OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: John McCain and Barack Obama both support a form of "earned legalization" or a "pathway to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants in the United States, but their overall approaches to the immigration issue are quite different.

The following information is adapted from analyses of the candidates' positions prepared by the Americas Policy Program in January-Febuary 2008.

• U.S. immigrants watch a soccer game in Iowa. © American Friends Service Committee / Echando Raices/Taking RootJohn McCain has taken positions on immigration that many immigration restrictionists criticize. McCain's co-sponsorship in 2006 of a comprehensive immigration reform bill with Sen. Edward Kennedy made him a target of restrictionist wrath. Although still supporting "earned legalization," McCain now insists that the U.S.-Mexico border must be secured before there is comprehensive immigration reform. McCain favors temporary work programs and supports an electronic employment verification system to discourage illegal immigration.

• Barack Obama believes the country badly needs comprehensive immigration reform that offers a "path to legalization" for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. He believes that path should include certain conditions, including learning English and paying a fine. Obama also supports border security measures such as increased Border Patrol, fencing, and technological surveillance, and workplace enforcement. Obama has said that workplace enforcement must be combined with legalization and labor rights. He has also criticized rhetoric that demeans immigrants. On guestworker programs, Obama states that the jobs must first be offered to U.S. citizens at a decent wage.

• This article has been included in OneWorld.net's "Campaign '08" edition of Perspectives magazine, which examines where the major presidential candidates stand on key issues affecting all the world's people. Add your thoughts on the campaign today and get the background from experts on foreign policy, national security, foreign aid, global health, the environment, and much more.

• For latest news, background, and groups working on immigration issues worldwide, check out OneWorld.net's Perspectives Magazine edition entitled "Migration - How Free Is Our Freedom to Move?"

John McCain on Immigration

From: Americas Policy Program

General position

• "Things are terrible, and we've got to fix it. But we're not going to fix it until we have comprehensive immigration reform. When there's a demand, there's going to be a supply. There are jobs that Americans will not do, so we have to make it possible for someone to come to this country to do a job that an American won't do and then go back to the country from where they came."

• "The proposal that we had would require fines, would require getting back in the line, would require deportation for some. It would require others to go back to the country of their origin. It would require an enormous amount of time, as long as 13 years, before anyone could even be eligible for citizenship in this country."

• "Our legislation does account for people who are here illegally, it does have an employment verification system, and it weeds out those who shouldn't be here, and it gives others a chance to remain in this country. Look, this is a national security issue first and foremost. What we have done is come together with the president and the leaders of both parties, and sit down and figure out an approach to this problem. It is a serious national security problem. We need to act, and if someone else has a better idea, I'd love to have them give it to us."

• "We've been working very hard for a couple of months with Democrats and Republicans, led by the president and his Cabinet, to come up with a comprehensive solution and resolution of this terrible problem of illegal immigration. One thing we would all agree on, the status quo is not acceptable. We have to secure our borders. But we also need a temporary worker program, and we have to dispose of the issue of 12 million people who are in this country illegally. This issue needs to be addressed comprehensively."

Border security

• Border Patrol agent along the U.S.-Mexico border. © Christian Ramirez / American Friends Service Committee "I will secure the border and I would have the border state governors certify that their borders are secure," he said. "Then, we would move onto other issues," such as what to do about those illegal immigrants already in the country.

• "I have always believed that our border must be secure and that the federal government has utterly failed in its responsibility to ensure that it is secure. If we have learned anything from the recent immigration debate, it is that Americans have little trust that their government will honor a pledge to do the things necessary to make the border secure."

"Amnesty" and legalization

• "... we never proposed amnesty. But then you've still got two other aspects of this issue that have to be resolved as well. We need to sit down as Americans and recognize these are God's children as well. And they need some protection under the law; they need some of our love and compassion. I want to assure you that I'll enforce the borders first."

• "Very seldom have I seen an issue that aroused this much passion with the American people. No one is for amnesty. I and the president came forward with a plan that we thought was comprehensive and workable with the priority being border security, which remains my position. Why we failed is because the American people have lost trust and confidence in us. We have to succeed, because there's 12 million people who are in this country illegally, which is de facto amnesty, and we need a temporary worker program. I commit to securing the borders first. We can secure those borders. As president, I would have the border state governors certify that those borders were indeed secure."

• "Anything short of rounding up 12 million people and deporting them is called amnesty by the opponents of this legislation ... I'll point out that [illegal immigrants] will have to pay back taxes, they'll have to pay a fine, they'll have to go back to their country of origin, and it's at least 15 years before they are in anyway eligible for citizenship."

• "We have to stop the illegal immigration, but we've had waves throughout our history. Hispanics is what we're talking about, a different culture, a different language, which has enriched my state where Spanish was spoken before English was. In Washington DC, go to the Vietnam War Memorial and look at the names engraved in black granite. You'll find a whole lot of Hispanic names. They must come into the country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them."

English as official language

• "I would like to remind you that we made treaties with Native Americans, such as the Navajos in my state, where we respect their sovereignty and they use their native language in their deliberations. Everybody knows that English has to be learned if anyone ever wants to move up the economic ladder. That is obvious. And part of our legislation, by the way, is a requirement to learn English."

Immigration and foreign policy

• "But a secure border will contribute to addressing our immigration problem most effectively if we also recognize the importance of building strong allies in Mexico and Latin America who reject the siren call of authoritarians like Hugo Chavez, support freedom and democracy, and seek strong domestic economies with abundant economic opportunities for their citizens."

Guest worker program

• "I still believe we have to have a temporary worker program that works and addresses the issues of the 12 million people that are here illegally."

Sources:
North County Times; 30 May 2007
www.johnmccain.com; 22 January 2008
AZ Senate Debate, in Tucson Citizen Oct. 16, 2004
2007 GOP debate at UNH, sponsored by Fox News Sept. 5, 2007
Associated Press; 21 May 2007
GOP YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Florida Nov. 28, 2007
ABC News; 26 Dec. 2007
GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007

Barack Obama on Immigration

From: Americas Policy Program

General position

• "What we have to do is create a comprehensive solution to the problem. As president I will make sure that we finally have the kind of border security that we need. Employers have to be held accountable. When we do those things, we can take the illegal aliens who are here, get them out of the shadows, make sure that they are subject to a stiff penalty, make sure that they're learning English, and go to the back of the line so they're not getting an advantage over people who came here legally."

• "We've got to fix a broken immigration system not just for the undocumented but for legal immigrants. Because the backlogs are horrendous, the fees have been increased and doubled and tripled, and as a consequence more and more people are having difficulty just trying to reunify their families even if they're going through the legal pathways, and that puts more pressure on people to go into the illegal system. That is something we're going to try to pass."

• "I think it's possible for us to be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. That's what we've always been and that's what we have to continue to be. And that's why I've worked in the Senate and will work hard as president to make sure that we've got comprehensive immigration reform that has strong border security. We need to make sure that it's orderly, that we don't have thousands of people pouring over our borders or overstaying our visas."

Path to legalization

• Immigrants rights rally, San Francisco. © Independent Media Center / Liz Highleyman "We want to have a situation in which those who are already here, are playing by the rules, are willing to pay a fine, and go through a rigorous process should have a pathway to legalization. Most Americans will support that if they have some sense that the border is also being secured. What they don't want is a situation in which there is a pathway to legalization and you've got another several hundred thousand of folks coming in every year. That is a central position we should be able to arrive at."

Employment

• "I think that if they are illegal, then they should not be able to work in this country. That is part of the principle of comprehensive reform, which we're going to crack down on employers who are hiring them and taking advantage of them. But I also want to give them a pathway, so that they can earn citizenship, earn a legal status, start learning English, pay a significant fine, and go to the back of the line. But they can then stay here and they can have the ability to enforce a minimum wage that they're paid, make sure the worker safety laws are available, make sure that they can join a union."

• "We have to make sure that employers are held accountable, because right now employers are taking advantage of undocumented workers. And we've got to give a pathway to citizenship. But people have to earn it. They're going to have to pay a fine. They've got to make sure that they're learning English. They've got to go to the back of the line so that they're not rewarded for having broken the law."

Federal control over immigration

• "We do not deputize the American people to do the job that the federal government is supposed to do. So as president, I will make sure that the federal government does what it's supposed to do, which is to do a better job of closing our borders, have much tougher enforcement standards when it comes to employers, and create a pathway of citizenship for the 12 million people who are already here."

• Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border.

English as "official language"

• "Because there are Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens who may not speak English well, and if they're seeking help, for example, on some vital health care question, or a senior citizen who emigrated here a long time ago and they're trying to get their Social Security check, I don't want them to not be able to get those services."

Guestworker programs

• "Before any guestworker is hired, the job must be made available to Americans at a decent wage with benefits. Employers then need to show that there are no Americans to take these jobs. I am not willing to take it on faith that there are jobs that Americans will not take. There has to be a showing. If this guestworker program is to succeed, it must be properly calibrated to make certain that these are jobs that cannot be filled by Americans, or that the guestworkers provide particular skills we can't find in this country."

Driver's licenses

• "There is a public safety concern [with denying driver's licenses to illegal immigrants]. We can make sure that drivers who are illegal come out of the shadows, that they can be tracked, that they are properly trained, and that will make our roads safer. That doesn't negate the need for us to reform illegal immigration."

• "When I was a state senator in Illinois, I voted to require that illegal aliens get trained, get a license, get insurance to protect public safety. That was my intention. The problem we have here is not driver's licenses. Undocumented workers do not come here to drive. They're here to work. Instead of being distracted by what has now become a wedge issue, let's focus on actually solving the problem that this administration, the Bush administration, had done nothing about it."

The Senate Immigration Bill

• Senator Obama played a role in drafting the Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill that the Senate passed before the 109th Congress adjourned. The bill, which President Bush supports, would provide more funds and technology for border security and prevent employers from skirting our laws by hiring illegal immigrants. The bill also would provide immigrants who are now contributing, responsible members of society an opportunity to remain in the country and earn citizenship. But not all illegal immigrants would be guaranteed the right to remain in the U.S. under this proposal: they would first have to pay a substantial fine and back taxes, learn English, satisfy a work requirement, and pass a criminal background check.

• Obama offered three amendments that were included in the Senate bill. The first amendment would strengthen the requirement that a job be offered at a prevailing wage to American workers before it is offered to a guestworker. The second amendment would make it simple, but mandatory, for employers to verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States. And the third amendment would authorize $3 million a year for the FBI to improve the speed and accuracy of the background checks required for immigrants seeking to become citizens.

Sources:
Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 15, 2007
Democratic primary debate on Univision in Spanish Sept. 9, 2007
AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum Aug. 8, 2007
Democratic debate at Saint Anselm College June 3, 2007
2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec. 4, 2007
Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec. 4, 2007
Democratic debate at Drexel University Oct. 30, 2007
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Immigration.htm
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/

Check out the Americas Policy Program for more analysis of the immigration debate, the actors, and the issues.

This article has been included in OneWorld.net's "Campaign '08" edition of Perspectives magazine, which examines where the major presidential candidates stand on key issues affecting all the world's people. Add your thoughts on the campaign today and get the background from experts on foreign policy, national security, foreign aid, global health, the environment, and much more.

For latest news, background, and groups working on immigration issues worldwide, check out OneWorld.net's Perspectives Magazine edition entitled "Migration - How Free Is Our Freedom to Move?"