IMMIGRATION BILLS
CURRENTLY PROPOSED IN SENATE

Presentation Notes – 2/15/06 – Marc S. Salisch

INTRODUCTION

There are currently three bills introduced in the Senate

I’ll briefly comment on two and talk in some detail about one.

A COMMENT – what is introduced can have little similarity to what comes out of Committee or what is finally passed by the Senate

What finally comes out of House/Senate Conference will most likely be quite different from the proposed Senate bills and some of us hope different than one Barry just described

I’ll hold most of evaluative comments for the question and answer session

Cornyn (R/Texas) & Kyle (R Arizona ) –
THE COMPREHENSIVE ENFORCEMENT & IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT

• 5 billion for enforcement technology
• 10,000 additional immigration agents to focus on employment of non-documented aliens
• Machine readable tamper proof Social Security cards
• Guest Worker program – 2 year contract but renewable to a total of 6 years

Can bring family to US for 30 days per year

• No opportunity for immigration visa

Hagel (R Neb.) & Spector (R. PA)

Similar to the proposal that I will now describe in some detail

The proposed legislation that I will discuss in detail .

• Proposed by Senators McCain ( R. Ariz) & Kennedy (D. Mass) & entitled SECURE AMERICA & ORDERLY IMMIGRATION ACT

YOU MAY FIRST ASK THE QUESTION - WHY FOCUS ON THIS PROPOSAL?

• Support on both sides of the aisle
• Strong support from unions, churches and impacted ethic group
• Lack of substantial opposition from the business sector

Proposed legislation is both long (150 pages) and highly technical dealing with correcting or modifying both the language & intent of earlier laws & agency policies & practices especially regarding the role of Home Land Security which now includes the Immigration and Border Patrol

FIRST LETS LOOK AT THE FIRST HALF OF THE TITLE - SECURE AMERICA (SECURITY)  

• Two of ten titles 19 0f 150 pages
• WARNING – The Titles of proposed legislation may have little to with its actual intent
• Instructs Homeland Security to develop a Strategic Plan for border security and interior enforcement and report back to congress in a year
• Provides up to $950 million annually to reimburse state and local government units (counties & cities) for the cost of incarcerating criminal aliens
• Included in Title 10 – Miscellaneous (Possibly hidden) is the most important security provision – the CIA can annually obtain US citizenship for up to 3,500 foreign nationals and their families who have helped in finding weapons of mass destruction –

I hope that this makes all of us feel more secure.

NOW ALLOW ME TO DEAL WITH THE REAL SUBSTANCE OF THIS PROPOSAL

ORDERLY IMMIGRATION - 7 of the 10 titles (sections) Over 100 of the 150 pages

I will briefly analyze 4 areas in the proposal:

THREE MAJOR ACTIONS PROPOSALS

• Guest Worker Program
• For migrants in US illegally Amnesty - That’s my term - No where in this document is that term used
• Correction of some of the more aggressive inequalities and abuses in current immigration law and practices

A FOURTH AREA THAT DEALS SPECIFICALLY WITH MEXICO

• THE CAUSES OF MIGRATION
• OUTLINES ACTIONS TO DEAL WITH THESE CAUSES AND
• IDENTIFIES AN EXISTING ENTITY FOR THE US & MEXICAN TO WORK TOGETHER TO RESOLVE THEM

ESTABLISHES ESSENTIAL WORKER VISA PROGRAM –

Title III – 35 of 150 pages

In English - Guest workers In Immigration Shorthand – H-5A Immigrants

The major provisions –

• Must have job in US to get Visa
• Term 3 years with additional three years (Total 6 years)
• No access to permanent residence status
• Can be unemployed for up to 45 consecutive days – Can change jobs and thus reduces ability of employer to take advantage of guest worker
• Changed $500 fee + processing costs to apply
• Can go home & return to US
• Employers must adhere to all work site rules and regulations - Worker protection under OSHA, fair labor standards etc. and same pay & benefits as US employees – no special enforcement provisions
• Can include aliens already in US on legal visa status
• Regulates recruiters & foreign labor contractors , protects workers, & provides enforcement & legal remedies – fines up to $35,000 per worker & up to 6 months in prison – Labor contractors and recruiters were a major source of abuse in previous guest worker programs

• Numbers
• 400,000 but can be increased to maximum of 500,000, if employer demand justifies
• Flexibility to move quotas between and among countries, if quota not filled
• Initial quotas is 50,000 per qualifying country

The 2 nd Major Program Thrust - Entitled – H-5B NON IMMIGRANTS
TITLE VII

Deals with a non-acceptable word Amnesty –which is never used in the proposed legislation  

Unauthorized aliens living in US can become non-immigrants

Changed from illegal resident aliens (no status under the law) to a new status non-immigrants

These non-documented alien residents in US are:

• Now legal resident aliens
• Spouses & children are included
• Stay for up to 6 years in this status
• Can work
• Protected from Homeland security changing their status

To achieve the status of a non-immigrant an undocumented (illegal) alien resident:

• Must not be in US legally
• Must apply for this status change
• Must be currently living in US
• Must not be currently eligible for a green card (alien resident Status)
• Must be employed or a full-time high school or post secondary student
• Must pay fees and a $1,000 fine

During these 6 years they can change status from non-immigrant H-5B to a lawful permanent alien resident (green card)

• Includes spouse and children
• Most important no numerical limit

To achieve this status change to a permanent resident alien they:

• Must be employed or full-time high school or post-secondary student
• Must pay an applications fees and another $1,000 fine
• Must pass a medical examination
• Must pass a security & law enforcement check
• Must have paid their income tax
• Must demonstrate basic citizenship skills:
• Understand English
• Knowledge & understanding of US history and government
• A personal note - When my wife took this exam having previously earned a Masters Degree in the US & taught in US for 20 years - she was prompted by the examining officer when she didn’t know the number of justices on the Supreme Court

As a permanent resident alien

• They can stay and work in US indefinitely except for jobs requiring US citizenship
• Live outside US and work here as do many Mexicans living in border areas
• Apply for US citizenship
• In addition, in many countries they can also retain their original citizenship

3 rd Major Area– Deals WITH SOME OF the Most Egregious Abuses, Inadequacies & Inequities in current immigration Law, Policies & Practices & SOME LESS SERIOUS ONES

I would like to highlight seven of these proposed changes:

• Rights of abused spouses & children –
• Currently a legal immigrant’s spouses & children can be lose their right to remain in the US, if the relationship with the spouse or changes or legal immigrant or visa holder no longer wants them in the US
• Abused children and spouses of legal or non-immigrant (H-5B) can get legal status on their own under this proposed law change

• Liberalization of citizenship opportunities for widows, separated or divorced spouses –
• Especially due to family violence, but not limited to that
• Allowed to remain in country
• Can achieve legal status on their own

• Increased opportunity to achieve family unity & reduce backlog of approved applicants due to quota limits –
• Currently some countries have backlogs of family members approved for family reunification as long as 10 or more years
• Family reunion quota is increased to 480,000 annually
• Aliens admitted annually for employment (typically highly skilled positions that can not be filled with US nationals) increased to 290,000
• NOTE; Has nothing to do with proposed guest worker program
• Individual country maximum quotas increased from 7% to 10%
• Minimum quota increased from 2% to 5%
• Currently many countries fail to fill their quotas while other are over subscribed

• Regulation of Providers of Immigrant Assistance
• A major area of fraud as aliens try to change their status, deal with paperwork problem or appeal ruling against them
• These unregulated providers too often charge high fees and provide little or no services or services that are available free or at minimal cost
• Legal immigration assistance would be provided by
• Lawyers
• Supervised law students
• Attorney’s in the alien’s home country
• Foreign counselor representatives
• Recognized non-profits organization including specialixed immigration agencies, secular human service organization, ethnic and religious ones
• Friends & relatives who can not charge for services and have a previous relationship
• Regulation of labor contractors & recruiter

• Past guest worker programs have had 3 rd parties (worker contractors & recruiters) charging excessive fees, providing substandard housing at high prices, collecting and withholding pay and numerous other abuses
• Must register, be approved and subject to fines of up to $35,000 per violation, revocation of status and imprisonment for a variety of abuses

• Improved Record Keeping
• Entitled Enforcement Title VI
• Computerize records
• Upgrade record keeping process
• Integrate records of agencies dealing with admission of aliens to US

• Promoting Access To Health Care
• Reimburses states for money provided by states to reimburse hospitals for emergency (NOTE: Emergency only) health care services to uncovered immigrants as an amendment to the Medicare Act
• Authorizes study of bi-national health and insurance coverage for aliens employed in US and their families (Aliens from Mexico & families working in US could get covered treatment in Mexico )

• Preventing Employer Abuse of Alien Employees
• Required to comply with regulation regarding employment of aliens
• Must meet all workplace requirements
• Treat aliens same as other employees – pay, benefits, etc.
• Increase maximum fine from $10,000 to $20,000
• Increase minimum fine from $250 to $500
• NOTE: Few if any fines levied on employers in last five years, so increase may be academic

TITLE V – PROMOTING CIRCULAR MIGRATION PATTERNS

This is the only part of McCain-Kennedy that deals with the special US Mexican relationship

While the Title deals with countries with large numbers of workers in the proposed guest worker, it clearly identifies the problems and needs of Mexico

ONE SECTION – Titled:

BILATERAL EFFORTS WITH MEXICO
TO REDUCE MIGRATION PRESSURES AND COSTS

RECOGNIZES

• The lack of economic opportunity in Mexico is cause of migration
• Importance of remittances for the Mexican economy

(NOTE: About $20 billion in 2005 – second largest source of foreign income & growing 21% increase over 2004)

• Factors inhibiting economic growth in Mexico :
• Extra legal assets – informal economy – income not taxed NOTE: Mexico has one of the lowest % of GNP collected in income taxes in the world)
• Limited access to capital for farmers, most businesses and individuals
• Two agreements to address these & other problems
• Partnership For Prosperity 2001 - US & Mexico
• Security & Prosperity Partnership of North America – 2005 –Us – Mexico & Canada
• What needs to be done to implement these program – including
• Increase access to financial services including credit unions
• Bring extra-legal assets into formal economy
• Rural lending to small & medium size farmers
• Further reduce costs of remittances
• Improve governance both corporate & public
• Improve educational opportunities

Now the bad news - This is a sense of Congress Statement. Which means – no $ or specific action plans to address all that was stated above

There are other sections, but I think that I covered most of the proposed bill

IN SUMMARY

1. Guest Workers H- 5A up to 500,000 who can stay for up to 6 years – no chance to become citizen
2. Amnesty – Resident aliens lacking legal status

• Can stay in US & work
• Can obtain alien resident status and
• Become US citizens, if they wish

1. Some of the worst abuses under immigration law and agency policy and practices are corrected
2. Recognizes causes of Mexican migration

• Indicates possible solutions,
• Identifies existing multi-national structure to address these problems
• BUT fails to commit money or take any action steps.