Immigration reform – just part of America's new dream

Peter Aldhous, San Francisco bureau chief

After an election in which Hispanic voters arguably delivered a second term to President Barack Obama, it was clear that leaders of both major political parties were going to start thinking about comprehensive immigration reform - long a priority for the nation's growing Latino population.

First out of the gate this week was a bipartisan group of senators dubbed the "gang of eight", with a plan that would give legal status to some 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the US, but also demand payment of back taxes. Obama weighed in the next day, suggesting he wanted legal status granted to existing immigrants "from the outset" - exposing a potential rift with the senators, who want to delay reform until stricter border controls are put in place

Whether any plan will pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives remains unclear.

As New Scientist explained last September, though, achieving legal status is just one hurdle facing US Hispanics - huge disparities exist in income, family wealth and educational opportunities.

If those gaps aren't narrowed, warn leading demographers and social scientists, the nation as a whole will face some tough challenges retaining its economic and technological edge in the coming decades.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/28181abf/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A130C0A10Cus0Eimmigration0Ereform0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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