Mason Gresh

Summative(Creative)
12/14/2014

Individuals and non-governmental/private organizations play a huge role in influencing

domestic and foreign policy. Influence starts at the local level when citizens organize
themselves to respond to issues affecting their community. While the issue of amnesty tends to
be a federal issue, immigrants and minority groups that organize on the local and state levels
can also have an impact on decision making. Ohio has an estimated 110,000 illegal immigrants
and though they legally cannot vote and most likely dont pay taxes, their growing numbers
alone will impact the policy-making of governmental entities. Private entities that favor
amnesty can organize themselves and form Political Action Committees and impact local and
state governments through organized letter writing, fundraising and supporting legislators that
support amnesty.
It is the governments responsibility to listen to individuals and private organizations
when determining public policy because ultimately that is the job of the government. It is a
government of and by the people. When individuals and non-governmental entities organize
themselves to voice their concerns about public policy, whether its foreign or domesticit is
the duty of the government to listen, evaluate and respond to those concerns accordingly.
With the issue of amnesty, it is clear that a large group of votersindividuals and
private organizations who would benefit from amnesty have made themselves heard. Federal
policy over the years has been to expand amnesty, and it appears that further expansion by
Presidential Executive Order will be happening in the near future. It seems as if only a very
small group of conservative individuals oppose this policy, so the larger group has spoken and
the President will respond, with or without the approval of Congress.