Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush have, largely in an attempt to court the Hispanic vote, made immigration policy a campaign issue. If elected president, Bush has vowed to speed up the naturalization process and has proposed splitting the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) into two separate agencies. Vice President Gore also supports INS reform and advocates allowing families to remain together in the United States while immigration applications are pending, and permiting qualified long-term migrants who have lived in the United States since 1986 to become lawful permanent citizens.

In 1996, Congress enacted three pieces of legislation designed to regulate the flow of immigrants into the United States. These laws—the Illegal Immigration Control and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), the Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)- restricted the number of legal immigrants entering the U.S., stripped immigrants of some government services, and expedited the deportation of illegal immigrants and those convicted of crimes.

While Congress restricted the entry of some immigrants, it also moved to increase the number of skilled workers allowed into the U.S. High tech firms face a shortage of skilled laborers, and have lobbied Congress to increase the number of foreign worker who are granted H-1B visas, which allow college educated workers to work in the U.S. for up to six years. President Clinton has stated that he would like to double the number of H-1B visas currently available to 200,000, and legislation to achieve that is before Congress. Labor unions, fearing loss opportunities for American workers, have opposed the legislation.

Historically, quotas and limits on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States favored Northern Europeans until 1965, when Washington expanded those restrictions to add balance to the number of visas immigrants from other parts of the world could have.

After 1965, immigration policy became increasingly more flexible and led to the Immigration Act of 1990, which raised annual immigration limits to 700,000.

Then recession hit in the early 90s, along with record levels of illegal immigration, especially in California. In 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, a ballot initiative blocking illegal immigrants from public services like education and medical treatment. This anti-immigrant law was later overturned by the courts.

On One Hand...

Immigrants from all over the world make lasting contributions to the United States. Both skilled and unskilled workers should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S., as they can fill jobs that legal residents may not be trained for or may not want. Immigrants also pay taxes. Recent estimates find immigrant households paying between $20,000 and $80,000 more in taxes than they collect in government services. Furthermore, many immigrants work especially hard to become leaders in business and government. They deserve their chance to live the American dream.

On the Other Hand...

Quotas and other restrictions on immigration are necessary. In recent years, immigrants have flooded the job market and taken jobs from Americans. Because immigrants tend to be less skilled and educated, their willingness to work for less brings down wages for everyone else. Cities with large immigrant populations, such as New York and Los Angeles, average twice the rate in violent crime when compared to low immigrant cities. Densely packed immigrant communities force English-speakers to use other languages. Immigrant benefits, meanwhile, cost $75 billion a year now. Allowing immigrant communities to increase unchecked will leave taxpayers with an even larger bill to pay. Ethnic quotas prevent imbalance and encourage economic and social integration.

• Half of all recent immigrants to the United States come from Mexico, China, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, India, Poland, Ukraine, El Salvador, and Ireland

• There is no relationship between immigration and higher levels of unemployment, according to a 1994 study by Ohio University researchers.

• During the 1980s, the United States denied 97 percent of the Salvadorans and 99 percent of the Guatemalans who applied for political asylum -- despite of the fact that civil wars raged in both countries at the time.

• In 1999, 82 percent of the population in the United States was White; 13 percent was African-American; and 12 percent was Hispanic. Asian and Pacific Islanders numbered 4 percent.

• U.S. Census bureau estimates that Hispanics will surpass African-American as the largest minority group by 2005. By 2059, Whites will be under 50 percent of the population.

Sources: Christian Science Monitor, INS, National Center for Policy Analysis, U.S. Census, Federation for American Immigrations Reform, ACLU