Many clients are coming into the office asking if and when immigration reform will happen. Even more so, they are asking what exactly the reform will involve; will it help them; will it hurt them. Our typical response is that it certainly cannot get worse than it is now, but even more importantly than our opinion, is taking a look at the opinions of the general public. Most individuals who support the plight of undocumented aliens think that the remainder of the American public is so anti-immigrant that they don’t even want to hear the possibility of reform in a way that will help undocumented aliens seek lawful status here in the United States.
Surprisingly, recent polls compiled by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) indicate that the general public is much more in favor of reform than previously thought. Only one quarter of the population wants to see the existing laws enforced more strongly, and more than half support finding a path to legalization for existing undocumented aliens.
These statistics should provide some optimism to those who fear that current laws as they are will prevent them from obtaining lawful status, and to those who believe that all who are not with them are against them.
It’s wonderful that amidst a country’s perception that the majority of people are anti-undocumented aliens, the reality is that the general public does recognize that allowing undocumented aliens to find a path to legalization is in the best interest of our country.