The ‘gang of eight’ unveiled a comprehensive immigration reform in April 2013 aimed at dealing with the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States and putting a halt to illegal immigration. The proposed bill by the group included the DREAM act principles to give assistance to immigrants who entered the US illegally when young, provisions for enhancement of border security and a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants. The effort of these eight members should indeed present a political desire of solving the immigration menace in the US, though this reform should take into consideration past experiences before fully solving the illegal immigration problem. 2013 would indeed offer the solution to decades of free movement of individuals in and out of the US (Finnegan).
The key details in the proposed bill include the following details:
Under the path to citizenship, undocumented immigrants can obtain provisional legal status (or RPI) and apply for US citizenship after at least 13 years. These immigrants will not access federal benefits and would be required to pay $2000 in fines inclusive of federal fees and back taxes for the first 10 years. These immigrants will then be eligible for a green card after expiry of the 10 years (Gregg). Anyone who entered the United States (US) after Dec 31, 2011 and anyone who has had a felony conviction is not eligible for citizenship. In addition, the provisional legal status would allow immigrants to work for any employer in the US and also allow them to leave and return to the US legally. These immigrants could also attend any school of their choice within the US. The biggest advantage is that the applicants children and spouse can at the same time apply for provisional legal status protection better referred to as RPI, though same sex marriages have not been considered (Finnegan).
Green cards would only be eligible to DREAM act youths after five years of RPI, and that is when they will be eligible to become US citizens. RPI recipients will be required to pay all the relevant taxes, maintain ‘clean’ records and learn English, as requirements for their consideration as citizens (Gregg). Undocumented immigrants deported previously due to non-criminal reasons, though have lived in the United States before Dec 31 2011 can reapply and be allowed to enter the US and obtain RPI, before becoming full citizens. These citizens will, however, be required to comply with all US laws (Finnegan).
One of the major areas of concern is how the bill recommends border security. It stipulates that after the law passes, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will have to give Congress fresh strategy concerning border security before immigrants can begin applying for RPI. DHS is to receive extra funding from the government, approximately $3 billion to see the new strategy through (Gregg). The security goals will only be considered to be met if there is a 90% or higher effectiveness rate in highly vulnerable border crossing points after five years.
The bill also recommends that employers use E-verify system to check on the immigration status of any of their prospective employees and stipulates methods and procedures of dealing with any violators to ensure the number of illegal immigrants is reduced. In addition, these bills would eradicate the famous diversity visa program, better referred to as the “green card lottery” in 2014. This program would be replaced by immigrants who are skilled in the fields of technology, engineering, mathematics and science from the yearly visa limits (Bolton). There is also provision of admitting qualified executives, managers and doctors. All these, aimed at ensuring that the US economy benefits from skilled manpower from different countries.
The proposed bill would also increase the number of skilled workers H-1B visas to 110000 from 65000 every year, and could be increased further depending on the demands of US employers. A provision will require employers to pay H-1B employees higher salaries for the purposes of avoiding any competitive disadvantage for the entire American workforce (Goodman). A newer version for low skilled employees program will offer a new visa referred to as W-visa which will allow temporary workers to enter the US and fill any seasonal job openings (Gregg). The ‘gang of eight’ seems to have met their goal of creating legislation to address the immigrations problems witnessed in the entire of USA based on the outline of their proposed bill (Bolton).
When handling undocumented immigrants, who arrived in the US as agricultural workers who help in the US agriculture industry and minors, this legislation is a bit flexible. The Department of Homeland Security and congress will be expected to determine how long it will take for the legal and formal process of applying for US citizenship (Goodman). But, for the new immigration system, once one completes enforcement measures, persons with probationary legal status will be considered as prospective immigrants and will be expected to pay taxes, demonstrate a history of working in US, pass more background check, and learns English for them to get the opportunity of lawfully applying for permanent residency (Gregg). The green card will officially be granted to individuals who complete these requirements successfully.
Under this proposed bill, the W-visa program, which is new, will be introduced to take care of year-round labor and meet the needs of businesses. This is because, under the current system, a large number of immigrants have been entering with legal visas, but still continue working even after their visas expire (Finnegan). A loop hole that the group linked to most US employers, hence the introduction of the E- verify system to deal with the matter.
The W visa expected to commence in 2015 will begin with 20,000 and later increase to 200000 immigrants and be more flexible depending on various metrics like the rate of employment. This will be different compared to the current H-2B program which only allows 66000 immigrants every year (Gregg). Basically, this immigration legislation should reduce the number of future violations since it targets a visa reform considering that employment has been the major reason for the inflow of undocumented workers. It will give the immigrants a way of utilizing their new opportunities, and they would, therefore, not have a reason for obtaining a job illegally (Fallon).
For the first four years after the law has been enacted, W-visas would be capped, restricted to 20000 in the commencing year, then after the fourth year it would be calculated based on a statistical formula formulated from employment and unemployment rates. This legislation will also put emphasis on employment and business security with the amplification of the E-verify system for the sake of attaining this goal. This will protect against identity theft and make businesses accountable for their actions (Fallon). Unfortunately, the plans in the legislation still do not deal with the long term systemic issue that the US has faced in regard to undocumented workers entering the country. The plan has to broaden on the guest worker program, and the pathway to citizenship, or America will be forced to repeat the fight. Though, the legalization of the 11 million illegal undocumented workers would be a great step, several immigrants would still break the law if the US does not expand future opportunities for low-skilled immigrants (Bolton).
Surprisingly, opposition to this idea has come from Democratic politicians and labor unions and not from conservative right as it would be expected. Labor unions have in the past discouraged entry of new employees from other countries with the fear that they would eliminate their monopoly held in labor contracts (Fallon). It would be politically disadvantageous to change immigration policy after victory of Latino voters for the Democrats. Politicians have to always find a way of keeping their jobs. America will have an opportunity for major change in 2013, though elected officials might still fall into the previously made mistakes (Bolton).
The legislation would provide the necessary funding for 3500 extra customs agents in the whole country and deploy national guards to the border to increase security. Illegal immigrants would only receive provisional status after the Secretary of Homeland Security delivers to the congress a ‘commencement notice’ proving completion of the border security goals. In addition, the secretary, after consulting with the comptroller general would have to confirm several border-security requirements were met before immigrants having provisional status receive permanent lawful status (Bolton). These would include confirmation that a border fencing scheme is effectively complete, an electronic exit system is well established at seaports and airports, border security is fully operational, and a compulsory system for verifying employment is set up countrywide. This bill would not demand completion of border fencing but rather allow Home Security Secretary discretion to make approvals that they feel is necessary (Bolton).
This bill would basically eradicate the backlog of employment and families based immigration and create a visa that would award persons on their education level, time of residency and employment five years after being enacted (Goodman). Employers would be given a chance of using to electronic verification to make sure their job applicants are legal; non-citizens would be needed to always carry biometric authorization cards. This will give the employers a chance of understanding the status of their employees (Bolton).
Though, there have been major concerns about the work of the ‘Gang of eight’ for example, the proposed 13 year time of citizenship acquisition should be shortened since it discriminates against immigrants based on whether the immigrants are skilled or unskilled and this means families would be broken. In addition, there is also concern about the income requirements and high fines that would mean several hardworking immigrant families would be left excluded (Finnegan).
The proposed bill seems harsh on illegal immigrants but would greatly eradicate the illegal immigration problem that has been witnessed in the USA for decades. The group consisting of four democrats and four republicans is clear that it has good intentions for the USA economy and control of the population in its country. Once the proposed bill gets enacted America should indeed experience significant change in its growth. Several of its citizens have complained in the past about how immigrants come and ‘take over’ their jobs, and it seems that this bill will offer solutions to their problems, and ensure that they get only the best from other countries. Though, in my opinion, the bill is kind of ‘mean’ considering that America is an advanced economy and should be a role model to other nations, restricting entry into the country will mean its diverse culture will be eroded. The group should have considered that a developed country like America should help other underdeveloped countries because these countries can offer much help to them in the future.
Works Cited
Bolton, Alexander. Senate Gang of Eight reveals details of immigration reform plan. 16 April 2013. 15 May 2013.
Fallon, Brandon. Immigration Reform 2013: 'Gang Of Eight's' Bill Would Contain Guest Worker Program. 14 April 2013. 15 May 2013.
Finnegan, William. The Gang of Eight Immigration Fight. 9 May 2013. 15 May 2013.
Goodman, Douglas. Immigration Reform 2013: Gang Of 8 Plan Released, Here is What is in it. 12 April 2013. 15 May 2013.
Gregg, Cherri. Gang of Eight Releases Proposal For Bill On Comprehensive Immigration Reform. 18 April 2013. 15 May 2013.
