Delay in Executive Action on Immigration Does Not Change GOP Culpability on Immigration Reform

Huffington Post

Executive Grants of Temporary Immigration Relief, 1956-Present

Since Congress first passed a comprehensive immigration law-the Immigration and Nationality Act-in 1952, each of the 11 subsequent presidents, from President Dwight D. Eisenhower through President Barack Obama, have used their broad executive authority to address unanticipated situations affecting foreign nationals at home and abroad. These executive actions have filled gaps in legislation by permitting certain individuals to temporarily enter or remain in the United States when it serves the nation's interests. They have protected people from specific countries-such as Hungarians and Cubans fleeing communism, Iranians fleeing revolution, Chinese nationals after the Tiananmen Square massacre, as well as Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans after a hurricane. These executive actions have also addressed individuals who share attributes or possess common equities such as spouses and children of immigrants who received legal status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and, more recently, DREAMers through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

Here are the numbers you need to know about the use of executive action to enhance the functioning of our immigration system:

39: The number of times U.S. presidents have taken executive action from 1956 through the present. 

11: The number of U.S. presidents who have taken executive action on immigration. Every single president since President Eisenhower, regardless of political party, has used administrative action to shape immigration policy. 

More than 600,000: The number of Cubans who fled the Castro regime between 1959 and 1972 and were admitted into the United States outside of the normal visa system.

1.5 million: The number of spouses and children of immigrants who had gained legal status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986 and became eligible for deferred action in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush's "Family Fairness" policy.

580,946: The number of young people who have received DACA-the two-year reprieve from deportation that also grants a work permit-since the program began in 2012.

12.7 years: The median years of residence among the unauthorized immigrant population-up from 8.6 years in 2007.

More than one in three: The amount of unauthorized adult immigrants living with their U.S. citizen children.

$44.96 billion: The increase in payroll tax revenues that would occur over the next five years if President Obama granted deferred action to unauthorized immigrants who have been in the United States for at least five years.

580,964 young people a significant boost, allowing them to use their skills and training to get better jobs, open bank accounts, apply for credit cards, pay taxes, and importantly, to work legally. A new executive action by President Obama to protect people who have been in the United States for many years and who have family ties in the country would benefit American workers and provide a much-needed boost to federal payroll tax revenue.

Only Congress can permanently fix our broken immigration system by passing immigration reform.

But when President Obama takes executive action in the coming months-which he has promised to do by the end of the year - he will be continuing a 60 year-old bipartisan tradition of using presidential authority in service our nation's immigration system.

 Philip E. Wolgin is Senior Policy Analyst for Immigration at the Center for American Progress.

Undocumented immigrant population

• The undocumented population has stayed relatively stable, after declining slightly during the Great Recession. In 2000, there were an estimated 8.4 million undocumented people residing in the United States. This population peaked in 2007 at 12 million but saw a gradual decline during the Great Recession. In 2012, an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants resided in the United States. Since then, the numbers have stabilized. By the end of 2012, there were approximately 11.2 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and that number remained constant into 2013 with 11.3 million undocumented immigrants.
• Six states are home to the majority of the undocumented population. As of 2012,22 percent of the nation's undocumented population lives in California. Fifteen percent lives in Texas, 8 percent lives in Florida, 7 percent lives in New York, 4 percent lives in Illinois, and 4 percent lives in New Jersey.
• The majority of undocumented immigrants are long-term residents, committed to living in the United States. In 2013, the median length of residence for unauthorized immigrants in the United States was 13 years, at least 5 years longer than it had been in 2003. Currently, 62 percent of undocumented immigrants have been living in the United States for 10 years or longer, and a full 88 percent have been living in the United States for five years or longer.
• Many undocumented immigrants could be sponsored for a green card but cannot adjust their status because they are presently undocumented.
  Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants could qualify for a green card by virtue of having a relative who is a U.S. citizen, but-because of bars to re-entering the United States that were put in place in 1996-most would have to leave the United States for a period of at least 10 years before becoming eligible to reunite with their families.
• Undocumented immigrants are often part of the same family as documented immigrants. 16.6 million people were in "mixed-status" families-those with at least one undocumented immigrant-in 2011.Nine million of these families had at least one U.S.-born child.
• Nearly half of the undocumented population has minor children, many of them born in the United States. In 2012, 4.7 million undocumented adults were parents of minor children, including 3.8 million whose children were U.S. citizens.
• One in five undocumented immigrant adults has a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse.
  Of the 10 million adult undocumented immigrants living in the United States in 2012, approximately 767,000 were married to a U.S. citizen and 944,000 were married to a lawful permanent resident.
• Undocumented immigrants comprise a disproportionately large percentage of the labor force relative to the size of the overall population. In 2010,8.4 million undocumented immigrants were employed in the United States. They represented 5.2 percent of the U.S. labor force, although they comprised only 3.7 percent of the U.S. population.
• Nearly half of settled undocumented immigrants are homeowners.   Among undocumented immigrants who had lived in the United States for 10 years or longer, 45 percent were homeowners in 2008. Among undocumented immigrants who had lived in the United States for less than 10 years, 27 percent were homeowners in 2008.
• More than half of the undocumented immigrant population has a high school degree or higher.
  According to a 2009 Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project study, 52 percent of undocumented immigrants have a high school diploma or higher and 15 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher.

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