Panel Says Immigration Reform Must Include Path to Citizenship

Immigration experts, government officials, and civil rights leaders say that an enforcement-only strategy will not solve the U.S. immigration system’s underlying problems.

“The quest for a perfectly secure border is a destructive fallacy,” said Edward Allen, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, speaking at a recent panel organized by the Center for American Progress. Allen cited the example of the Berlin Wall before it fell in 1989, where former East Germans illegally immigrated to West Germany by the thousands, despite some of the most meticulous border enforcement in history.

The U.S. has been increasing border enforcement resources over the last decade, according to a report noted by panelists.  Along with greater spending on enforcement, the number of patrolling agents rose from roughly 12,000 in 2006 to more than 20,000 in 2009. Despite these increases, illegal immigration continues.

The persistence of illegal immigration in the face of increased enforcement has led many to conclude that the U.S. must also consider policies such as creating a pathway to legal citizenship for undocumented immigrants. During the panel discussion, David Martin, principal deputy at the Department of Homeland Security, said that having a path to citizenship will help law enforcement agencies to do their jobs.

“There is still a lot of violence associated with the drug trade especially, but the best way to allow [immigration enforcement agencies] and local police to focus on that criminal activity is to provide a legal flow for those who want to come into the country to work,” said Martin.