Are Americans Ignoring the Immigration Topics They Most Need to Talk About? Anthea Mitchell - The Cheat Sheet
go to original March 9, 2015

The issue of immigration reform is one that’s become big in the media spotlight by way of a couple major events and actions. The flight of over 60,000 underage undocumented immigrants into the United States last year drew national attention and sparked protests, both in favor of humanitarian efforts and in opposition to the mass influx. Congress’s inability to find bipartisan support for reform has been a target on its back for both parties in the last few years. Then Obama’s executive action for DREAMers and deferred action candidates sparked a whole new controversy, quickly followed by the lawsuit out of Congress, which has taken on a narrative of its own very much unrelated to immigration or amnesty.

But so much of the immigration system that needs reform so badly falls through the media cracks in favor of more clickable, more controversial, and more Congressional content. On the one hand it makes sense. What needs to be done hardly matters if the people in charge of doing it fail to act, or if the actions taken are only temporary or disagreed with, as is the case with Obama’s activity. Legislative reform is needed for a reason. Presidents leave office, and when they do, their actions become less than secure — something the president himself has recognized, “Only Congress can finish the job.”

But what areas and subject matter are falling by the wayside in light of these more politically flashy news points?

Read the rest at The Cheat Sheet

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

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