Abstract

The debate about immigration reform in the U.S. posses a huge challenge in one of the most diverse countries in the world. With a history of immigration that goes back to pre-historic times, the U.S. is currently confronting the most difficult challenge to its long-time tradition of welcoming immigrants. With an estimated of more than 12 million people (the size of the populations of countries like Belgium and Ecuador) living and working in the country illegally, two distinct points of view have emerged as solution to the problem: a) to discourage the illegal status quo of undocumented aliens (through attrition, deportation, penalization of employers, etc.); and b) an immigration reform that seeks to legalize the status of the undocumented workers and their families. The first point of view is heavily influenced by the legal tradition of the country (rule of law). The second point of view is heavily influenced by economic realities created by the U.S. labor market. This paper will explore these two points of view that were amply debated in the U.S. Congress and the media during the last two years.