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The Candidates
It has been known for some time that John McCain is the Republican presidential nominee for 2008. Currently the senior Arizona senator, McCain is known to many Americans as a war hero due to his service in the Navy during the Vietnam War. In 1967, he was captured by the North Vietnamese, and he remained a prisoner of war for five and a half years.
McCain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, and then to the Senate 1986. His political career has been defined in large part by his willingness to reach across party lines on key issues like immigration and campaign finance reform, giving him a reputation as a maverick and substantial nonpartisan appeal. When he announced his candidacy in 2007, McCain said he was “not running for President to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things, not the easy and needless things.” This attitude is illustrated particularly well in his resilience in his campaign as late as August 2007, when, because of lack of funds and support on his campaign trail, he carried his own luggage through the Manchester airport and asked his local top aides to drive him to his hotel. His status as a former underdog, and now a “comeback kid,” is one of many factors that won him the 2008 nomination.
On Tuesday evening of this week, it became clear that the Democratic presidential nominee for 2008 will be Barack Obama. Obama’s nomination is itself remarkable, as it is the first time in history that an African American candidate has been nominated by a major party. Obama’s father came to the United States from Kenya for his education and later returned to work for the Kenyan government, leaving Obama to be raised by his mother and stepfather. He graduated from Columbia University and became the first African American president of Harvard Law Review at Harvard Law School.
Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 and the U.S. Senate in 2004. Like his Republican opponent, Obama is seen as a figure of unity who attracts nonpartisan support. In his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, Obama said, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America.” This theme, along with his promise to bring change to the country and his slogan of “yes, we can,” has inspired many American voters throughout his presidential campaign.
Their Views on Immigration
Now that both nominees have been chosen, we imagine our clients and readers may be wondering about these two candidates’ stances on immigration. Illegal immigration, of course, has been a prominent issue in the presidential race so far. However, the issues that apply more directly to our clients and readers—that is, those that surround legal immigration—have not been focused on. Therefore, we have compiled some information about the views of both candidates on these issues as well.
We would like to note that—largely because of the scarcity of information about some of these issues—the summaries we will present in this article may not be completely accurate representations of the candidates’ viewpoints or plans. Also, there is some further ambiguity with both of these candidates because, in the case of Obama, his voting record is relatively short, and in the case of McCain, his views seem to have shifted recently. Therefore, we encourage our clients and readers to stay on the lookout for further information about the candidates views regarding legal immigration in particular, and assure them that we will continue to provide updates as relevant information emerges.
Illegal Immigration
Although it does not apply to many of our clients, illegal immigration is still a central issue in this election, and therefore, we want to provide a brief summary of the candidates’ stances on it:
McCain
McCain has been a key participant in the push for immigration reform. He has cosponsored multiple immigration-reform bills, including the failed bill from last year, which included provisions such as a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. McCain also supported a border fence between the United States and Mexico.
However, McCain has since stated that he wouldn’t vote for his own bill if it came to a vote in the Senate today, because “we know what the situation is today: the people want the border secured first.” Throughout his presidential campaign, he has continued to emphasize the need for border security as a top priority.
Obama
Obama supported McCain’s immigration-reform bill and currently maintains a similar position. He is in favor of a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. He too voted for a border fence between the United States and Mexico, although he has recently been de-emphasizing his support for it.
The H-1B Quota
The H-1B quota is a divisive issue for many Americans and immigrants alike. Currently, the demand for H-1B visas far exceeds the supply (annual H-1B visas are capped at 65,000 for the private sector plus 20,000 reserved for aliens holding an American master’s and above degree), and the high-tech industry in particular continues to push for an increase in the quota. However, some American high-tech workers and engineers, joined most prominently by journalist Lou Dobbs, have spoken out in opposition of H-1B visas, claiming that they harm American workers (you can find more information about the H-1B controversy here).
Both candidates seem to be in favor of increasing the H-1B quota, at least temporarily:
McCain
McCain has in the past been in favor of raising the H-1B quota. He has said that he “will continue to support H-1B visas,” and in 1998, he voted in favor of the American Competitiveness Act, which temporarily increased the H-1B quota for fiscal years 1998-2000.
Obama
In an interview on the website TechCrunch, Obama stated his support for an increase in the H-1B quota “as a stopgap measure until we can reform our immigration system comprehensively.”
FBI Background Checks, the Visa Backlog, and Other Issues
One issue of concern to many of our clients is how long many immigrants must wait for green cards, largely because of the lengthy FBI background checks and the extensive visa backlog. Although it is difficult to gauge the candidates’ exact positions on this issues, we can find some clues in statements they have made:
McCain
The language on the immigration section of McCain’s campaign website suggests that he is in favor of increasing the accessibility of American businesses to skilled immigrant workers. He says he wants “to recognize the importance of pro-growth policies . . . so American businesses can hire and pay the best” and “recognize the importance of a flexible labor market . . . [that] should provide skilled Americans and immigrants with opportunity.”
McCain’s voting record and past efforts for immigration reform align with this viewpoint. He has in the past supported measures that are favorable to immigrants, such as the increase in the H-1B quota mentioned above. However, considering some of his recent remarks about his own immigration bill, it is difficult to identify his present views with complete certainty.
Obama
Although Obama has a shorter voting record than McCain, he has provided more detailed information about his plan to fix what he calls “our broken immigration system.” On the immigration section of his official campaign website, he says that “the immigration bureaucracy is broken and overwhelmed, forcing legal immigrants to wait years for applications” and states outright that he wants to “increase the number of legal immigrants” to the United States.
More specifically, Obama has indicated his dissatisfaction with aspects of the immigration system that negatively affect many aliens, such as high filing fees and delays caused by FBI background checks. In 2007, Obama co-sponsored a bill (the Citizenship Promotion Act) that opposed fee increases for naturalization applications. He also introduced legislation “to improve the speed and accuracy of FBI background checks.” Obama has also supported other measures that are favorable to immigrants, such as providing social services to noncitizens.
Conclusion
In general, both presidential candidates seem to hold views that are favorable to immigrants. Although there are some questions about Obama’s specific views due to his shorter voting record, he has discussed his opinions in more specific terms, which eliminates some ambiguity. Also, even though Hillary Clinton is no longer a presidential candidate, there is still a possibility of her joining the Obama ticket as his vice-presidential candidate, which, given Clinton’s history of pushing for immigration reform, might make his policies more favorable to immigrants. Conversely, McCain’s record of pushing for immigration reform is well documented, but his recent remarks cast some doubt on his future policy decisions.
For more information about the candidates’ views on immigration, you can visit the following links:
McCain
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/68db8157-d301-4e22-baf7-a70dd8416efa.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/John_McCain_Immigration.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8WNuoKxr3wObama
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/
http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Barack_Obama_Immigration.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiUzJB3nagw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M34KKaczvKg
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government/John-McCain-A-Republican-Tech-Record/
http://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_1998-141.htm
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/pdf/ImmigrationFactSheet.pdf
http://obama.senate.gov/press/070307-obama_gutierrez/index.php
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/–
Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients nationwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.
At Zhang & Associates, P.C., not only are we dedicated to our clients, but we also advocate for legal immigrants’ rights and benefits. We bring the issues related to legal immigrants to the public and lobby lawmakers to address them. We believe in the American democratic process and are working hard to bring about a better immigration system. Please visit our homepage to learn more about our immigration advocacy.
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