To borrow a line from the president: We can’t wait any longer. It is time for President Obama to lead a national conversation on immigration reform.
NAFSA members understand how our antiquated immigration laws impede the movement of people seeking educational opportunities, and perhaps even worse, how the xenophobic tenor of our national debate on undocumented immigrants and the nation’s harsh and ineffective approach to border enforcement chip away at American values and negatively affects the image we project to the world.
NAFSA released a statement today that focuses on this broader context of immigration and offers specific steps for President Obama to take in order to lead the nation toward a more measured dialogue and toward fair, humane, and durable immigration solutions.
I recognize that this statement goes considerably beyond our usual focus on immigration as it affects our core issues of international education and exchange. But the country can’t keep going this way. Someone needs to say something, so we’re saying it. I hope other organizations will join us in raising their voices to a new level.
You can download the statement as a pdf or read and share an online version of the statement at www.nafsa.org/immigrationconversation.
We look forward to your comments and hope you will join us in this important national conversation.
This is an excellent succinct statement of what needs to be done. I am sharing it with my Congressional representatives. The recent Front Line documentary ‘Lost in Detention’ broadcast on PBS also documents how savage our current practices are, and the shame current enforcement practices are bringing to the United States. We need to address immigration reform now!
This is a clear-cut, succinct agenda of what needs to be done. It’s a clarion call to President Obama to take the lead now, and to take it forcefully, in addressing the dire need for comprehensive immigration reform. It’s also a call to all of us, to those of us who believe that immigration reform is vital to the welfare of our country, to get behind the immigration reform effort, and to do so in very meaningful, action-oriented, ways.
Thank you NAFSA for saying what must be said. As a long time member of NAFSA, I am so proud of the association for taking a clear stance and calling for action. NAFSA once again through its public policy work is living up to its values by advocating for sensible policies that are aligned with fundamental human rights and social justice.
The immigration issues as the policy statement clearly articulates should and cannot be a state issue. This is a time for leadership from all. We indeed cannot afford to be silent.
As a long-term member of NAFSA and an advocate for immigration reform, this statement is one I support wholeheartedly. I am in full support of this initiative and recognize that it is long overdue.
This is a very weak statement. The letter suggests that people will listen thoughtfully to any kind of intelligent discussion, particularly during our permanent election campaign season, especially if it is led by our President, who doesn’t command the attention or respect of many Americans. We might be able to work up a discussion in Boulder, Berkeley, Georgetown, or Cambridge, but this country is Birmingham, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Dubuque, and Oklahoma City, highly polarized all around and populated by people who have not been the beneficiaries of a strong educational system. If you want to get some attention, let Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert lead the conversation.
It would probably cost a lot of money to ramp up a better and more efficient legal documentation and application process? Are there any organizations that have estimated how much this would cost and compared it to the estimated savings in shifting funds from enforcement, if it were successful?
This is a clear and reasonable statement on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. We must also emphasize again the urgency for federal action on immigration. As the statement notes, some states are moving into the immigration void to pass regressive, punitive legislation which only makes the problem worse. In a time of economic austerity and budget deficits, federal legislation on immigration reform can free resources being wasted on enforcement and open economic opportunities for millions of people to enter the work force and stimulate economic activity. Above all, for international educators, we must advocate and protect the DREAM Act at the state level where it has been implemented and make it a federal law!
This effort has my full support. Those who are calling for a “simple solution” have no clue about the intricacies of our immigration regulations. The current mess must be dealt with head on.
My only comment on the text of the document itself would be to eliminate any references to the President as, simply, “Obama.”
And, while I hope we can get to a “conversation” or “discussion”, recent history tells me we will get only demogogery.
Being a reasonably new member of NAFSA, I feel very proud to be a part of this valued organization. I think NAFSA has taken required action anytime it was needed the most and this latest initiative about immigration reform is another testament to that.
I believe an appropriate immigration policy would be taken which would satisfy the stakeholders while upholding the core value of American culture and history.
Thanks should go to people who are the driving force behind this initiative. Wishing you all the best!
This statement is one additional reason why I feel very proud of being a NAFSA member.
The message is clear, suscint and direct, about the urgent need to address such an important topic.
This statement makes me hopeful that others around the country will stand up and say enough of this fear of the other. I hope thatU.S. Attorney General Eric Holder would take immediate action against anti-immigrant laws in Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah. Unless we are of Native American blood, all of us are immigrants! More importantly, we are all human! I hope congress and the president can join together to reinvent America as a model for the rest of the world.
The United States is a nation of immigrants and no matter how long we have been here, 10th generation or 1st generation, this is our country. Immigration policies impact lives of many people we know. This is something we need to care about and speak out on behalf of so many who may be unable to do so for themselves. I support this statement and hope that it will lead to positive changes, however small in the beginning. I am proud of NAFSA for taking the initiative on immigration reform and am hopeful that this country will continue to be a land of freedom and opportunity.
Being a nation of immigrants forces us to look at all aspects of current immigration policies as well as do something about the policies that aren’t working. Until the nation begins a collaborative effort to ensure freedom and opportunity for all, there will always be a disparity for non-US born citizens. It’s exciting to see an organization such as NAFSA taking a stance.
What about the ones who are here legally but not permanently, can they get included in this act? They follow the law, yet reward is being requested only for those who didn’t. Why not to all who meet the act’s requirements?
Immigration reform is desperately needed. Our current system is outdated. We clearly need avenues for more people to work legally- something we are lacking now! I continue to wonder about the messages we send through both inaction or action on this though. There are hundred of thousands of people waiting patiently for years to immigrate to the United States doing everything legally. As a field, we tell our students to follow the law exactly and send them through many hoops if they do one small thing wrong. Comprehensive reform has to take fairness issues into consideration from many perspectives, considering those waiting in line abroad or here on visas hoping for more options, and those already hear undocumented due to many factors.
I would like to see NAFSA genuinely address comprehensive immigration reform. NAFSA has made almost NO mention in any advocacy or work about same-sex couples. We have many F1/J1 students who can’t bring their same-sex partners on F2/J2 visas. We have many F1/J1 LGBT students who have US partners. Their legal US citizen partners can do nothing to sponsor them for citizenship. I know more than one US colleague who has had to leave the United States to remain with their partner due to heterosexist immigration policies. These are issues that directly impact student exchange and the population we work most closely with. I would like to see NAFSA address these issues in addition to the important emphasis on worker visa reform and fair-minded and humane approaches to dealing with BOTH undocumented workers and with those waiting legally for a chance to work or live in the U.S.