Immigration Equality on HuffingtonPost: The Economic Case for Inclusive Immigration Reform
By Steve Ralls on 01/26/2011 @ 04:33 PM
In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress, once again, to tackle the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. In his first remarks on the topic since the Senate voted down the DREAM Act -- which would have provided young people a path to citizenship in return for service in our armed forces or obtaining a degree at a college or university in the United States -- the President laid out the case for fixing a woefully broken system that hasn't been reformed in decades.
It is no accident that the President included immigration as part of a speech that focused heavily on boosting our country's economy. The two are inextricably linked, and smart reform can be part of the plan to put the U.S. further ahead on the road to economic progress. No matter where you fall on the issue of immigration, there is no denying that our immigration policy impacts our workforce, tax base and businesses, too.
In his remarks on Tuesday, President Obama specifically noted the absurdity of continuing to force talented young people, who are educated and trained in the United States, to leave the country once their education is complete. "As soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us," the President said. "It makes no sense."
He's right, of course. But there's another piece of the immigration puzzle that makes no sense, either.
Current immigration laws are forcing some American citizens to quit their jobs, sell their homes and leave their own country. That's right: American citizens. More than 36,000 of them, who happen to be lesbian and gay and have a partner from another country, face the unimaginable choice of leaving their country -- and their jobs -- behind, or tearing their families apart.
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