Guest Column
With new Congress, Bush can create legacy
- Editorial: An immigration opening
- With new Congress, Bush can create legacy
- Sacramento Bee
- April 11, 2007
The United States needs a reality-based immigration system. The current system makes lawbreakers out of too many good people.
The reality? There is more demand for immigrants than there are legal visas available to immigrant workers. There's also a huge backlog in family visas for those seeking to join family members. The wait is routinely 7 to 10 years and up to 22. This lack of visas is a root cause of the undocumented population.
President Bush understands this dynamic. In a speech Monday, he noted past reform efforts failed to address underlying economic conditions: "People will make great sacrifices to get into this country (to) find jobs and provide for their families. People are coming here to put food on the table, and they're doing jobs Americans are not doing. People are coming to work, and many of them have no lawful way to come to America, and so they're sneaking in."
Yet, when it comes to specifics, Bush seems to be backing away from a balanced, comprehensive package that includes a path to citizenship, plus tough border security to stop drug dealers, gangs and other criminals. In his draft plan leaked last week, the president seems to kowtow to hard-liners who oppose immigration rather than working with those committed to a bipartisan approach. That's unfortunate.
The Bush draft would allow temporary workers but requires that they leave every two years and stay out of the country for six months. They could work here for a maximum of six years. They would not be allowed to bring wives and children. This doesn't address long-term work force needs or deal with the reality that many of those living and working in the United States will marry, have children and settle here. Our immigration system needs to acknowledge the need for a stable immigrant work force. It also needs to be flexible enough to allow those who establish roots to apply for permanent residency.
As for the existing undocumented population -- estimated at 5.4 million men, 3.9 million women and 1.8 million children -- the new Bush proposal is far more restrictive than last year's Senate bill, which he supported. The new draft would allow undocumented workers to apply for three-year work permits costing $3,500 each time. To get legal permanent residency, they'd have to return to their home country and pay a $10,000 fine to re-enter legally. This provides little incentive for people to come forward.
On enforcement, Bush wants to build more fences and hire more U.S. Border Patrol agents. An investment in greater enforcement will pay off if we take steps to accommodate the actual demand for labor in the United States -- freeing up resources to go after criminals. Fences, unfortunately, have done more to keep people in than out, and most Americans oppose them.
A better starting point for balanced, comprehensive reform is last year's bipartisan Senate legislation (S. 2611) that passed 62-36 and a new House bill (HR 1645) by Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Jeff Flake, R.-Ariz.
The Senate plans to debate immigration the last two weeks of May, the House in July. The president wants something on his desk by the end of the year. To get beyond the current gridlock, Bush will have to work hard to persuade more Republicans to support a balanced immigration bill that deals with America's immigration reality.
This president is knowledgeable and experienced on immigration issues. Setting a new immigration policy could be a legacy for his administration, if he doesn't squander the opportunity.
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