Special interest group refers to an organization or group of persons brought together based on at least one shared concerns. Their primary goal is to influence public policies to favor their interests (Clive, 2019). Various special interest groups have been giving conflict views when it comes to the issue of immigration. Immigration is an issue of significant concern in the US, considering that it is a target nation for most individuals who desire an improved living standard. The problem with immigration is the fact that it is associated with illegalities as some individuals use falsified documents to cross the US borders. The Republicans have continued to enact and enforce policies and legislation to keep the number of immigrants at their lowest in spite of their immense contribution to the US GDP. CATO Institute, a libertarian interest group that is interested in public policy research, seems to counteract Republicans' views and policies on immigration to a certain degree.
The Republican Party is a firm believer in immigration reforms and immigration laws to attain national security for the wellbeing of the citizen. In particular, this party supports the tightening of immigration laws to ensure that the illegal immigrants who get into the country do not enjoy the same benefits as the legal citizens (Mayda, Peri & Steingress, 2015). More so, the Republicans are against providing amnesty to the immigrants who break the immigration laws as this encourages illegal immigration in the future.
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CATO Institute tends to criticize the American immigration laws as they contrast with the American image as the land of immigrants. The American culture is of the idea that anybody can become an American, something that does not resonate with the immigration policies. Instead of putting up strict laws to reduce, the number of illegal immigrants, the authorities ought to ease the process of legalizing all illegal immigrants (Nowrasteh, 2019).
The Republican stance on immigration seems to match that of the CATO Institute, especially on the positive impact of the immigrants. In this case, Republicans accept the fact that immigrants have helped to enrich the US owing to their economic contributions. CATO institute who establish that the immigrants help in filling niches in the American labour market, thus complementing American workers echoes the same fact (Nowrasteh, 2019). In this regard, it is true to say that immigrants play a central role in the American economy a fact that cannot be ignored.
Looking at these similarities and differences demonstrated by the Republican Party and the CATO Institute, one can conclude that the issue of immigration is of major concern. While the immigrants contribute immensely to the US economic growth, policies and immigration laws must be followed to enhance national security. Any person wishing to become an American citizen must use the specified process and authentic documents. On the other hand, the government should not be as rigid in the immigration laws to tap into the potential of increased labor force provided by the immigrants.
References
Clive, T. S. (2019). Interest group: Political science. Encyclopaedia Britannica . Retrieved on 22 October 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/interest-group
Mayda, A. M., Peri, G., Steingress, W. (2015 ). Immigration to the U.S: A problem for the Republicans or the Democrats? Retrieved on 22 October 2019, from http://ftp.iza.org/dp9543.pdf
Nowrasteh, A. (2019, March 4). Myths and facts of immigration policy. CATO Institute. Retrieved on 22 October 2019, from https://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2019/myths-facts-immigration-policy
