chAPTER ThiRTEEn • DomEsTic AnD Economic Policy 305
concentrated instead on border security and rounding up deportable persons. In fact, in
Obama’s first term, his administration deported 1.5 million illegal immigrants, an all-time
record.
The resulting Latino dissatisfaction with the administration raised the question of
whether Hispanics would turn out and vote for Democratic candidates in forthcoming
elections. The 2012 Republican presidential candidates, however, took a hard line against
illegal immigration. Also, in June 2012, Obama announced a new policy under which
immigration authorities would suspend deportations of unauthorized immigrants who
were brought into the country as children and who were not otherwise in trouble with
the law. In the end, Latinos and Asian Americans turned out for the Democrats in large
numbers during the 2012 elections.The Republican Turn on immigration. Clearly, the Republicans would be better off
in the future if they could increase their support among immigrants, a growing share
of the population. Indeed, following the elections, a substantial number of Republicans
announced that they were adjusting their position on immigration and were now open
to change. For the first time in years, immigration reform seemed possible. Proposals
announced by a bipartisan group of senators would regularize the status of the 11 million
unauthorized immigrants and open up a long-term path to citizenship. New possibilities
for legal immigration would be available, especially for farmworkers and those with high-
tech skills. The plans also called for even greater efforts to guarantee border security.EnERgy AnD ThE EnviRonmEnT
A major part of President Obama’s legislative agenda has been directed at energy and
environmental issues. Energy policy addresses two major problems: (1) America’s reliance
on foreign oil, much of which is produced by unfriendly regimes, and (2) global warming
purportedly caused by increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse
gases.Energy independence—A strategic issue
As of early 2013, America imported just under 40 percent of the petroleum it con-
sumed. We relied on foreign oil much more heavily only a few years ago. In 2006, almost
60 percent of our oil came from abroad. More than one-third of U.S. imports come from
two friendly neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Still, the world’s largest oil exporters include
nations that are not our friends. Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, after
Saudi Arabia. Other major exporters include Venezuela and Iran, both openly hostile to
the United States.
While the United States is far from attaining the goal of energy independence, the
nation has taken significant steps in that direction. What changes were responsible for this
turnaround?high Prices and new Production. If the price of a commodity goes up, producers of
that commodity have an incentive to produce more of it. The price of gasoline has certainly
risen in recent years. In the summer of 2008, the price of gasoline exceeded $4 for the first
time. The price has fluctuated since but remains high. Clearly, petroleum producers had an
incentive to extract more crude oil, if possible. The question was, could they?
Some experts doubted that enough new oil could be extracted to keep prices from
rising indefinitely. They underestimated the impact of increased applications of technologyLO3: Evaluate how the nation
has reacted to high oil prices
and the controversy over global
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