Taperman articles

Issues Facing the U.S. Concerning Foreigners Entering the U.S. both Legally and Illegally

There are numerous issues facing the United States today concerning foreigners entering the U. S. legally or illegally. Some of these issues are indefinite detention of illegal aliens, caps on professional work visas, tracking of foreigners visiting the U.S., the impact of unpaid medical care of immigrants on the U.S. economy, and backlogs in the immigration process. These are just a few of the topics regarding illegal aliens and foreigners entering the U.S. that are hotly debated by the United States government and American citizens.

One controversial issue that has both its opponents and supporters is “indefinite detention”. Thousands of men, women and children caught illegally crossing the U.S. border are often detained for years awaiting deportation. The difficulty lies in the fact that the U.S. has so many deportable aliens that it is not feasible to send them back to their homeland immediately. This problem is confounded further when the individual’s homeland will not accept them back into their country.

The argument for indefinite detention is if the U.S. allowed illegal aliens to go back into society on bail or bond that it would encourage others to come to the U.S. illegally. The argument against indefinite detention is that it is inhumane to hold individuals in jail, or in the case of children, juvenile detention centers or youth prisons, when there is not a pending criminal trial and no sentence involved.

Currently, the Bush administration supports General John D. Ashcroft’s stance to hold all deportable aliens indefinitely. General Ashcroft made this momentous decision in April 2003 by denying the bail of an 18-year old Haitian who came to Florida to seek asylum. He further maintained that illegal aliens do not have the same due process rights as U.S. citizens.

Due substantially to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the U.S. now tracks certain foreign nationalities before allowing them entry into the U.S. On January 5, 2004, the US-VISIT program was put into operation where upon arrival; many visitors are fingerprinted, photographed and questioned. The US-VISIT program phased out the paper-based visitor tracking system and instituted a computerized one.

Supporters of the US-VISIT program believe that:

It will identify a percentage of criminals and terrorists before they enter the U.S.

 The program is quick and efficient.

 The program costs the taxpayers far less than a potential terrorist attack.  

Opponents of the US-VISIT program state that it is a violation of civil liberties and that the program has not shown that it can protect the U.S. and its citizens without inconveniencing foreign travelers. The most insidious component of this program, opponents argue, is that it may pave the way to further legislation that would extend to other tax funded “Big Brother” activity in the future.

The last issue to be addressed is the debate over foreign professionals coming to the U.S. to work. There are those who wish to raise the cap on visas awarded to foreign professionals and those wanting tighter restrictions placed on these visas.

There are two types of visas awarded to those coming to the U.S. to work. The first is the H-1B visa. This visa is for those foreigners performing a particular job, for a specific employer for a set time period. The employer must apply for the worker and give reasons why they feel this individual is best qualified for the job.

An L-1 visa is issued to foreign workers who transfer to a U.S. branch of the company they work for in their country of origin. The requirements are: 

• The worker must have been employed with the company for at least a year in the prior three years before applying for an L-1 visa.
• The foreign worker applying for the visa must work for the same company in a position that requires their unique talents and skills.

Arguments for higher caps and fewer restrictions on H-1B and L-1 visas is that many high-tech industries cannot locate U.S. workers with the precise expertise needed for their company to flourish. If these foreign workers later immigrate to the U.S., it will only benefit the country to have such highly skilled citizens.

Labor unions, unemployed “techies” and some lawmakers argue that the U.S. has more high-tech workers than jobs and that those from other countries should not take the few that are awarded. They believe the only reason that some high-tech industries want higher caps on H-1B and L-1 visas is that they can pay foreign workers less and work them harder.

Currently, the Bush administration supports raising the limit on H-1B visas and believes the solution to the purported high-tech worker shortage is more specialized education of Americans.

“Indefinite detention” of illegal aliens, tracking foreign visitors through the US-VISIT program, and foreigner workers securing high-tech jobs in the U.S. are just a few of the issues that are hotly debated in the U.S. today. With a large influx of foreigners to the U.S. for travel and work purposes and those arriving illegally, these issues will probably be topics of discussion for years to come.  

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