Expert: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Not Happening Soon

Aline Barros, VOA, June 3, 2024

"Despite years of debate and numerous proposals, the United States has accomplished next to nothing on immigration reform.  In recent years, attempts to modernize U.S. immigration law have been made through a series of legislative efforts; none has achieved a significant breakthrough.  “We are nowhere and we’re not getting anywhere,” according to the Brookings Institution’s William Galston, a former Clinton White House aide for domestic policy. ... Cornell University immigration law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr says immigration reform is dead for 2024.  “For a variety of reasons,” he said, adding “immigration reform has always been hard to get through Congress. … Donald Trump wants to make immigration one of his key pillars of his campaign. So he basically killed the efforts in the Senate and the House earlier this year.”  According to Yale-Loehr, the country will not have any possibility of immigration reform until 2025.  “And even then, it will depend on who is the president and who controls the House and the Senate,” he said. ... Yale-Loehr does not see reforms happening anytime soon.  “Because it's so complex," he said. "We have a broken immigration system. Courts have said that immigration law is as complex as our tax law. And just as it seems impossible for Congress to overhaul our tax system, I don't think any Congress is likely to be successful in trying to reform all of our broken immigration system. … But there are bits and pieces that Congress could pass as sort of a down payment.” "