Debate over immigration continues with new legislation, citizenship classes and border control
Citizenship classes held by a Los Angeles-based immigrant rights organization. Photo Credit: CARCEN
For youths granted temporary legal status under President Obama鈥檚 executive action, the bill passed Wednesday by Nebraska lawmakers means they now have legal access to more than 170 professions.
Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha introduced the bill after he learned some of the youth in the Omaha area were getting trained in the medical field and then exiting the state and taking their expertise to Iowa because they weren鈥檛 able to get licensed in Nebraska.
This issue isn鈥檛 confined to Nebraska. It has surfaced in Florida and California鈥檚 state legislatures as well and is expected to spread.
President Obama鈥檚 program to shield millions of immigrants from deportation was blocked more than a year ago, but that hasn鈥檛 stopped immigration advocacy groups and volunteers. They鈥檝e used their money and volunteers to help immigrants who are residing in the U.S. legally to gain citizenship. States like California and Nevada have recently held citizenship workshops to provide free help filling out citizenship applications and practice casting ballots.
Debates among political candidates are heated. The hype in the media is significant. The actual numbers reveal a slightly different story.
Recent statistics released by the Pew Research Center and the INEGI (Mexico鈥檚 top statistical agency) indicate that the flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United states is actually at a near-historic low.
Several things have caused the decline including the Great Recession which caused a decrease in the number of jobs available, a stricter enforcement of immigration laws at the border and the decline of Mexico鈥檚 youth population.