Immigration reform 2017: The good and the not-so-good plans for the year

(Reuters/ Mike Segar)With Donald Trump as the new president, immigration reform is going to be different this year.

With a new president on the seat of power, it comes as no surprise that there will be a few changes that will happen depending on one's advocacies, and it has been clear since day 1 that immigration is one of the hottest topics. There are, however, pros and cons to the matter of how it is being viewed.

On the positive side, it looks like immigration reform is turning for a stricter yet fairer turn. According to Kuer, Republican Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz has introduced two new bills this week that aim to provide a clearer and more comprehensive view of immigration.

The first bill revolves around granting asylum status, which he thinks needs to have clearer criteria. "There's no way you can look at the metrics of the people that are claiming asylum. It's just being abused," he explained. Having clear-cut requirements would make the status more reliable and foolproof.

The second one deals with how the High Skilled Immigrants Act is implemented. Instead of doing it on a set number for each country, he wants it to be on a first-come, first-served basis. "So if you're from India or China or Mexico, we often bump up against this cap literally within the first few days of a calendar year," Chaffetz further illustrates.

Another brilliant idea on immigration is how it can be balanced to also influence the economy and agriculture specifically. According to Tom Hertz, economist at the USDA's Economic Research Service, striking a balance when it comes to immigration can impact farm labor costs, thus it needs to be looked into properly, Wisconsin State Farmer has learned.

There is a rather uncomfortable turn, though, with the said topic. As per Salon, it looks like president-elect Donald Trump will not hesitate to throw Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrants out of the country. It poses a moral and legal dilemma, which is why it is a matter that needs to be studied thoroughly before it is enacted abrasively.

What's for sure is that 2017 will be different when it comes to immigration, and hopefully a good one at that.

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