The Challenges of Immigration in the 2016 Election and Beyond

Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, substituting for the scheduled presenter, offered a "reality check" on U.S. immigration ahead of the November 2016 election. He walked through visa backlogs, the 1996 IIRIRA law, record deportations and detention under Bush and Obama, for-profit detention contractors, DACA and the stalled DAPA litigation, and the contrasting party platforms. He noted that Champaign County's sheriff did not cooperate with ICE, crediting the Champaign-Urbana Immigration Forum. About 15 minutes of audience Q&A followed.