Public Policy on Illegal immigration in US

Immigration in US has been a vital legislative subject for the policy makers since the nation was formed. For instance, the US congress established a program which focused on the US citizens born abroad to become citizens.  This law was enacted in 1875 which prohibited admission of prostitutes and criminal in US. In 1876, the Supreme Court confirmed that the regulation of immigrants was the duty of the government.  Due to rise in number of immigrants, Immigration Services was established in 1879, and this forced the government to process admission of citizens who wanted to become US citizens.

Immigration levels were lower during the First World War. However, mass immigration resumed immediately after the war and the government employed quantitative restrictions to control this. Therefore, the quota system became part of the Quota Law in 1921 later revised in 1924. In this law, each nationality was assigned a quota basing on previous census figures. Thus, the department of state gave out few visas to the US embassies abroad.  In addition, the immigration services allowed immigrants who had valid visas only. Non immigrant visas were given to people who applied to stay in US for limited period of time.

Family reunification became a fundamental goal in the quota law of 1924. Through this law the immediate relatives and family members in US were favored.  Also they were exempted from numerous restrictions and granted preference in the various restrictions. Subsequent laws in US focused on reuniting families which was the major immigration policy. Amendments in the immigration in 1965 established a preference scheme and abolished the national quota system. This system gave preference for the US citizens and US relatives and lawful US immigrants and residents. The US linked population were offered with skills in different jobs which later improved the US economy.  However, this amendment did not abolish the previous restrictions.

In forming a legal admission in US several factors should be employed.  These include denial of admission due to criminal history, health, terrorism concerns, and security. As a president I would dismiss people who seek work without labor qualification and verified certificates. Other admission requirements that can lead to dismissal in admission process include improper documentation, violation against immigration law and previous dismissal from the country. Therefore, this might produce reformed US citizens who can improve the US economy.

Work Cited

“Immigration Policy in the United States”. A CBO Paper, Feb 2006, Web. 17 Nov 2011.   http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/70xx/doc7051/02-28-Immigration.pdf