2016 Candidates Stance on Immigration—Hillary Clinton
Lost Presidential Election
Official Immigration Plan
America needs comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. | Official Candidate Website
FAIR’s Analysis
FAIR offers the following analysis on five key immigration issues: amnesty; legal immigration; border security; interior enforcement; and taxpayer benefits to illegal aliens.
Amnesty
The core of Clinton’s immigration plan is mass amnesty for the 12 million illegal aliens in the country. According to the plan, Clinton supports “comprehensive” immigration reform that provides a “full and equal path to citizenship” and “brings millions of hardworking people into the formal economy.” Clinton’s plan contains no mention of the criteria for amnesty or the factors—if any—that would disqualify an illegal alien. In the absence of legislation, Clinton vows to take extensive executive action to protect illegal aliens from removal. First, she promises to “defend” President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty programs. Additionally, Clinton would grant deferred action to other illegal aliens with a “history of service and contribution to their communities.”
Legal Immigration
Clinton’s plan does not indicate the level of legal immigration she supports but does claim that immigrants have “spurred economic growth” and “fueled innovation.” Currently, the U.S. issues 1 million new green cards per year and admits hundreds of thousands of temporary guest workers annually. While the U.S. continues to admit record numbers of immigrants every year, the workforce participation rate is at a historically low level and wages have been stagnant for at least a decade.
Border Security
Remarkably, Clinton’s plan—which only has six points—lacks any provisions on border security or ways to deter future illegal immigration.
Interior Enforcement
Clinton wants to significantly reduce interior enforcement, saying she will only focus resources on “detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety….” Additionally, she wants to end detention of unaccompanied alien minors and family units even though recent data shows these individuals overwhelmingly fail to appear at their immigration court hearings. Finally, she wants to close privately-run immigration detention centers.
Taxpayer Benefits to Illegal Aliens
Clinton’s plan calls for making illegal aliens eligible to participate in the healthcare exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Even though excluding illegal aliens—including DACA beneficiaries—from Obamacare was a key provision in passing the law, Clinton believes that everyone, “regardless of immigration status,” should be able to purchase health insurance through the exchanges.