The United States of America is popularly known as a melting pot, for the diverse amount of identities that come together to create a single nation. Even though there is a consensus that America is a “nation of immigrants” there still exists disagreement on the political spectrum over the issue of immigration policy. 

 

More liberal activists call for open borders and chant that no human is illegal on stolen land. More conservative individuals claim people should cross into the U.S. legally. Some individuals believe the U.S. has to fix its own problems before they can try to help foreigners, who will ultimately just steal jobs. These are both very extreme perspectives on the political immigration spectrum. However, immigration policy is not a one-sided issue that can be boxed to conform with a political party’s beliefs. Immigration is a human rights issue and therefore immigration policy needs to be addressed as such. 

 

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This article will explore major laws, policies and executive orders centered on immigration that have been instituted in the U.S. over the last 40 years. We have chosen to focus on the last 40 years in order to encapsulate the time that best reflects policies tied to the current immigration detention center conditions.

The United States border dividing America and Mexico was fluid and porous in the early 1900’s. Individuals would cross back and forth, working seasonally in the United States and returning back to their native countries (Revisionist History, 2021). If they decided to make a life in the U.S. it was relatively easy for them to settle down despite documentation status. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, I recall hearing family members tell stories about how they underwent the migration journey ten or more times before deciding to stay in the U.S. Even if individuals were detained in the process, they would simply be sent back with no registration or documentation that they had attempted to cross. This meant they would be able to try again with no repercussions. It was just that simple. 

 

In 1986 this began to change as policies attempting to regulate migration were implemented. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibited employers from hiring people who were illegally in the United States (Bowen, Chamberlain, 2020). Under this act, a company or employer that knowingly hired an individual without legal status would be financially and legally penalized. However, employers still greatly benefited from hiring undocumented individuals because they could pay them unfair wages. This benefit of cheap labor shifted the desired effect that this policy had (CIS). Instead of decreasing illegal employment the act criminalized workers who did not have legal documentation to be in the U.S. 

 

This criminalization sparked the increase of militarization at the border. The goal was now trying to halt illegal employment from the root. Shortly after, Operation Blockade was launched in 1993. This was a two week operation in El Paso Texas that deployed 400 border patrol agents along a 20-mile segment of the border on an around the clock basis (Martin, 1993). The operation also repaired the border fence, strengthening the dividing wall between countries. The goal of this operation was to study the effectiveness of deployment in stopping individuals from crossing before they actually arrived at the United States border. This strategy proved to be effective. Despite community opposition and protests the strategy was kept under the name Operation Hold the Line (Martin, 1993).

 

In the San Diego and Tijuana border, a similar policy was implemented in 1994 known as Operation Gatekeeper. In short, this operation militarized the border and made the job of border patrol agents sportlike. The three main components of the operation were a large increase in the number of agents, a new deployment strategy, and new equipment for agents to “catch” migrants (OIJ). The new strategy broke down agent placements into three levels, with each level stretching out further from the border. Each level was assigned certain methods of interference 

 with the level closest to the border having full authority to apprehend migrants. The new equipment was composed of nightscopes, seismic sensors, portable radios, and a fingerprinting system (OIJ). This initiated the process of identifying and tracking migrants who had previously been detained. Overall, these new changes in policy represented the start of the United States investing money into protecting the U.S.-Mexico border. 

 

Under the Bush administration two major policies were implemented. The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act of 2000 allowed immigrants to obtain a green card and hence lawful permanent residence if they had labor certification or other petitions filed on or before April 30, 2001 (CIS). The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 was another policy that worked to increase the budget and efficiency against illegal immigration. This act increased the screening procedures for admission into the U.S. Additionally, it improved the tracking of individuals illegally living in the U.S. in order to deport them back to their home countries (MPI, 2013). After 2003, when immigration government organizations were established through the Homeland Security Act, more vigorous policies were implemented, “honing down on the increasing immigration problem.”
 

In 2005 the Border Enforcement Security Task Force was created. This same year the Real ID Act passed (CIS). The following year in 2006 the 287G program was established, which allowed for state or local law enforcement to work with ICE in order to “perform immigration law enforcement functions” or in other words increasing deportations (AIC, 2020). This same year the Secure Fence Act was passed which did the following two actions:
 

1. Increased systematic border surveillance through more effective use of personnel and technology, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, and cameras (Congress.gov).

2. Began physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful border entry and facilitate border access by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, such as additional checkpoints, all weather access roads, and vehicle barriers (Congress.gov).

 

This act essentially began the construction of the border wall we have today. It also redefined immigration surveillance to represent what we understand it to be today. 

 

Under the Obama administration several distinct policies were passed. In 2011 the DREAM ACT was established which did the following:

 

1. Permit certain immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S. to apply for temporary legal status and to eventually obtain permanent legal status and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college or serve in the U.S. military. (NILC)

2. Eliminate a federal provision that penalizes states that provide in-state tuition without regard to immigration status. (NILC)

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The following year DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was passed. This executive order provided protection from deportation and work authorization to persons who arrived as minor children and had lived in the United States since June 15, 2007. However, the Obama administration had the highest rates of deportations in history. There were over 3 million individuals deported during his 8 years of presidency (Nowrasteh, 2019). These deportations focused on people convicted of serious crimes and recent arrivals who had no criminal records (Wolf, 2019).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigration policies took a turn under the Trump administration. Starting in 2017, Trump issued a Travel Ban which restricted admission of individuals from seven countries—Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela. This order ultimately banned over 135 million potential immigrants and nonimmigrant individuals from crossing into the United States (CIS). Throughout this presidency there was an ongoing attempt on behalf of the Trump administration to end DACA and Temporary Protected Status (CIS). During this time there was also increased family separation at the border in detention centers. In 2021 President Biden was inaugurated into the presidential office. He has made many promises regarding immigration policy changes, opposing what Trump initiated during his time (Foster-Frau, 2021). As of now, it looks like the future of immigration policy will shift once again. Hopefully. 

 

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