It’s only been a few days since the debt ceiling deal has been passed but already discussions have started over the effect of the new bill on the different government programs. According to many social lobbyists, the debt relief act by the government is going to have a negative effect on the immigration and the refugee programs.

Debt and immigration

Before the debt ceiling deal was passed there were talks on immigration and that the lawmakers must have chosen to give up on the idea that immigration is in actuality a discretionary social policy which has been designed so that it can be adjusted so as to serve the nation’s wide national interest, and more so during the hard economic times. This kind of discretionary policy is said to be a powerful economic tool which can be of real help only if it is brought out and used.

According to the economists, the financial fix cannot be complete without the Congress demanding for increased enforcement on the illegal immigration in the nation and also for reducing the legal immigration to a sustainable level.

The economists are of the view that tightening of the immigration process would also put some pressure on the labor market. This as a result may open up job markets for the legal U.S. residents, and may also help in the reduction of the fiscal strain in the nation that both illegal and legal immigration imposes on different kinds of health care, and education and on all other kinds of social services.

So, as now the debt ceiling deal, has been passed, immigration lobbyists are of the view that it is going to have some potential repercussions on the different immigration and the refugee programs that the president have been planning to work on since last year. Though till now there are no specific consequences that can be pointed out, it is quite obvious that the immigration work will have to face some level of downgrade.

It is believed that the biggest cuts are going to come in the financial year 2013. The debt ceiling bill has authorized the conception of a kind of committee on the deficit reduction which may be given the task of finding at least $1.2 trillion in the savings over the coming 10 years. Though some of the government programs like Social Security and Medicaid may stay protected from this, other programs like budgets for the immigration services, and refugee admissions assistance are still unprotected from this trigger.