Elizabeth Cohen Piece on Immigration Reform Published in Washington Post

September 30, 2021

The Washington Post

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Government

International Affairs

United States

The Washington Post

"Avoiding past mistakes is key to Congress passing immigration reform that works," written by Professor of Political Science Elizabeth Cohen, was published in the Washington Post. Cohen discusses the history of immigration reform and how the U.S. can move forward, in particular, by updating the Registry Act.

"As a consequence of misplaced anxiety about borders and undocumented immigration, the United States is home to millions of people who have lived here, often for decades, with no means of acquiring legal status or citizenship on the horizon," writes Cohen. "They are constantly ordered to 'do it the right way,' but we offer them neither visas nor a pathway to citizenship. It doesn’t have to be this way," she says. "Although the Senate Parliamentarian has rejected Democrats’ proposal to use the reconciliation bill to update the registry date from 1972, they should not be deterred from pursuing the update. The trick is to avoid the mistakes of the past."