Guest Column

USCRI Applauds Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Urges White House Support

May 12, 2005 

The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) applauds the introduction of comprehensive immigration reform legislation and urges the President to quickly back this bi-partisan effort to bring our immigration system into the 21^st Century.

Today, senators McCain (R-AZ) and Kennedy (D-MA), along with representatives Kolbe (R-AZ), Flake (R-AZ), and Gutierrez (D-IL), will introduce legislation to permit carefully screened applicants to study and work in the United States. The legislation would require undocumented workers already in the United States to pay a penalty, and then apply for work authorization. After six years of lawful presence, they could apply for permanent residence. The bill would allow undocumented students who have been studying in the United States to participate in the program with proof of enrollment in schools or universities. The bill would also allow workers outside the United States, with proof of employment or an employment offer, to pay $500 at local consulates to apply for a visa. The work visas would not tie the workers to any particular employer or economic sector, a major innovation for migrant labor rights. There are provisions for enhanced border security, assistance to States for incarcerating undocumented aliens, and new enforcement provisions for work authorization and compliance with labor laws.

‘There has been a remarkable bipartisan effort to ensure that this bill is palatable to the right and the left, to labor interests and to business interests, while remaining true to the historical national interest of welcoming immigrants to this country’ says Lavinia Limón, President and CEO of USCRI.

‘We hope the President will be the bill’s greatest supporter,’ says Limón. ‘The President has been asking Congress for a guest worker program and this is probably his best shot at getting it.’

‘Here are four good reasons to get behind this plan,’ says Limon. ‘It is fair, it supports both families and our nation's labor needs, it paves the road to citizenship for law abiding new Americans, and it puts teeth into border security and enforcement". The plan is fair because it will not delay anyone currently waiting for an adjustment of immigration status. ‘There will be no line jumping,’ says Limon. The bill’s six-year benchmark for new immigrants to adjust status will allow the Department of Homeland Security to eliminate the current immigration backlog over the next six years.

The plan puts families first by allowing workers to bring their spouses and children with them to the United States. It also recognizes the circular migration patterns between the United States and other countries by realizing that some immigrants will want to return to their home country after working here, while others may wish to start a new life in the United States by applying for an adjustment of status. ‘This is good news for those of us who know that the people of the United States stand ready to help newcomers fully integrate into American life,’ says Limon.

USCRI’s national affiliate and allied agency network is comprised of the largest non-sectarian association of legal immigration service providers in the country.

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The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is a non-profit, nongovernmental organization that has served refugees and immigrants and defended the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons worldwide since 1911.  USCRI's resettlement program and network of community-based partner agencies help thousands of refugees build new lives in the United States each year.  USCRI publishes the World Refugee Survey and Refugee Reports.

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