Immigration Reform Must Redress the Current Law's Gender Biases

"As documented in a report (“Gendered Paths to Legal Status”) issued by the Immigration Policy Council, immigration laws which appear gender neutral “actually contain gender biases that create barriers for many women trying to gain [lawful status] within the current immigration system.”  Specifically, “immigration laws assume dependencies that privilege male applicants over females and that often make women an afterthought.”  Immigration reform will not succeed if it fails in its obligation to protect women, who constitute 51.1 percent of the foreign-born population in the United States, or if fails to bring immigrant children into the mainstream.  Once our dysfunctional Congress gets back to actually doing its job—to actually governing—immigration reform needs to find its way back onto the legislative agenda.  When it does so, the needs of women and children should be specifically addressed if immigration reform is to have any real meaning." - Careen Shannon, Dec. 22, 2013.