William Fisher

NEW YORK, May 15 2005 (IPS) — Seven influential U.S. lawmakers have introduced bipartisan comprehensive immigration legislation designed to strengthen border security and enforcement of immigration laws and reduce the flow of illegal immigrants by offering them visas to work in the United States.

The bill, the ”2005 Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act”, would allow undocumented migrants who take English and civics courses and undergo medical and background checks to apply for permanent resident ”green cards” and eventually citizenship.

It would create a new type of work visa, the H-5A, to allow low-skilled foreign workers who have guaranteed jobs in the United States to enter for three years. The visa could be renewed once for an additional three years. Illegal workers now in the United States could apply for H-5B visas that would be valid for six years. When the visas expire, immigrants could either return home or apply for permanent residence and ultimately, citizenship.

The Department of Homeland Security would be required to develop new approaches to tighten border control, based on increased use of technology and greater information sharing and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities as well as the Mexican government.

Local authorities would be reimbursed for costs incurred for holding illegal immigrants, or prosecuting those charged with crimes. Foreign countries, such as Mexico, would have to enter into migration agreements with the United States.

The State and Homeland Security departments would work together processing the visas. Immigrants applying for the H-5A would have to demonstrate that they have a job waiting in the United States, and pay a 500-dollar processing fee. Initially, immigration would be capped at 400,000 people, roughly the number of illegal immigrants thought to enter the United States each year.

Sponsors of the proposed legislation include John McCain, a Republican from the Mexican border state of Arizona, and Democrat Edward Kennedy from the northeastern state of Massachusetts.

The legislation is supported by a coalition of more than a dozen immigration and workers’ rights groups and labour unions.

”We welcome the introduction of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would address problems that have long plagued our immigration system and help enhance our security,” said a spokesperson for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). ”A recent survey tells us that Americans agree on the need for immigration reform that is comprehensive and bipartisan. Congress needs to step up to the plate and enact such reform.”

Douglas Rivlin, communications director for the National Immigration Forum, told IPS ”the debate over immigration has been transformed. The debate is now about recognising and regulating the reality that immigrants are coming, immigrants are needed, and wouldn’t we prefer that they came legally rather than illegally so that their rights and the rights of U.S. workers are respected?”

President George W. Bush opened the door to comprehensive immigration reform legislation by including a ‘guest worker’ programme on the White House agenda. However, he did not propose it as a path to citizenship.

This ”is not amnesty; this is earned adjustment,” said McCain. He said the proposal followed the principles for immigration reform previously laid out by Bush, and that he expected the president would support the bill.

Kennedy said ”one of the mistakes of the past is to assume we can control illegal immigration on our own. A realistic immigration policy must be a two-way street. Under our plan, America will do its part, but we expect Mexico and other nations to do their part, too, to replace an illegal immigration flow with regulated, legal immigration.”

Two Republican senators plan to introduce competing legislation later this year that will be closer to the Bush plan. The Kennedy-McCain bill is a ”work and stay” program, while Bush has proposed a ”work and return” program.

But the Kennedy-McCain legislation is expected to attract support among Democrats and business-minded Republicans. Among interest groups already expressing support are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is the nation’s largest business group, and the National Council of La Raza, which represents Hispanics.

The number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States surged to 10.3 million last year, according to a survey by the research group Pew Hispanic Centre. Some 25 percent live in California and 14 percent in Texas. The population increased by 23 percent in a four-year period – or by roughly 485,000 persons annually.

The majority of undocumented workers come from Mexico and Central America. Many are migrant agricultural workers who take low-wage jobs that nevertheless pay considerably more than they can earn at home. Others work in construction and the hotel and restaurant trade. The remittances they send back to their families are important factors in the economies of many of their home countries.