech, and
rights to religion regardless ethnicity or race. “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy
him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” – 1 Corinthians 3:17. Also, He
guarantees that everyone should be treated equitable and fairly by their government. “Let every
person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and
those that exist have been instituted by God” – Romans 13:1.
The Disadvantages of Immigrants
Beside some advantages of immigrants, there are still some limitations of immigrants that
the Congress need to consider to upgrade to immigration policies in order to grant more legal
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immigrants as well as reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. First, the Department
of Homeland Security has to take more action to decrease the discrimination due to illegal
immigrants staying into the U.S including human trafficking, smuggling, and drugs which the
crimes cross illegal from the U.S-Mexico border. Also, both human trafficking and human
smuggling become challenge for the Department of Homeland Security to prevent crimes as well
as protect human from discrimination. The priority mission of the Department of Homeland
Security is to make American safety. Thus, they has to figure out the terrorism threat due to
immigration that they are able to prevent crime from terrorism. President Bush stated, “One of
the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror”.
Moreover, the domestic discrimination is also an impact that immigrants have to face
since living in the U.S. Everyone came into the U.S in different purposes such as education,
investors, and employment. However, the racism discrimination makes immigrants harder to
settle their life. “As long as people can be judged by the color of their skin, the problem is not
solved” – Oprah Winfrey. Especially, the racism discrimination is more and more popular in
society after the Covid pandemic. It happens in all kinds of ethnicities including Black, Asians,
and Hispanics. All victims of racism discrimination include the murder of George Floyd (2020),
Daunte Wright (2021), and Andre Hill (2020). It causes of unfair treatment coming from the
police officers who serve the community. As a result, the “Black Live Matter” and “Asian Live
Matter” movement spread out the community to fight against the racism discrimination which
threatens the immigrants life in the U.S. therefore, the government should consider to improve
their law enforcement system to assist the immigrants to settle life as well as protect them from
criminal discrimination, especially the racism discrimination is the big issue to threat the citizens
safety. “It says something about our country that people around the world are willing to leave
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their homes and leave their families and risk everything to come to America. Their talent and
hard work and love of freedom have helped make America the leader of the world. And our
generation will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty and the most hope fill society
this world has ever known” – President George W. Bush. Also, according to Bile, God protect
human from evil and everyone has right to live regardless race or ethnicities. “And he made from
one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted
periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel
their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” – Acts 17: 26-
27.
The Challenges of Immigration Policies
Every year, thousands immigrants come into the U.S in difference purposes including
both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa that it challenges the Department of Homeland Security
to improve their immigration system as well as immigration policies. “But the one who looks
into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer
who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” – James 1:25. Moreover, the immigration system also
prioritizes economic contributions due to the labor market and flexible of productivity. Also, it
creates a pathway for immigrants to work legally in the U.S for economic growth. Instead of
disrupting them, Congress should reform the current immigration policies to assist immigrants
legally working and paying the taxes for economic growth in the U.S. In long-term,
policymakers should consider improve the policy to help the refugees who wish coming into
State for freedom as well as human-being violation from racism discrimination. Most of
immigrants have to face with criminal discrimination regardless their immigration status.
Especially, they face to the risk of detention to deport without any opportunity to bond out due to
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their discriminable background. Therefore, the challenge of Congress is to consolidate the
immigration policies to make sure immigrants maintain their rights since living in the U.S. “For
freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I
testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from
grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” –
Galatians 5: 1-26.
Considering between pros and cons of immigrants, the policymakers should reform the
immigration law to assist the legal immigrant granting their benefits in the U.S. It would be a
shame if the government close the door to immigrants who come into the U.S for better life.
Immigrants come into the U.S to build and live the American Dream, and the terrorists come to
destroy the country. Thus, the mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to consolidate
the policies to let immigrants come into the U.S for working, studying, and building their new
life as well as prevent the terrorists come to destroy the U.S. “As each new wave of immigration
has reached America, it has been faced with problems. Somehow, the difficult adjustments are
made and people get down to the tasks of earning a living, raising a family, living with their
neighbors, and in the process, building a nation” – President John F. Kennedy. Again, the United
States of America is a nation of immigrants who want to entry for better life. However, the
immigrants have some struggles since starting their life in a new place. For instance, they lack
the education to get employment. Also, they cannot speak English to get communication. To
assist the immigrants to settle their new life, the government should have some programs to
support their life. For example, it should have some English courses that they can learn English
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to get communication as well as get employment in the future. Moreover, they can join to some
training courses or internships that it is good for them to get a job which supports their life. In
addition, the challenge of government is to protect them from criminal discrimination due to
diversity of culture as well as maintain the freedom in community. The racism discrimination is
the most issue in the U.S that the policymakers should consolidate the law system to reduce this
crime to make community more safety to live. “When you get to know a lot of people, you make
a great discovery. You find that no one group has a monopoly on looks, brains, goodness or
anything else. It takes all the people – Black and White, Catholic, Jewish and Protestant, recent
immigrants and Mayflower descendants – to make up America” – Judy Garland. The
immigration is the big impact that congress should focus on due to economic growth and protect
human rights based on the Christian viewpoints. “The alien who resides with you shall be to you
as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of
Egypt: I am the Lord your God” – Leviticus 19:34.
Conclusion
The missions of the Department of Homeland Security are to protect the national security
as well as prevent the terrorism attacks. To achieve tier missions, they have to improve the
control system to figure out the crimes which threaten the national security. Reducing the
number of immigrants is not a solution to prevent terrorism attacks and protect the national
security. The good immigrants want to come into the U.S to live for freedom as well as build the
nation better and better. Otherwise, terrorists want to come to destroy country. Thus, the
Department of Homeland Security has to improve the immigration system not only assist the
immigrants come into the U.S legally to work and live but also prevent terrorists entry to the
U.S. Also, it should have more policies to support the immigrants since arriving into the U.S to
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settle their new life that they can adapt the new life with the new culture. “We are a country
where people of all backgrounds, all nations of origin, all languages, all races, can make a home.
America was built by immigrants” – Secretary Hillary Clinton. Therefore, policymakers should
reform and improve the immigration policies to support the immigrants who bring more benefits
as well as the innovative ideas and entrepreneurial talents to grow up the U.S economy.
According to Christian viewpoints, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your
towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the
people with righteous judgement. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and
you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the
righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that
the LORD your God is giving you” – Deuteronomy 16:18-20. Everyone wishes to immigrate to
the U.S because the Constitution protects human rights including right to speech, right to liberty,
and right to live. Thus, American become a dreamed land for everyone, so the Department of
Homeland Security has responsibilities to prevent terrorism attacks and protect American safety
regardless race or ethnicity. God has a plan to protect human from evil in the same way the
government protect their citizen from terrorism attacks. Praying in God gives more strength to
fight against the terrorist attacks and protect the national security. “And if you faithfully obey the
voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you
today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these
blessing shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your
womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the
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young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl” – Deuteronomy
28:1-68.
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