After delaying twice, President Obama launched a fresh initiative around comprehensive
IR by holding an official White House Immigration Summit on June 25. The private
meeting was by invitation only and the 30 attendees included 12 Senators and 18
Congresspersons, including the majority of the Immigration, Refugees and Border
Security subcommittee members. While Obama noted that the group was far from reaching
consensus, his tone was upbeat and positive after the summit when he discussed some
administrative improvements to the immigration process and next steps post-summit.
However, Congress members had mixed reactions regarding the summit.
"It's going it require some heavy lifting" and "it's going to require a victory
of practicality and common sense and good policy making over short-term politics.
That's what I'm committed to doing as president," commented Obama. Further, Obama
reiterated his committed to IR and desire to not put off any longer. Obama noted
a few administrative immigration improvements that have been implemented:
- FBI has cleared much of its backlog that delayed background checks
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched employer focused immigration
raids and is progressing in its efforts to speed up the processing of citizenship
petitions
Additionally, Obama highlighted a few next steps and action items following the
summit:
- Janet Napolitano, homeland security secretary, was selected to spearhead a task
force (made up of House and the Senate members) to work through the contentious
IR issues
- Chief Information Officer, Chief Performance Officer, Chief Technologies Officer
and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appointed to increase
USCIS efficiency, transparency and user-friendliness
- In the next 90 days USCIS will launch web improvements that will enable applicants
to get application status updates via online, e-mail and/or text message
Attendee feelings post-summit were mixed. Representative Nydia Velazquez [D-NY],
chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also felt that Obama had really committed
himself to passing legislation this year. Representative Luis Gutierrez [D-IL],
who was beginning to express cynicism in regards to the White House's IR commitment,
remarked that "a lot of cynicism and a lot of doubt were left behind. He led today.
He was the President of the United States, and he led today." Few shared Senator
Lindsey Graham's [R-SC] and Senator Charles Schumer's [D-NY], perspective that this
is the government's last big chance to pass IR and if it doesn't pass we may have
to wait generations to get back on the table for discussion. Not so optimistic,
Senator John Cornyn [R-TX] alluded to the summit being just another press opportunity
and conveying what is really needed is a plan from the President. Rahm Emanuel,
Chief of Staff, expressed his pessimism on an IR bill even before the summit occurred
and commented at a breakfast that "if the votes were there, you wouldn't need to
have the meeting." Lastly, John McCain [R-AZ] commented to the press that he would
not support an IR bill unless guest worker legislation would be included.
Read Obama's complete remarks
The Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship held its second
hearing entitled "Securing the Borders and America's Points of Entry, What Remains
to Be Done" to assess the current state of border security and enforcement and future
actions necessary. Chairman Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] presiding over the hearing,
declared that the border and ports of entry are now more secure today than it was
when Congress began debating immigration reform in 2005 and that the panel speakers
will confirm the tough and serious border enforcement. Thus, Schumer pointed out
that the time is right to reengage IR debates as opponents have always promised
to take up again once Congress showed it was serious about securing the border.
Listen to the webcast
Sen. Dianne Feinstein reintroduced the Agricultural Job Opportunities and Benefits
Act (AgJOBS), a bipartisan bill based on years of comprise and negotiations between
farm workers, growers and Congress on May 14. The main goals of the bill's legislation
are to improve labor rights and reduce farm labor shortages by implementing a legalization
program, where undocumented workers can eventually earn their way to citizenship
and providing relief from unrealistic annual H-2A cap.
Main highlights of the bill in regards to legalization of status:
- Workers who can prove they worked in American agriculture for at least 150 work
days between December 31, 2006 - Dec. 31, 2008 can apply for a new "blue card" to
achieve temporary legal immigration status and work permit
- Workers can apply for a green card if they work an additional three years, working
at least 150 days per year, or an additional five years, working at least 100 days
per year
- Workers will have to pay a fine of $500, pay any back taxes owed and prove they
have not committed any serious crimes to obtain permanent residence
- After five years, workers would be able to apply for citizenship
Next Steps: The AgJOBS bill is being reviewed by the Senate Judiciary
Read the complete AgJOBS bill
The Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship held its first
hearing entitled "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?"
in an effort to understand how to fix the broken immigration system. With Chairman
Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] presiding over the hearing, witnesses presented compelling
testimony from a range of perspectives - faith, business, labor, law enforcement
and civil rights. After this hearing, Schumer commented that he was optimistic about
passing strong, clear IR this year and would continue a series of hearings entitled
"Road to Immigration Reform: Clearing the Hurdles."
Listen to the webcast
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] reintroduced the Development, Relief, and Education for
Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a bipartisan bill to address the children of undocumented
workers, to the Senate on March 26. First introduced in 2001, many versions of this
bill have been introduced over the years since, but never passed. The goal of the
DREAM Act is to help children, brought to the U.S. illegally by their undocumented
parents, by allowing them a path towards legalization and more opportunity to build
a better future. This legislation would allow these children to legally pursue post-secondary
education, apply for financial aid and work, which they cannot do easily today without
legal status and a social security number.
Upon passage, young illegal immigrants will qualify for the DREAM Act and a path
towards U.S. citizenship, if:
- They arrived in the United States before age 16
- They have been law-abiding citizens for at least five consecutive years since the
date of arrival
- They are older than 12 years old but younger than 30 when the bill becomes law
- They have either graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a general equivalency
diploma
- They have "good moral character" and have no criminal record
Completing two years of college or two years of military service may also help students
qualify for the DREAM Act. Ultimately, the Dream act "aims at giving hard-working
undocumented children who have always considered America "home" the opportunity
to fix their status and contribute to our economy and their communities" (Immigration
Policy Institute, April 22, 2009).
Next Steps: The DREAM Act is being reviewed by the Senate Judiciary
Read the complete Dream Act
bill
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, paving the way
for $787 billion to revive the tattered U.S. economy. Unfortunately, the measure
as finally approved by Congress, included the Sanders H-1B amendment which burdens
stimulus fund recipient companies with strict regulations for hiring foreign workers
under the H-1B program.
In short, the Sanders H-1B provision restricts the hiring of H-1B guest workers
at bailed-out banks or any other firms that receive funds from the stimulus bill
or from other emergency loans made by the Federal Reserve. The provision, known
in the text of the bill as the "Employ American Workers Act", would require companies
receiving stimulus funds to comply with hiring rules set for "H-1B dependent" firms
-- those with more than 15 percent of their workers on H-1B visas. Any company receiving
stimulus funds will be automatically considered H-1B dependent, regardless of the
percentage of H-1B workers on the payroll.
As a result, these companies will be required to hire only American workers for
two years unless the company can prove they are not replacing laid-off Americans
with guest workers. Many groups have expressed disappointment, arguing that the
provision's difficult requirements will prevent affected U.S. companies from hiring
the best available global talent.