Guest Column

By Sen. John McCain (R)

One immigration bill now before Congress addresses all the factors that must be dealt with to ensure national security, a stable work force and the welfare of immigrants. The bipartisan Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act is awaiting a hearing date, which may be set as early as this week. Here is a breakdown of the bill:

Border security

Requires the development of a National Strategy for Border Security, empanels a Border Security Advisory Committee from the border regions and requires the Homeland Security and State departments to develop and coordinate intelligence and technology among all parties engaged in border security - here and in Mexico, Canada and Central America. The technology component includes an emphasis on aerial surveillance.

Pluses: Takes a strategic, international approach to border security, including a requirement that the United States work to secure Mexico's southern border as well as its northern border. Sets broad goals for agencies to work at on their own, with provisions for reporting to Congress.

Minuses: The author of a competing bill, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, faulted the plan as heavy on studies. It lacks specific numbers of personnel and hardware that other plans contain. Cornyn's concerns rate serious consideration: He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary border security, immigration and citizenship subcommittee.

Our view: This bill presents the only strategic, coordinated approach to border security that has been presented so far. Up until now, resources have been allocated in a piecemeal fashion with little consideration for the role Mexico can play.

New workers

Prospective immigrants find jobs and apply for a new type of visa known as H-5A. It requires a $500 fee, application costs, and security, medical and other checks. It is good for three years, so long as the holder remains employed, and can be renewed once for another three years. It is portable, so if the worker loses a job, he or she has 60 days to find another or return home. At the end of the visa period, the worker returns home or is in the pipeline for permanent resident status. Bill grants visas to workers' immediate families, and allows visa holders to visit outside the United States.

Pluses: Good for workers because it encourages them to enter the country legally. Good for the United States because it ties each immigrant to a specific job.

Minuses: Two big questions. First, will workers return home at the end of their legal stay here, and how many of the visas will be required to satisfy the demand from Mexico and other countries? Opponents of such "guest worker" proposals say they are a misnomer, that workers once here are unlikely to return to the poverty of their home countries. The bill sets the number of visas at 400,000 in the first year, to be adjusted up or down based on future demand.

Our view: Combined with a reliable identification system, this provision holds great hope for stemming the growth of the shadow class of illegal workers in the United States. Workers and jobs will be linked in the open. Collecting fees, now often paid to smugglers, will help offset costs of the program later and give workers a financial stake in obeying the laws. Serious immigration reform will require some risks like this.

Illegal workers

People living illegally in the United States register for a temporary H-5B visa, good for up to six years. They must meet all the requirements of guest workers entering the country for the first time - plus provide a work history here or show they're in school. They qualify for permanent resident status by undergoing further checks, meeting a future work requirement, meeting English and civics requirements, and paying a fine of $2,000 or more per adult.

Pluses: Deals head-on with the most contentious part of immigration reform. Provides incentive for workers here illegally to come forward. Creates a pool of potentially billions of dollars to help offset costs of the program in the future.

Minuses: It smacks of amnesty, which many self-proclaimed advocates of immigration reform - including President Bush - call a deal-breaker for any plan. Many critics of this provision say it rewards criminals. The Cornyn plan, co-sponsored by Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, requires illegal immigrants to go home before they can be considered for permanent resident status.

Our view: This provision or something like it is the key to meaningful immigration reform. Unless Congress finds a way to draw more than 10 million illegal immigrants out of the shadows, no other component of reform can be expected to succeed. Few other suggestions have been made for accomplishing this. We hope those with the rigid view that illegal immigrants are criminals will consider those numbers and ask themselves how we got here. The answer is an unofficial U.S. policy that beckons illegal workers to jobs that only they will do even as our government struggles unsuccessfully to keep them out.

Circular movement

Requires foreign countries to enter agreements with the United States to control the flow of workers here and encourage their return home. Encourages U.S. government to partner with Mexico in developing its economy and reduce the pressure to emigrate illegally.

Pluses: Trying to shift some of the burden on the countries that send us illegal immigrants might work if it's part of an overall strategy such as this. Proponents of the bill say most immigrants come here seeking money to use back home, not to start a new life in a foreign land.

Minuses: This provision puts the "comprehensive" in comprehensive reform, with a segment that lays out a simple plan for the recovery of the Mexican economy. This certainly is the long-term answer to immigration reform. But if all it took was an act of Congress, it would already be done.

Our view: It's worth a try.

Enforcement

The Social Security Administration and Homeland Security would work to create a new electronic system for verifying that applicants are eligible for work. It replaces a slow, paper-based system now used. Visas would use biometrics at first, such as retina scans, and perhaps simple card swipes later - like credit cards. Designates the Labor Department as investigator of businesses suspected of employing illegal immigrants.

Pluses: Establishes a rigorous process using modern technology to guard against fraud and streamline a system that will process millions of people.

Minuses: None we can see.

Our view: Certainty about an applicant's identification and qualifications will give the system credibility. Proponents say it may take the first steps toward a national identification card for all Americans, which may become necessary - in part - to distinguish noncitizens from citizens and avoid immigration fraud.

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