Solution to Immigration Reform Must Include Path to Citizenship

image
Author: Henry Flatt
Published: 15 Jul, 2013
Updated: 14 Oct, 2022
1 min read

Protesters marching in support of the Arizona Dream Act // Credit: Connor Radnovich Protesters marching in support of immigration reform // Credit: Connor Radnovich

The constantly shifting demographic composition of the Untied States necessitates new laws to govern the persistently changing population. As immigrants continue to enter America’s borders both legally and illegally, the need to update our anachronistic immigration laws has become all the more apparent.

With broad political support for passing a new immigration bill, it is imperative that the US Congress answers this mandate by passing modernized immigration legislation. Having over 10 million people within our borders living in the shadows is unjust, and widespread reform is the only logical next step to remedy the problem.

Because these are undocumented workers, employers who hire their services frequently abuse their illegal status and pay them egregiously low wages.

Senator John McCain, who recently said in a statement on the floor of the Senate, “The fact are that 11 million people live in the shadows in de-facto amnesty and are being exploited every single day. Shouldn’t it be…to bring these people out of the shadows?” Injustice lies in not passing immigration reform.

California residents should feel even more compelled to pass a path to citizenship; it is estimated that 23% of the nation’s illegal immigrants are within California’s borders. In perspective, California’s population is eight percent of the entire country. Enacting widespread legislation and updating our woefully outdated immigration laws is important for the United States citizens as a whole, but it is even more so for Californians.

Continuing to allow over one fifth of our state’s population to live under the veil of undocumented status is both unsustainable and morally negligent. Providing amnesty and a path to citizenship to the nearly 11 million people living with undocumented status is not the one of many logical solutions, it is the only one.

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read