Concluding Statement

It should be clear that the status and complexity of immigration policy at any given time is subject to the changing winds of political power.  When President Biden took office in 2021, he promised to reform what he called President Trump’s “inhumane” immigration policies.  For example, in early 2021 President Biden was able to temporarily end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) that required asylum-seeking migrants to remain in Mexico (although they lived in squalid conditions with few life-sustaining resources) while their immigration cases were processed (a process of indeterminant time). 

However, with a record number of migrants apprehended over the last two years, problems at the border deepened.  In response, the White House has continued several controversial policies imposed under President Trump.  For example, lawsuits filed by the Republican Attorneys General in Missouri and Texas to reimplement MPP, and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, caused the Biden administration to restart an expanded and somewhat tweaked version of MPP following negotiations with Mexico.

President Biden also relied on Title 42, an emergency health measure first invoked by President Trump that authorized expulsion of asylum seekers summarily on the grounds that their entry could contribute to the spread of the coronavirus.  Anticipation and arrival of the expiration date of Title 42 on May 11, 2023 (the date of the official end of the national COVID-19 public health emergency) led to substantial increases in unlawful border crossings.  In a bid to reduce the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully, the Biden administration will increase deportations, establish migrant processing centers in Latin America and expand legal migration pathways.

Finally, the problems of dealing appropriately with immigrants have spread from border towns in the Southwest to metropolitan areas throughout the U.S.  Added to President Biden’s  woes are pleas for assistance from administrators from large U.S. cities to help with the care of the many thousands of migrants that have been bused into their jurisdictions by border state governors (e.g., Florida and Texas).  Rather than a remedy for the overburdened immigration system, these actions are a wedge issue that draws public attention and evokes criticism of the presidential administration. 

Given the maelstrom of critical immigration issues facing the country, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that immigrants and their children in every state and community across the country have helped to build a more dynamic economy and ensure a shared prosperity for all now and in future years. Because most immigrants come to the U.S. during their prime working and reproductive years, they are likely to serve as replacements for more and more Baby Boomer retirees, filling the gaps in the workforce that are left behind. However, until agreement is reached about the status of Hispanic immigrants, these individuals will continue to deal with uncertainty about the conditions that will permit them to enter the U.S. and acquire the legal status that permits them to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities characteristic of American society.

Discussion Questions

1. What is common about the settlement of Florida and the American Southwest?  How did these areas become parts of the U.S.?
2. What is the status of Puerto Rico with respect to its relationship to the government of the U.S.?  Currently, what political rights do Puerto Ricans have to govern themselves? to participate in the governance of the U.S.?
3. What is the meaning of the phrase “a path to citizenship”?  To whom does it apply?
4. On what grounds do some organizations oppose immigration?  How do organizations that favor immigration support their position?
5. How would you describe the attempts by the Congress of the U.S. to pass legislation that would reform the way in which immigration is handled by this country?  Explain.
6. What material about immigration did you find helpful?  What more would you like to know about this topic?

Additional Resources

Timeline of Latino Americans is a summary of significant historical events contained in a landmark three-part, six-hour documentary prepared by the Public Broadcasting Service.  The list of important occurrences is portrayed in more than a dozen videos that picture events and introduce important persons.

Two websites offer more detailed information about the settlement of Hispanics in America.  The History Channel, a well-regarded factual source of entertainment, provides summaries of important events and people in Hispanic heritage.  The accounts begin with Spanish explorers in the New World in the 1500s and end with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on immigration.   Four one-minute videos of notable Hispanics (e.g., Romualdo Pacheco, the first Hispanic Congressman) are included at the end of the site (each following a short advertisement). 

As part of its collection about Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History, the Library of Congress has included a series of short discussions of Mexican involvement in the settlement of America.  The presentation is divided into eight segments that begin with the arrival of Mexicans in the 1500s and conclude with Mexican immigration in the late 20th and early 21st century.