Perla Pinot Ms.

Verdun 25, March, 2014

Immigration Reform

Have we really become that selfish of a nation to just disregard the reasons immigrants migrate from their birth countries? So just because they were not born in this country, we should not be protective of their rights as human beings? How about the fact that society has even categorized these individuals with the label of immigrant, for me, we are not living up to the American standard of peace & equality for all. The current treatment of immigrants is very unjust, being that there are so many different obstacles set forth by both Federal and State enforcement agencies. I intend to unveil the political biases, discrepancies, and flaws of all schools of thought on the past and current proposed immigration reform. This country is in need of an immigration reform that will protect the individual rights of humanity while ensuring the safety, fairness and reasonableness of all parties, at all times .
"Continuing to Strengthen Border Security." The White House. The White House, Feb.-Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

The Federal Government is in turmoil regarding immigration reform. In an article written by the current, president of the United States of America, President Obama states he believes in amnesty, that is to grant current immigrants who have not gone thru the legal process of becoming a citizen of our country, the right to stay here and be able to function as a legal American can. Protestors say this will not work because there is no true measure that can be taken to document each immigrant that is here now and there is no way to control more immigrants from migrating here after the fact. Both Democratic and Republican parties across the country seem to have a political interest in voting for or against the proposed immigration reform, basically it comes down to who the voting population consists of; either side needs to consider the Spanish vote counts, and sadly that has been a major flaw in reaching an agreement. Both Democratic and Republican parties across the country seem to have a

political interest in voting for or against the proposed immigration reform, basically it comes down to who the voting population consists of; either side needs to consider the Spanish vote counts, and sadly that has been a major flaw in reaching an agreement. The Immigration reform in the United States of America is widely used to describe proposals to increase Legal immigration while decreasing illegal immigration, such as the guest worker proposal supported by President George W. Bush. Illegal immigration is a controversial issue in the United States. Proponents Of greater immigration enforcement argue that illegal tarnish the public image of immigrants, cost taxpayers an estimated $338.3 billion, and jeopardize the safety of law enforcement officials and Citizens, especially along the Mexican border.
Hurt, Charles. "HURT: Close down the Democratic Minstrel Show on Immigration." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

In 2009 the immigration reform became a hot topic, since the Barack Obama administration recently Signaled interest in beginning a discussion on comprehensive immigration reform before year's end. The proposed comprehensive immigration reform plan had as its goal bipartisan support and includes six sections designed to have "something for everyone." These six sections are: to fix border Enforcement, interior enforcement, such as preventing visa overstays, preventing people from Working without a work permit, creating a committee to adapt the number of visas available to Changing economic times, an 'amnesty' type of program to legalize undocumented immigrants, and Programs to help immigrants adjust to life in the United States. The Presidents proposal attracts the best minds to America by providing visas to foreign entrepreneurs looking to start businesses here and helping the most promising foreign graduate students in science and math stay in this country after graduation, rather than take their skills to other countries. The Presidents proposal will also reunite families in a timely and humane manner. A citizenship path for illegal immigrants already in the United States contingent on certain Border security and visa tracking improvements. The plan provides for permanent residence for illegal immigrants only after legal immigrants waiting for a current priority date receive their permanent residence status and a different citizenship path for agricultural workers

through an Agricultural worker program.

Chumley, Cheryl K. "U.S., Mexico Mull Relaxing Border for trusted Business Travelers." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

The immigration reform bill will now be sent to the United States House of Representatives, where the bill is expected to face opposition from the Republican Party majority. The legislation is a product of bipartisan cooperation among lawmakers, business groups, labor unions, agricultural interests, and immigration advocates, who negotiated many compromises resulting in architecture for reform including a path to citizenship for eleven million illegal immigrants, an innovative temporary worker program, increased visa numbers for skilled foreign workers, and nationwide employment eligibility Verification system. Immigration is one of those intractable wedge issues. It is, for the most part, a problem created by government meddling and therefore any solution implemented by the government is more likely to aggravate the situation than improve it. In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level, many advocacy groups have focused on improving the fairness and efficiency of the immigration court system they propose incremental steps the executive branch can take to stop an assembly line approach to deportation proceedings.

Few people would dispute the fact that our country has a broken immigration system. More than 11 million people are living in the United States without legal status, millions of people are waiting to be reunited with their families, and employers are not able to recruit the foreign-born workers our economy needs. But the effects of this broken system extend beyond immigrant workers, their families, and employers; all American workers are harmed by the nations dysfunctional immigration policies. Specifically, they are harmed because our immigration system undermines the employment protections of immigrants and subsequently erodes the effectiveness of employment laws for all workers. To fully understand why American workers are harmed, one must first consider the role of immigration enforcement in the workplace and how it affects the employment rights of immigrant workers. Under current immigration law, it is illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented workers. Despite

this prohibition, unscrupulous employers use workers undocumented status to avoid compliance with employment laws and deter them from filing formal employment complaints with federal agencies. Many of these employers have therefore managed to go unpunished for their unlawful employment actions.
Kugler, Adriana. "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Will Benefit American Workers." Name. Center for American Progress, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

Most research indicates that the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants have no more than a high school education. President Obama, and the so called "gang of eight", seems to believe that the kinds of jobs done by such workers are plentiful. However, data from the fourth quarter of 2012 show that the employment picture is bleak for less-educated native-born Americans, who are the most likely to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs. It is difficult to overstate the size of the pool of potential workers that now exists in the United States. If through enforcement a significant fraction of illegal immigrants returned to their home countries rather than being allowed to stay with legal status, there would seem to be an ample supply of idle workers to replace them, particularly workers who haverelatively little education. Of course, employers might have to pay more and offer better benefits and working conditions in order to attract American citizens. But improving the living standards and bargaining power of the least-educated and poorest American workers can be seen as a desirable social outcome. The contention that there is a general labor shortage that has to be satisfied by giving work authorization and/or citizenship to illegal immigrants rather than encouraging them to return to their home countries is entirely inconsistent with the available evidence. Further both the President and the gang of eight" have proposed increasing legal immigration, including for jobs that require relatively little formal education. Again the data do not support the contention that there is a general labor shortage in the United States or a shortage of less-educated workers.
"Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants and the Employment Picture for Less-Educated Americans | Center for Immigration Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. Center of Immigration Studies, 05 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014

The bill reform makes it a goal that there be 100 percent surveillance of the border with Mexico and that 90 percent of would-be crossers are caught or turned back. Within six months of enactment of the bill, the Homeland Security Department must develop a border security plan to achieve those goals, including the use of drones, additional agents and other approaches; and develop a plan to identify where more fencing is needed. If the goals of a 90percent effectiveness rate and continuous surveillance on the border are not met within five years, a Southern Border Security Commission would be established with border-state governors and others to determine how to achieve them. Before anyone in the U.S. illegally can get a new provisional legal status, the border security and border fencing plans must be in place. Before they can get permanent resident green cards, the plans must be substantially completed, and a new entry-exit system must also be implemented at U.S. seaports and airports to track people coming and going. A mandatory system for employers to check workers' legal status must also be in place. People in provisional legal status could work and travel in the U.S. but would not be eligible for most federal benefits, including health care and welfare. The provisional legal status lasts six years and is renewable for another $500.-People deported for noncriminal reasons can apply to re-enter in provisional status if they have a spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or if they had been brought to the U.S. as a child. After 10 years in provisional status, immigrants can seek a green card and lawful permanent resident status if they are current on their taxes and pay a $1,000 fine, have maintained continuous physical presence in the U.S., meet work requirements and learn English. Also the border triggers must have been met, and all people waiting to immigrate through the legal system as of the date of enactment of the legislation must have been dealt with. People brought to the country as youths would be able to get green cards in five years, and citizenship immediately thereafter. Under current law, U.S. citizens can sponsor spouses, children and siblings to come to the U.S., with limits on some categories. The bill would bar citizens from sponsoring their siblings and would allow them to sponsor married sons and daughters only if those children are under age 31.Legal permanent residents can currently sponsor spouses and children, but the numbers are limited. The bill eliminates that limit.

The cap on the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers would be immediately raised from 65,000 a year to 110,000 a year, with 25,000 more set aside for people with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math from a U.S. school. The cap could go as high as 180,000 a year depending on demand. New protections would crack down on companies that use H-1B visas to train workers in the U.S. only to ship them back overseas. Immigrants with certain extraordinary abilities, such as professors and researchers, multinational executives and athletes, would be exempted from green-card limits. So would graduates of U.S. universities with job offers and degrees in science, technology, engineering or math.
Dupree, Jamie. "Details of Senate Immigration Reform Bill." Details of Senate Immigration Reform Bill. Wsbimigration, 13 June 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

There is much to digest in this broad reworking of our current immigration system. While the bill proposes many positive changes, we continue to be concerned about onerous roadblocks on the road to citizenship, punitive health and benefits provisions, expensive and unnecessary militarization of our southern border, a harsh employment eligibility verification requirement for all employers, and increased criminal bars and penalties that will limit who gets a fair day in court. These provisions should be reexamined as the bill moves through the legislative process. Lessons from past immigration reforms have taught us that if we do not get it right this time,workers and families will continue to suffer the consequences.
Press, ASSOCIATED. "POLITICO." POLITICO. Politico, Feb.-Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

Bibliography

"Continuing to Strengthen Border Security." The White House. The White House, Feb.-Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Kugler, Adriana. "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Will Benefit American Workers." Name. Center for American Progress, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Diana. "Benefits of Inmigration." Marketwacht. N.p., 01 May 1012. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Hurt, Charles. "HURT: Close down the Democratic Minstrel Show on Immigration." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Chumley, Cheryl K. "U.S., Mexico Mull Relaxing Border for trusted Business Travelers." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

"Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants and the Employment Picture for Less-Educated Americans | Center for Immigration Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. Center of Immigration Studies, 05 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Dupree, Jamie. "Details of Senate Immigration Reform Bill ." Details of Senate Immigration Reform Bill. Wsbimigration, 13 June 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Press, ASSOCIATED. "POLITICO." POLITICO. Politico, Feb.-Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.