Immigration Reform Bill Expected to Alter Population Numbers

Houston, TX (Law Firm Newswire) July 15, 2013 – The U.S. Senate has wrapped up extensive debate on the issues of immigration reform and hammering out Bill S.744.

Members of the Senate have announced that they have reached an agreement on Bill S.744, rejecting a number of amendments and adding in stricter border security requirements. “It may be that immigration will always be a hot-button topic for the United States,” stated Houston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee. “And compromise from all political parties is the way the country continues to move forward.”

Senators Bob Corker and John Hoeven along with the bipartisan “Gang of 8” which originally drafted the bill added additional border security amendments to appease the concerned Republican base. The additional measure will mean twice as many border patrol agents as planned – from 20,000 to 40,000, as well as more than 700 additional miles of border fencing. These additional amendments will add significantly to the estimated $6.5 billion border security budget. It is expected that the last-minute amendments will not be enough to turn the Democrats away from supporting the 1,000-page bill, which is now up for a Senate vote before going before the Republican-controlled House.

How will the bill affect the U.S. population? According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), 15 percent of the U.S. population will be foreign-born by 2020. The number of foreign-born individuals residing in the U.S. (both documented and undocumented) will be higher than the all-time high of 1890, when 14.8 percent of the country’s population arrived from outside the U.S. As of 2020, the 51.2 million estimated foreign-born population will have increased by more than 6 million. By 2023, there will be more than 9 million additional immigrants, or just fewer than 60 million, due to S.744.

One pressing issue the country is facing, no matter how these bills are drafted or what does or does not pass, says Banerjee, is ensuring that the influx of immigrants are able to assimilate and have a support structure in place to allow them to succeed in education, in business and in their communities.

Annie Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer specializing in helping people become United States citizens. The law offices assist in visas and other legal immigration requirements as well. To learn more, visit http://www.visatous.com.

Law Offices of Annie Banerjee
131 Brooks Street, Suite #300
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Phone: (281) 242-9139

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