Republicans are blocking immigration reform. They are blocking immigration reform because they do not want certain “undesirable’ people integrating themselves into our nation. America’s immigration system has been a reoccurring point of contention over the past twenty years. Comprehensive immigration reform is needed, yet Republicans are hesitant to get on board with implementing any effective change.  As the senate continues to pass reform bills, John Boehner, current Speaker of the House, continues to turn a blind eye. In an effort to appease the conservative base, the GOP has distanced themselves from immigration reform-thereby disillusioning Latino voters who once strongly supported the Bush Administration in 2004. Reform is needed because the immigrant community brings valuable assets to our nation. We often overlook this.  Immigrants bring a set of new vocational skills in the labor pool and diversify our country in terms of culture and race. However, the entry of undocumented workers into the United States has created a convoluted and ineffective system. Long term reform is necessary to make legal immigration more accessible to a range of people. Over the past 20 years, immigrants have flocked to the United States in huge numbers. Because of the United States’ recent economic recession coupled with an influx of over 290,000 extra people each year, tensions have a risen about how to take care of our own citizens while simultaneously making space for others. Regardless of the immigrant group, the push/pull factors leading to migration remain the same-present discomfort in their home country leads individuals to seek better opportunities in America. Immigrants are motivated by the idea of the American Dream. As Americans, we enjoy privileges that are absent in many other countries-a generally sound economy and stable government, for instance. We often take advantage of these basic benefits that are not available to many migrant groups. Although we are globally recognized for our unity, diversity and abundance of economic opportunity, when those less fortunate come to seek what we have, some of us protest. We are angry that they don’t conform to our culture standards. We complain that they are taking large bites out of our economic and social services, yet we exacerbate the situation by taking advantage of their cheap labor. In turn, there is ambiguity among the foreign-born about integrating into the new culture. For instance, immigrants want to maintain their cultural values while still being accepted in the United States. Inevitably, this leads to conflict. The tensions between immigrants and the native population have been aggravated by Congress’ lack of decisiveness in creating a national policy.  Lack of a sound national policy has fed American resentment towards immigrant groups. We need to eliminate the difficulties immigrants face in attaining the American Dream. Reform or overhaul of policy is long overdue. The only action that our government has taken is stressing the importance of national security without addressing the issue of why immigrants are coming and how to help them assimilate. Our federal government has created heavy border enforcement, which adds to the danger and conflict immigrants have to face when entering the country. Instead of implementing an effective federal policy, the government tightens border control to keep out all those who are hungry for the American Dream. It is unbelievable that the U.S. government appears to be more concerned with keeping people out than helping immigrants find their footing in society. As a nation, we are hesitant to extend the American Dream to the immigrant population. Have we forgotten that almost all of us were immigrants at some point? Our country was built on the influx of immigrants. As a nation, we benefit from the diversity that immigrants bring when they enter the workforce. However, if immigration proceeds in usual fashion, our population will overload to a breaking point, especially in a recovering economy. We will continue to build walls and ignore the issue at hand. There will always be people that will criticize all immigrants as a liability to our nation’s growth. Regardless, immigrants will continue to come. When examining the ongoing problem of immigration, it is important to remember that immigrants are coming here because they seek the land of opportunity-they seek to capture the American Dream. We should not pick and choose desirable candidates for citizenship. Rather, we should attend to immigration reform in a way that everyone-day laborers and farmers alike-are able to chase the American Dream. Congress has an opportunity to act. Congress has an opportunity to bring about monumental change to make immigration accessible to everyone. Republicans-and many others-are afraid to promote immigration reform not because they are anti-immigration, but because they fear what would happen if they extended the American Dream to everyone.