Comment & Debate
Jared Bernstein. “Path to citizenship and out of poverty.” Economic Policy Institute. June 29, 2006: “The policy implications should be obvious. We must not let ourselves become a nation of permanent illegal immigrants, who toil in the shadows; nor should we become a nation of ‘guest workers.’ We are a nation of immigrants who have trodden the path toward citizenship. A central goal of reform should be to clear that path for those who deserve the privileges, economic and otherwise, of being an American citizen.”
Chuck Hagel, US Senator (R-NE), in an Apr. 26, 2007 press release from his official US Senate website, stated: “It is not in our interest to have 12 million people living here illegally. We must create a system in which those who are contributing to our country, speaking English, and helping build a better America are given a pathway toward earned citizenship, while those who are not contributing to our country can be identified and deported. This legislation [The Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007] creates that kind of responsible system. This is an issue of national security as well as an economic issue. We cannot afford to continue to ignore it.”[1]