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A series of articles on The U.S. Immigration Debate

Issues Illegal immigration Trafficking in human beings Labor shortage Terrorism U.S-Mexico Border NAFTA Visa caps

Proposed solutions DREAM Act Guest worker program H.R. 4437 (December 2005) S. 2611 (May 2006) Immigration reduction Free migration Legalization Jackson Lee (2005) McCain-Kennedy (2005) SKILL (2006) REAL ID (2005) Border Fence (2006)

Action 2006 protests

Organizations CCIR, NIF, FIRM, WAAA NCLR, LULAC FAIR, Minuteman Project, MCDC Cal. CIR, SOS CIS, NumbersUSA, ICE

Past laws Naturalization Act (1795) 14th Amendment (1868) Chinese Exclusion (1882) Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 Asian Exclusion (1924) Bracero Program (1942-64) INS Act (1965) IRCA (1986) IIRIRA (1996)

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In 2004, United States President George W. Bush proposed a guest worker program to absorb migrant laborers who would otherwise come to the U.S. as illegal aliens. However, the details were left to legislators. In 2005, the Congress began creating legislation to change the current illegal immigration policies. The legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives led to massive protests (see 2006 United States immigration reform protests, Illegal immigration to the United States). These protests were symptomatic of a national debate in the U.S., over the criminalization of illegal aliens, forms of legalization and naturalization for those who entered illegally, and a proposed wall along the 2,000 mile border with Mexico.

Contents 1 Policymaker proposals and major addresses 1.1 Bush proposal of January 2004 1.2 Jackson Lee legislation (Save America Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act) 1.3 House of Representatives Bill 4437 1.3.1 Reaction 1.3.2 Counter Protests 1.4 Illegal immigration hearings in Congress 1.5 Senate Bill 2611 1.6 President Bush's address on reforming immigration law 1.6.1 Critical responses to Bush's speech and proposals 1.7 Senate action 2 Sources 3 External links

President Bush proposed a variety of reforms to immigration laws on January 7, 2004. The proposal to Congress came in the form of a statement of principles rather than legislation.[1] The central proposal was that new and existing workers should be admitted to the United States as temporary workers, a proposal reminiscent of the Bracero program of the mid-20th century. Other issues included border enforcement and incentives for temporary workers to return home when no longer needed by their employers.

Ranking Democrat on the House Immigration subcommittee, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee introduced the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2005 into the House on May 4, 2005. Lee's bill, which has 24 House cosponsors, would allow legalization of immigrants who have been in the United States for five or more years, provided they are of good moral character, enroll in English language classes and complete a community service requirement. The bill would also ease the naturalization of children and expand family reunification.[2] Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus has described the legalization of immigrants "as a civil rights issue, to give a sense of fairness to individuals who had been in this country and had worked and paid taxes and wanted to come from under the shadows.”[3]

Main article: H.R. 4437

On December 6, 2005, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced H.R. 4437, an "enforcement-only" bill, onto the floor of the House of Representatives. After going through mark-up and amendment, the full House voted to pass the bill on December 16, 2005, by a margin of 239 to 182.

Key provisions require up to 700 miles (1100 km) of walls and fences fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, mandatory federal custody of illegal aliens detained by local authorities, and mandatory employer verification of workers' legal status through electronic means. The bill would criminalize as a felony remaining in the United States as an undocumented immigrant and would also criminalize aiding immigrants.

Main article: 2006 U.S. immigrant rights protests

The passage of H.R. 4437 led to large demonstrations throughout the country, beginning in March, with increasing numbers participating in April and finally a very large coordinated protest on May 1.

According to National Public Radio, "Mexican flags were planted all over the United States,"[4] during early protests but some protest organizers pointed out that waving foreign flags during these protests was hindering illegal alien supporters from gaining the legislation they wanted. So, as time went on, more and more US flags were present. In addition, over time, the percentage of signs in English as compared to Spanish increased.[5]

A CBS poll taken May 16-17 in 2006 suggests that 77% of Americans would support a path for legalization for illegal immigrants who paid a fine, had been living in the country for 5 or more years, had no criminal record, paid back taxes, and learned English. This result supports the results of a CNN poll taken May 16-17 suggesting that 79% of Americans would support the legalization of illegal immigrants if they had a job, paid back taxes, and had been living in the United States for a number of years. A Gallup poll given May 5-7 had similar results to the CNN and CBS polls which all showed support for the immigration reform approach taken by the United States Senate. A May 3rd Zogby poll did suggest Americans preferred more punitive measures sought by the United States House of Representatives.

After the protests of May 1st a group of American citizens lead by the Minutemen declared a boycott of Mexican-related goods and services, to be held on May 5 and June 30. On those days anti-illegal immigration activists were asked to not visit Mexican restaurants, not shop at stores that supported the May 1st boycott and not use public transportation.

The boycott of May 5 garnered little support, possibly due to short notice and poor organizing. There was no mass media attention given to the event and no reports of boycotts in the Associated Press. It could also be criticized for hurting the Mexican economy which would in turn cause further migration to the United States.

From December 2005 to March 2006 there was a long series of hearings over the effect of high illegal immigration levels on the United States. Some issues in the illegal immigration problem brought up in the House and Senate hearings include:^{[citation needed]}

• lack of adequate agents to pursue visa overstayers;
• lack of adequate agents to pursue illegals legally deported but still here—560,000;
• lack of adequate agents to pursue blatant cases of illegal immigrant hiring;
• lack of adequate agents to pursue identity theft;
• lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the Social Security agency—FDICA;
• lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the Internal Revenue Service;
• lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the local police forces;
• lack of adequate agents to secure the border;
• lack of adequate agents to reinstate internal immigration control;
• lack of adequate agents and funding to find and deport all criminal aliens from all prisons;
• lack of adequate agents to pursue wide spread document forgery;
• illegal labor crowding out of native workers in several professions;
• wage depression of all low skilled labor;
• employment and unemployment of native unskilled labor;
• impact on ecology and environmental degradation;
• impacted schools diverting funds to teach English and other necessary skills;
• hospitals (overuse of emergency rooms; patients who receive services but cannot or will not pay);
• overcrowded highways and additional insurance costs due to illegal immigrants with no driver's licenses or automobile insurance;
• disrespect for the law by illegals and their employers;
• illegal immigrant involvement in the rising crime rate in general
• illegal immigrant supported crimes of forging documents and identity theft;
• public health concerns (i.e. possible infectious disease importation: tuberculosis and variant strains of the measles);
• overcrowded federal, state and local prisons;
• abuse of illegal workers in terms of lower than minimum wages and unsafe working conditions;
• concern about wide spread corruption of public officials;
• damage to private property (especially to those who live along the U.S.-Mexican border); and,
• damage to U.S.-Mexico foreign relations (both political and economic).
• impact of NAFTA

Main article: S. 2611

Intended as a bipartisan compromise, S. 2611, or the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (abbreviated CIRA), is a Senate bill which deals with immigration reform. It proposes to increase border security along the southern United States border with Mexico and provides for long-time illegal immigrants to be allowed to receive limited services and given a path to citizenship under certain circumstances. It introduces a "blue card" that allows additional guest workers to stay for up to six years. The bill provides additional protection for immigrant widows and children, educational benefits, and normalization of the status of immigrants affected by the September 11 attacks. S-2611 also includes forth border security and enforcement provisions, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act, a grant program for local law enforcement affected by immigrants, increased compliance measures against the hiring of undocumented immigrants. The sponsor of S. 2611 is Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who introduced it on April 7, 2006. It was passed on May 25, 2006 by a vote of 62-36. Cloture was invoked, limiting debate to a 30 hour period. Only 22 Republicans of the 55 Republican majority voted for it. [6]

On May 15, 2006, in a nationally televised presidential address to the nation, President George W. Bush described his plan for reforming the nation's immigration laws. His plan consisted of five main points:

• 1. Border Security - The President said that he favored an eventual increase of 6000 border security agents by 2008. Border security would also include more training and technology available to border agents. During the training of the agents, up to 6000 members of the U.S. National Guard will be deployed along the 2000 mile long border of Mexico and the U.S., not to arrest undocumented immigrants, but "to provide support."

• 2. Temporary Guest Worker Program - The President said he supported a "temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time" (See also: The H-1B Visa Program).

• 3. Stronger enforcement against employers - The President said that he supported the "need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire," adding that U.S. employers "often cannot verify the legal status of their employees, because of the widespread problem of document fraud."

• 4. Legal pathway for some illegal immigrants to stay - The President said that illegal immigrants "should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it."

The President said that a general program of amnesty "would be unfair to those who are here lawfully and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration." On this point, President went on to describe his program:

I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law to pay their taxes to learn English and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law. What I have just described is not amnesty it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society, and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.

• 5. The American tradition of the melting pot - The President said that "the success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans." The President also emphasized the need for all immigrants to read, write, and speak English proficiently.

[7]

While some were pleased with President Bush's speech and proposed plan (then U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Republican, Illinois), for example) others on the political left and the political right expressed strong disapproval. This is a sampling of responses (as reported by CNN):

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican, California:

Bush is playing these word games about massive deportations again, which no one is advocating and does not do anything to further an honest debate . . . If they [illegal immigrants] are here illegally and you make them here legally, that is an amnesty.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, Democrat, Illinois:

We know where the House Republicans stand. They want to criminalize undocumented immigrants and the nurses, volunteers and people of faith who help them. The president told us tonight that he is for comprehensive reform: Now he must lead. The president has the power to call up the National Guard, but now he must summon the power to lead his own Republican forces in Congress to support a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, Republican, Ohio:

House Republicans have responded to the concerns of the American people by passing a strong border-security bill that reflects our commitment to re-establishing basic respect for our immigration laws and sealing our border against illegal entry. If the Senate passes an immigration bill, I'm committed to working with [House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner] and House Republicans to ensure we make border security our first priority and meet our commitments to the American people.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, Republican, Colorado:

I hope to God that we do not, in fact, pass anything in the House that resembles anything that is coming out of the Senate or that they were even talking about. ... The card for employers -- great idea. All for it. Putting the troops on the border -- great idea. All for it. But what absolutely bugs me, when the president starts talking about this false dichotomy ... where it's either round up and deport 12 million people or give them amnesty -- no, no. There is another way to do it. And that is, in fact, to make sure that they can't get jobs and, through attrition, millions will go home.

Governor Bill Richardson, Democrat, New Mexico:

My big question as the New Mexico governor is, Of the 6,000, how many are coming to New Mexico? And they couldn't give me an answer on that. It seems this policy is being made on the fly, and that's what's discouraging.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican, California:

It remains unclear what impact only 6,000 National Guard troops will have on securing the Border . . . I am concerned asking National Guard troops to guard our nation's border is a Band-Aid Solution and not the permanent solution we need. One thing is clear -- we all agree we must secure our borders, and I commend the president for speaking so passionately about the need for comprehensive reform tonight.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Republican, New York City:

It is as if we expect border control agents to do what a century of communism could not: Defeat the natural forces of supply and demand and defeat the natural human instinct for freedom and opportunity. You might as well sit on the beach and tell the tide not to come in.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

Our government and people have long recognized that federal law enforcement officers are the best equipped and trained to deal with these kinds of civilian law enforcement needs. Soldiers are trained to kill the enemy, and they lack the training to conduct proper law enforcement. Furthermore, they lack training to respect and protect border community residents' civil liberties and safety. History has shown the dangers of using the military to engage in domestic law enforcement activities.

John Sweeny, President of the AFL-CIO:

Deploying the National Guard to the border does nothing to end the economic exploitation that is driving illegal immigration. Our laws must include uniform enforcement of workplace standards to ensure a more just and level playing field. We must reject outdated guest-worker programs that relegate all future immigrant workers to an indentured, second-class status with substandard wages and rights, and undermine standards for all. [8]

Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont:

We asked them two years ago, why don't you fund the Border Patrol positions that the Congress has provided? You know what we got from Homeland Security for an answer? Nothing. Nothing at all.[9]

On May 17, 2006, the Senate passed a bill affecting the millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States, plus those intending to come in via Mexico. The bill proposed that a 370 mile triple-layered fence would be built along the Mexican border to slow down illegal border crossings in the future. However, illegal immigrants already in the country would be provided a way forward to stay and indeed gain citizenship. The new scheme would also provide up to 200,000 placements per year for guest workers.

President Bush made the following statement at a Washington gala and fundraising event for the national GOP:

The Republican Party needs to lead on the issue of immigration. The immigration system is not working and we need to do something about it now. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society and we don't have to choose between the two.[10]

On May 24, 2006, the Senate moved to close the debate on immigration. The current bill creates a computerized system within the Social Security Administration for employers to check the legal status of their workers. [11] Employers would be required to submit data within three days of hire. The legislation also creates a process for current illegal aliens to become citizens.

• George W. Bush, Immigration Policy Statement, Detailed Factsheet, January 7, 2004.
• THOMAS:S.2611
• THOMAS:H.R.4437

• Immigration by the Numbers (Google Video) Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies.
• About - Immigration Issues
• Americans for Better Immigration
• Americans for Immigration Control
• Center for Immigration Study report
• The Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform - Justice for Immigrants
• Center of Concern - Education for Justice
• deleteTheBorder.org
• Immigration's impact on marriage, religion, education and gang violence in Chicago
• Garmo.com
• Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
• National Immigration Law Center
• The Refugee Council USA
• Immigrants and the Labor Market from Dollars & Sense magazine