Unrelenting Illegal immigration will force policy changes in the US

A number of other domestic policies also affect America's enforcement of its immigration laws. A major factor has included the regular granting of amnestiesto illegal aliens, which arguably served to encourage illegal immigration based on the hope of further amnesties. Since the passing of the Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA) in 1986, 6 million illegal aliens have received amnesty in the United States.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA), introduced by the Obama administration in 2012, allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. At the programme's start, it was estimated that up to 1.7 million people might be eligible. In November 2014, DACA was expanded it to include illegal immigrants who entered the country before 2010, eliminate the requirement that applicants be younger than 31 years old, and lengthen the renewable deferral period. Nearly all Republicans in the House of Representatives (along with three Democrats) voted 224-201 to defund DACA in June 2013. It is however claimed that Congress does not have the ability to effectively defund DACA since the programme is almost entirely funded by its own application fees.

The Obama administration has attempted a profound shift in its enforcement of America's immigration laws, aiming to hasten the integration of long-term illegal immigrants into society rather than targeting them for deportation. If a Republican President is elected next year it is likely that this shift will be reversed but both parties seem to be moving to a position of greater enforcement of immigration laws in respect of future illegal arrivals.

Irrespective of the outcome of the Presidential election two things seem reasonably assured.

The first is that the US cannot continue allowing a situation whereby its immigration laws are poorly enforced and disrespected.

Equally, deporting all 12 million existing illegal aliens also seems untenable, and would also cause upheaval both in some US industry sectors, many US communities, and across the border in counties like Mexico. The US needs to devise a sensible system to decide which illegal immigrants are an asset to the country and should stay, and which need to be deported.

Congressman Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero a Republican U.S. Representative from Florida put the matter succinctly: "For too long, both parties have used immigration as a political wedge issue…. But the time has come to find a bipartisan solution."