Introduction
A policy is an official statement or set of statements used to define how particular issues are to be tackled by stakeholders. A policy gives a framework within which individuals, private and public institutions may carry out their activities. A policy comes into focus when decisions are being made.
It has been used mostly by government institutions to achieve objectives of national interest. This paper focuses on both domestic and immigration policies.
Domestic Climate Policy Framework
Climate change has serious negative implications to both economic and social development within the country (Weiss, 2010). It is therefore important that domestic policy makers should come up with a mechanism to incorporate the Domestic Climate Policy Framework into widely accepted environmental policy. In order to achieve this, policy makers should pay attention to the argument of elite theory (Dalton & Klingermann, 2007).
Elite theory is a theory of the state whose main theme is to explicate the relation of power within the modern society. According to the theory, a significant amount of power is held by networks of policy planners and economic elite members; the elite group consists of minority members who have a significant influence in the way policies are formulated in the United States.
The power they hold is independent of state and is not subject to democratic process of elections. Therefore, policy makers should involve these elite members if Domestic Climate Policy Framework is to be successfully incorporated into a widely accepted environmental policy.
For instance, the elite members run multimillion dollars businesses. As such, they have their own climate or environmental policies which they definitely consider to be cost effective for them; involving them will give them the opportunity to present their views. Hence, the policy makers should ensure that the elite members’ business interests are taken into consideration.
This can best be achieved by allowing them to play a major role in the process of policy formulation and incorporation with other policies. Another instance is that the elite members have financial powers and are able to fund various policy networks to their own advantage.
It is therefore in order to involve them in the incorporation of the Domestic Climate Policy into a widely accepted environmental policy so as to get their full support.
Immigration Policy
Dye’s argument that the success of immigration reform in the United States has been partially successful is right (Dye, 2010). It is important to note that immigration has contributed to the diversification of the United States’ culture. It has also increased the population of the United States.
However, the government’s immigration policy has not been sustainable. This endangers the United States’ economy, diplomacy and security. The current immigration reform has a gap that has been utilized by illegal immigrants to the detriment of American citizens.
National security is important when it comes to the formulation of immigration policies (Thangasamy, 2007).Therefore, policy makers need to keep in mind the national security when formulating every immigration policy.
This is because weak and ineffective immigration policy has the potential to allow illegal immigrants with dangerous antisocial ideologies into the United States. This may compromise national security. For instance, the terrorist attack on the United States’ soil in 2001 was suspected to have been masterminded by foreign immigrants.
Besides, there are individuals living in the United States without proper legal documentation. This has the potential to jeopardize the dreams and freedom of children parented by such people.
The policy makers should therefore pay critical attention to children whose presence in the United States was due to their parents’ decision and not their own; in other words, the immigration policy should not make innocent children suffer from the sins of their parents. Otherwise, the United States may compromise its status as a democratic state.
The policy makers should also focus on immigration policies of other allies of the United States. This will save the United States the possible diplomatic fallout due to misunderstandings which may be attributed to conflicting immigration policies.
Conclusion
Both domestic and immigration policies are good for the United States. Policy makers should ensure that all the elite members in the United States are involved in the process of incorporating Domestic Climate Policy Framework into a widely accepted environmental policy. Besides, the argument by Dye (2010) that the success of immigration reform in the United States has been partially successful is true.
The reform has not addressed the gaps used by illegal immigrants to get into the United States. Therefore, the policy makers should have in mind the nation’s security when formulating immigration policy. This should also apply to innocent children who could not control their immigration to the United States.
References
Dalton, R. & Klingermann, H. (2007). Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks Online.
Dye, T.R. (2010). Understanding Public Policy. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Thangasamy, A. (2007). Explaining Policy Making for Undocumented Immigrants in the United States. Cambridge: ProQuest.
Weiss, J. (2010). The Economics of Industrial Development. New York: Taylor & Francis.