Is time right for new immigration bill?
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
JERRY ERICKSON
Published by: News and Messenger
Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, introduced immigration legislation last month in an effort to jumpstart the on-again off-again process to reform the nation's immigration laws. This is sure to be a hard-fought battle given the issues at stake.
The bill has been assailed by Republicans as being too liberal and nothing but an amnesty bill. Even some Democrats have said that the bill, in its current form, is simply too liberal to win passage. Mr. Gutierrez, ready to push the reform process forward has been clear in saying that: "Here, this is what we want; our proposal is out of the box."
The question is what now?
The bill, which is over 600 pages, is going to be a tough sell unless it is amended to provide balanced and sustainable solutions. Even if balanced, opponents to reform will be geared up for any bill focused on immigration reform. The health care debate will seem like child's play compared to the immigration fight we're about to witness. While Gutierrez likely knows that the chances of his bill passing are slim, he is obviously doing his part to tee up an issue that sooner or later will be addressed. Gutierrez also is not walking alone in pushing the issue, as he has support from almost 90 Democratic co-sponsors. However, no Republicans have signed up as co-sponsors of the bill to date.
Representative Gutierrez, as reported in the New York Times last month, "is known as one of President Obama's earliest Latino supporters in Congress." Gutierrez said in a recent interview that the bill reflected "a growing impatience with the pace of immigration change among a coalition of Democratic lawmakers, immigrant advocates and labor and religious groups."
The Obama administration has made it clear that it would like to address the immigration reform issues. However, immigration has taken a back seat to the other important issues which have occupied Obama during his first year as president. That said, it seems that the debate on immigration reform is about to get some traction.
Reforming the immigration mess we're in will not be pleasant. The issues are many and there are legitimate arguments on both sides.
Some of the issues addressed in the bill include the following: the ability to gain legal status and possible U.S. citizenship; illegal immigrants already in the U.S. would have to demonstrate when they entered the U.S. and any employment; there is a provision that proposes payment of a $500 fine; each person considered for benefits must learn English and also agree to a criminal background check. Unlike proposals which have previously been considered by Congress, those seeking legal status would not have to return to their homeland first.
From the government side, there is a provision that deals with border guards receiving additional training. DHS would also need to improve immigration jails and the controversial program that deputizes local and state officers as immigration agents would be eliminated. In short, there is something for almost everyone to be upset with. I suspect that a finalized version will look little like the current proposal.
One issue that must be addressed concerns who can stay in the U.S. and for how long. As the Times reported last month, "The bill lacks a broad program championed by many Republicans, as well as Democrats including Mr. Obama, to address future labor demands and to better control the flow of immigration. To do that, supporters of a broader bill advocate a program under which people could work only temporarily in the United States and then return home. Instead, the current bill only calls for a federal commission to study the best approach for the future flows of workers."
"In order for immigration reform to be effective, it needs to be comprehensive," said Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who collaborated with Mr. Gutierrez on a previous immigration bill, but not on this one. Representative Flake's position is that "any bill without a temporary worker program is simply not comprehensive."
Health care is slated to be resolved, one way or another, when Congress is back in session later this month. With the immigration bill now introduced by Representative Gutierrez, it appears that the Democrats have signaled the next big issue that they'd like to see on the table. Time will tell if the timing is right.