WASHINGTON: As Americans go to the polls on Tuesday (Nov 4) to choose their elected officials at the mid-term elections, reform of the broken immigration system remains an unfinished item on the agenda.
Two years ago, a bipartisan group of US Senators proposed legislation to address the estimated 11 million people living in the United States without proper documentation. It is an issue motivating a variety of American voters, starting with the Latino community. Latino voters have spoken out, demonstrated and even been arrested in their attempts to convince the US Congress that America's immigration laws must be reformed and updated.
"I'll be really looking carefully at who I'm gonna be passing my vote to because immigration reform is something that affects our Latino community directly and myself. And I'll be looking carefully for whom I'm gonna vote in terms of immigration reform, and which candidate is really going to compromise so they can finalise this process, said Rosalia Fajardo, a voter.
Brent Wilkes, from the League of United Latin American Citizens, said: "I think that Latinos see immigration as something that is very specific to their communities and that they take personally, and when people are insulting about immigrants or immigration like the way politicians often have in this country, they take it personally. And I think its a very important part of what's on their minds as Latinos go to the polls this November."
But immigration reform would not just impact America's large Latino community. Asia and especially India takes a special interest in the issue due to their ties to the booming Silicon Valley - and there are just not enough engineers to write computer and software code. "Companies are always complaining that they can't find enough qualified candidates to do the jobs that they need to get done here. So, the easiest way to do that is to look around the world - its a global workforce, said Professor Madhu Rao, Chair of the Department of Management in Seattle University.
The problem in America is that tech workers need a special visa - the H1B - to come to the US, and only about 65,000 are available each year. "But that's actually a very small number compared to what the industry needs, so right now that is a big constraint. So, we're pulling in maybe half of that from India, said Professor Rao.
One problem is that the H1-B visas are so valuable to tech workers outside the United States, some of the workers come to America only to be defrauded and treated poorly. Another problem is that for employers who want to do the right thing, the current immigration system is so complex that the H1-B visa process is not worth the trouble.
Matthew Allen from tech recruitment company Vertical Move, said: "We work with a lot of small companies that want to want to hire these people but cost is a significant issue for them, they just don't want to make the investments in dealing with immigration law. And many companies don't know how to get around and navigate in dealing with H1Bs or even green cards. So really, it just comes down to politics and the complexities of the immigration system."
For voters, immigration reform sometimes makes the top five of issues most important to them. But for campaigners, it is clear that the time has come because so many have a stake in the outcome.
Jorge Lima from The LIBRE Initiative, said: "We definitely are at a point where immigration reform cannot be ignored. I mean the community wants it, there's a huge broad coalition even outside of the Hispanic community, business owners, the religious community are all coming together, and even the tech industry is coming together and saying there is a need for this immigration reform. So I don't think its possible for the White House or the Congress to ignore it.
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US voters hope for immigration system reform