Fixing Our Broken Immigration System Through Executive Action – Key Facts

Am I correct in thinking that this doesn't amount to anything big for H-1B holders who are seeking a green card? It will speed up the application process initially, those who were waiting along time will get their Green Card faster, but then it'll grind to halt until the following years quota comes into play. Am I missing something?

those r and f are malformed. using firefox latest on win7.

is this a webfont or a css3 bug ?

I think immigration systems are inherently broken. Free movement is a basic freedom. The right to take employment is a basic right. All compromises that make these rights and freedoms subservient to an immigration policy are inherently broken by the standards I consider moral.

Add to that the fact that many of the focuses on the problem with immigrants are xenophobic at their core, whether obvious or not.

This isn't just a theoretical objection, we can see the basic compromises at a high level poisoning everything.

Take "migrant workers" as a category. Their right to be present is inherently linked to employment. This gives their employer a kind of power over them that is inconsistent with liberal democratic civil rights. They don't vote. Aren't represented. Take this to an extreme and we end up with something like the gulf states, societies where migrant workers are the majority and have their rights limited in ways that harken to Ancient slave-citizen societies.

Thee's an old cliche that 'freedom is indivisible.' It's crude, but I think there's a lot to it. Once freedom of movement is limited, it can be negotiated. Those granted permission do so are asked to forfeit rights or they immigrate illegally and forfeit rights. In either case we end up with societies where not everyone has the same rights. The lack of freedom permeates.

I really do hope that eventually we will be in a world where freedom of movement is a universal human right.

The issue here is that this change will damage the job prospects of the underemployed and poor that are already here and divert resources aimed at helping them. We are basically importing a new underclass in many cases which unless there is work for them means they many get sucked into the criminal world, exploited and generally worse off. Why do I say underclass, because most will not be eligible for assistance.

Freedom comes with responsibility, to yourself and those whom live around you. There are many things wrong in our immigration policy, the fees alone are silly. However executive actions may not be the best route. It is a pure political play of a man whose actions were timed to after an election and after he lost support of the Senate. If he was so concerned he would have done it his first two years in office.

As to the benefits and why each element is good or bad, the information at http://www.cato.org/blog/obamas-immigration-executive-order-... is invaluable.