Apr 7, 2007

Immigration Reform Proposals Build Steam

Recent activity in Washington, D.C., has tightened the rope in the tug-of-war over immigration reform.

Two pieces of legislation are currently being debated in the U.S. Congress, each representing a different solution to the controversial problem.

A bill sponsored by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., was passed by the House of Representatives Feb. 10 and referred to the Senate judiciary committee Feb. 17. The bill seeks to tighten immigration laws by, among other things, prohibiting federal agencies from accepting state-issued drivers’ licenses unless the licenses meet minimum security standards, which include evidence that the applicant is lawfully present in the United States.

In effect, the bill will block states from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

On Feb. 10, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, reintroduced the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Securities Act (AgJOBS) in the Senate. The bill was originally introduced in September 2003 by Craig and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, but failed to gain momentum due to timing and its controversial nature, said Dan Whiting, Craig’s press secretary.

AgJOBS would ensure farmers a stable workforce by reforming the temporary foreign agricultural worker program, also known as H-2A, and by allowing about half a million agricultural workers who lack authorized immigration status to apply for permanent residency, according to the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE).

NCAE supports any plan that gives workers the legal means to get jobs in the United States and relegates border enforcement to real criminals, like drug smugglers, said Sharon Hughes, NCAE’s executive vice president.

Sen. Craig is currently gathering co-sponsors for AgJOBS. His effort will probably be helped by President George W. Bush’s recent State of the Union speech, which touched on immigration reform, Whiting said.

“It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists,” Bush said.

Bush announced an immigration reform proposal last year, which he wants Congress to debate. The proposal would grant temporary worker status to undocumented workers now employed in the country and to those in foreign countries who have been offered employment here. The temporary workers would pay a one-time fee to register in the program and would be required to return to their home countries after three years, when their legal status ends.

If adopted, the proposal would match willing workers with willing employers and promote compassionate immigration practices while protecting American jobs and streamlining border security, according to the White House.

“We should not be content with laws that punish hardworking people who want only to provide for their families and deny businesses willing workers and invite chaos at our border,” Bush said in his speech.