November | 2017 | Passion Blog

03
Nov
2017

“Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” -George W. Bush

“Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.”

-George W. Bush

The Debate:

There has been an ongoing debate between those for and against the way that immigration is run in our country. The White House has highlighted some of the growing tensions between republicans and democrats when it comes to the immigration system, by calling for greater vetting processes. While others call to uphold the importance of immigrants to this country’s history and future. This debate over the immigration system has been particularly heated concerning the ability of terrorists to get into the United States by circumventing current vetting procedures. In light of the New York terrorism attack this week, the method used by the perpetrator to enter the country has been under fire, it is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.

What the White House is saying:

The White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed during a press briefing on November 1st that “One of the best things that we have in this country is the fact that everybody wants to be here, and to give that away randomly, to have no vetting system, to have no way to determine who comes, why they are here and if they want to contribute to society is a problem” (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/nov/02/sarah-huckabee-sanders/white-house-press-secretary-claims-diversity-visa-/). Sanders went on to say that “to try to argue that this is a system that thoroughly vets people shows a total lack of understanding” of the American immigration system.

Opposing view:

The bill was originally passed with a bipartisan effort in congress, and with a republican president, yet it is now under fire by the republican administration as a “democrat program” (http://time.com/5005261/donald-trump-new-york-city-diversity-immigrant-visa/). In addition, according to the same article in Time Magazine, “the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviewed the green card lottery in 2007 and found no evidence that immigrants who came through it posed a threat of terrorism, though it raised concerns about fraud”.

Fact check:

To say that citizenship is given “away randomly” is incorrect (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/nov/02/sarah-huckabee-sanders/white-house-press-secretary-claims-diversity-visa-/). In reality, the way the program works boils down to millions of people from countries that have low immigration rates to the US apply to be a part if the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. However, the lottery system is only to decide who is eligible to then apply for a green card, and no more than fifty thousand people are selected. In order for the application to be considered, some basic requirements are outlined by the state department in more detail at https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DV-Instructions-Translations/DV-2018-Instructions-Translations/DV-2018%20Instructions%20English.pdf, but the general list is as follows:

Applicant must be born in one of the eligible countries for the diversity immigrant visa program. The two other ways to meet qualification requirements are if an applicant’s spouse was born in an eligible country, or an applicant may use their parent’s country of birth if it is eligible.
There is also an education and work experience requirement that at least a high school education or “two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform”.
There is also a limited entry period within which the applicant must apply.
A photograph of the applicant must be included.
There is also a considerable amount of additional information about the applicant including marital status and number of children that must be recorded.

In addition, it is not true that there is “no vetting system,” for after the initial group is selected through the lottery system they are then subjected to a lengthy vetting process that includes US government agencies reviewing their passport, police records, and medical records.

It fair to say that there are some problems with the system, as according to Anna Patterson in 2004 when she was the State Department’s Deputy Inspector General, some countries that sponsored terrorism were still eligible for this program despite their citizens not being allowed to enter the US using a tourist visa. Other than the recent New York City terrorist attack there has only been one other arrest related to terrorism of anyone who has entered this country through this program, so there have been very few cases of terrorists using this program.

What the facts say:

The facts conclude that this is not a perfect program, but that the two instances of terrorist activity are minimal compared to the number of people without malintentions obtaining green cards through this program. Therefore, this program is overwhelmingly successful in allowing people from countries with low immigration rates into the states to come here legally, and prove them with a path to citizenship.

My Conclusion:

I believe that part of what makes America the country that it is, is its long history of immigration. This country was built on immigrants, and the idea that the last people who are allowed to come over are those that are already here is ridiculous to me. I do agree that this program has its flaws, and perhaps there is reform that could be implemented to better vet applicants. However, that is not to say that these applicants should not be allowed to enter this country point blank. The generalization about the people in these countries should not be based on the extremes of the few, and there are more practical ways to control which people are allowed into America with a green card without scraping the whole immigration system altogether.

Sources:

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