Background. The U.S. Senate is currently considering immigration reform legislation. Senators will be in their home states the week of Memorial Day, from May 25 to June 2. Debate on the immigration bill will begin again on June 5 th, with a vote on final passage by June 8 th. It is important to contact your Senator in his/her state office during the recess week. If possible, attempt to set up a visit with the local office or call the office expressing your support for a fair and humane immigration reform bill.

 

The Way Forward. S. 1348, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 contains some good elements and some about which we need to express concern. To date, the U.S. bishops have neither opposed nor supported this piece of legislation, but have chosen to raise concerns about the legislation and to improve it as the legislative process goes forward. The bishops believe that the Senate debate marks the beginning of the legislative process and that there will be several opportunities to improve the legislation as the process moves forward. We must work together to make these important changes to the bill. It is our obligation to try to obtain the most humane legislation possible for millions of our fellow human beings.

 

Action. Call/visit./fax/ email your Senators in their local office during the Memorial Day recess or in Washington, D.C. at 202-224-3121.

 

Message. I support an immigration reform bill which 1) has a workable and realistic path to permanent residence for the undocumented; 2) creates a meaningful path to citizenship for those in the temporary worker program; and 3) preserves family unity in the U.S. immigration system.

 

I ask you to support changes to the legislation which would:

• Preserve family reunification as the cornerstone of the U.S. immigration system by maintaining categories for certain family members;
• Create a meaningful “bridge” to permanent status for temporary workers by giving them access to permanent residency visas (“green” cards);
• Remove the requirement that immigrants eligible under the “Z” visa legalization program must return to their country of origin to apply for permanent residency;
• Permit immediate relatives (spouses and minor children) to join the “Z” visa holder in the United States upon eligibility;
• Establish deadlines not dependent on “triggers” by when the temporary worker program and the permanent residency portion of the “Z” visa program must be implemented.

TALKING POINTS --- SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL S. 1348

 

• I/we are here to speak with you regarding S. 1348, immigration legislation currently being considered in the U.S. Senate. This is important legislation which addresses the immigration crisis in our country. We urge you to continue to work with your colleagues to fix these problems and to pass a workable and humane immigration reform bill before the end of the year. These are our concerns.
• We have several concerns with the legislation in the area of 1) Title VI, the legalization program; 2) Title IV, the temporary worker program; and 3) Title V, family reunification.
• We are pleased that the legislation would legalize 12 million persons and give them an opportunity for permanent residency. However, we are concerned with the requirement for an eligible participant to return to their home country to apply for permanent residency. This could prove to be an undue burden on lower-income persons and could “chill” participation in the program because of a fear that persons who leave may be unable to return. This would defeat the purpose of the program, which is to bring undocumented persons “out of the shadows.”
• We are concerned that an eligible person’s spouse and children would be unable to join him/her in the United States for as long as eight years. This could lead to undocumented migration and to women and children crossing the border at risk of their lives.
• We also are concerned that the temporary worker program does not contain any meaningful path to permanent residency for workers if they so choose. We believe that this would create a permanent underclass of workers in our society and could lead to exploitation of workers without full rights in the workplace or the nation.
• We are deeply troubled by the change in several categories of the family preference system, including the elimination of the 1 st, 2b, 3 rd, and 4 th preferences serving adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. We should not abandon family reunification as a cornerstone of our immigration system. Immigrant families are the backbone of immigrant communities: they start businesses and invest in the American dream
• We are concerned with the presence of “triggers” in the legislation which could prevent the implementation of the temporary worker program and some aspects of the legalization program. These are construction of a 370 mile wall along the border, the hiring of 18,000 border patrol agents, and the production of 27, 000 detention beds. These “triggers” may never occur and would prevent the nation from moving forward with the legalization and temporary worker programs.
• We ask you to support several family amendments which will be offered:

 

• We ask that you support an amendment by Senator Menendez which would move the cut off date for backlog reduction from May, 2005 to January 1, 2007. This would help about 800,000 persons who applied legally for admission but would be denied admission under the legislation.
• We ask you to support an amendment by Senator Clinton to remove the caps on admission of spouses and children of legal permanent residents. Immediate family members should be permitted to enter the United States and join their loved ones.