2016 Postmortem

bigtree

(85,999 posts) Mon Jul 20, 2015, 10:56 AM Jul 2015

Martin O'Malley: 'Our outdated immigration policies don't live up to our American values'

Matt Sheaff ?@MattSheaff
@MartinOMalley discusses his plan for comprehensive immigration reform in today’s @NashuaTelegraph http://bit.ly/1OhpujM #nhpolitics

By MARTIN O’MALLEY

It was my great-grandfather who chose to immigrate to this country. His name was also Martin O'Malley, and he came from Ireland at great personal risk. Although his native tongue was not English, but Irish, the hopes and dreams he had for his children - and his children's children -were purely American.

Most of our families share this same story. Our ancestors knew firsthand that the enduring symbol of our nation is not the barbed wire fence, but the Statue of Liberty. And living through the first and second World Wars, they also knew that our ability to lead the world - and be safe in this world - depends on the strength of the American dream here at home.

But today that dream - one that is fueled by our nation's extraordinary diversity - is being eroded.

Our outdated immigration policies are undermining our economic prosperity and national security, and they don't live up to our American values. That's why, this past week, I released a detailed plan to take action.

As president, I would use executive action to provide immediate relief to the millions of new Americans waiting for Congress to act, while forging a new consensus for comprehensive immigration reform. I will use all my authorities to safeguard and welcome new Americans - restoring justice and common sense to America's broken immigration system.

My plan starts with providing deferred action to the greatest possible number of new Americans. From my first days in office, I would issue an executive order providing immediate relief from deportation, with work authorization, to all individuals covered by the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform proposal.

It also sets out steps for using detention - which is inhumane, costly and tears families apart - only as a last resort. That means closing inhumane detention facilities, ending child and family detention, and using proven alternatives to detention for the vast majority of people.

It expands access to healthcare, by rescinding short-sighted regulations that prevent many individuals, such as DREAMers who are protected from deportation under the President's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, from getting health insurance. Individuals who work, study at our schools and contribute to our society should not be denied the right to be healthy and be forced to resort to emergency rooms for medical attention.

And it creates an independent agency - housed within the White House - that sets our national immigration policy. Our current immigration system hasn't changed much over the past 60 years, and it doesn't meet the needs of employers or workers in a modern, global economy. The new agency would set immigration policy so that businesses can attract and retain the workers they need, while protecting and complementing our domestic workforce. And it would ensure that there are enough visas to prevent families from being torn apart.

Comprehensive reform will help rebuild the American Dream for us all - and I saw the power of these efforts firsthand. As governor of Maryland I signed the Maryland DREAM Act, allowed new Americans to get driver's licenses and ended our collaboration with ICE when they couldn't prove that their immigration retainers were making us safer. Despite considerable opposition, I offered young children who had fled across the border a home in Maryland. And while I stood up to the Obama Administration on deportation of unaccompanied minors, I have also supported President Obama's executive actions on DACA and DAPA.

New Hampshire knows this well. The state already has more than 73,000 immigrants - running businesses, teaching at universities and contributing to their communities.

Now, to continue to attract the next generation of strivers, dreamers and risk-takers - and to be true to the values we hold dear - we must pursue a dynamic, modern approach to immigration policy as a nation.

We need to recognize the reality of today, and set immigration policy based on the real-time needs of our economy. Comprehensive immigration reform will help all families - by lifting wages, creating new jobs, growing our economy, expanding our tax base and improving standards for all workers.

With new leadership, we can come together to make immigration reform a reality - so that new Americans can join hands with their fellow citizens, and lead our nation towards a more innovative, dynamic, and prosperous tomorrow.