NETWORK Expresses Grave Reservations about Current Immigration Bill

May 22, 2007

NOTE: Numerous immigration bill amendments are being offered in Congress. Quick action is needed to ensure that the final legislation is fair and just. Click here for updates on the amendments.

As longtime advocates for comprehensive immigration reform, we at NETWORK are pleased that Congress is currently working to move this issue forward. The legislation introduced in the Senate is a step towards a viable bipartisan bill, but we have important reservations about its current form.

Because, as a faith community, we believe in the importance of family, we strongly oppose provisions that will split families apart. Support of family unification has been a bedrock value of U.S. immigration policies because it has long been recognized that family unity fosters stable communities and provides needed support for workers while in the U.S.

NETWORK will work to change the current bill into one that is more just and workable. We are currently focused on the following key provisions:

• GUESTWORKER (Y-visa)

• PROVISIONS: This program that will allow unskilled workers to come to the U.S. for two-year periods to work for employers when the U.S. Department of Labor has determined that there are no U.S. citizens available to do that work. After two years, they must return to their home country for at least one year before returning for additional work periods. A Y-visa holder would have a lifetime total of a maximum of 3 work periods available to him or her. A Y-visa does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship. If a Y-visa holder wants to bring her or his family to the U.S., that person must demonstrate that they he or she earns a salary in excess of 150% of the poverty line ($31,000 per year for a family of 4) and has health insurance for the dependents. Additionally, workers who bring their families for one period of work are only allowed two work periods (for a total of four years) instead of the six years total if they do not bring their families.

• NETWORK’s Position: While this Y-visa will create a means for future workers to come into the country to work in a formal setting, it is shortsighted.

• The deterrence to bringing families with a worker is antithetical to the values that built our country. Single working individuals are more prone to health problems, create instability in neighborhoods, and have a long term adverse impact on families and child rearing.
• The two years here and one year away scenario over eight years does not allow for a worker and the worker’s family to either settle into a job or life here or in the country of origin. This dislocation is hard on workers, hard on spouses and especially hard on children.
• The limitation on two-year work periods creates constant turnover and costs of training and recruiting for employers. These provisions make unskilled workers the equivalent of the paper cup—a plentiful supply that you can use once and discard. This is not acting on our faith-based principles that value the dignity of all people.

• BACKLOG OF FAMILIES AWAITING REUNIFICATION

• PROVISIONS: Under the current immigration program, there is a large backlog of family members who have approved petitions to come to the U.S. and join their citizen or permanent resident family members. They have not yet received their visas because of the long line of petitioners ahead of them and the low number of visas available each year. This bill would increase the visa numbers available in order to reunify families and clear the backlog in a five- or six-year period. As drafted, only those who had filed their petitions before May 1, 2005 would be eligible for this accelerated program. Those who filed after that date would have to qualify in the new program.

• NETWORK’s Position: We applaud the move to reunify families on a faster time line. However, setting May 1, 2005 as an arbitrary cut-off date does not make sense. It sets up a whole group of families for whom the expectation of reunification is dashed without any rational basis. We urge that the date be extended to the date of enactment of comprehensive immigration reform.

• FUTURE CRITERIA FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

• PROVISIONS: If enacted, when fully implemented in eight years, this Bill would shift the focus of permanent resident immigration from the current approach of 70% family-based and 30% employment-based to just the opposite—at least 70% employment and at the most 30% family. The untested hypothesis for this change is that we want to attract the “best and the brightest” and this is the way to do it. So, people who are young (25 to 29), have advanced degrees from U.S. schools, employers who will sponsor them, and who speak English and pass the citizenship test will be given up to 90 points (out of a total possible of 100) toward getting a permanent resident visa. If an applicant has 55 employer and education points then there will be added consideration for being a relative of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. Being an adult child of a U.S. citizen would only get the applicant 8 points and having applied for permanent residence after May 1, 2005 would add 2 points for a maximum of 10 points. The maximum number of points an applicant can receive is 100.

• NETWORK’s Position: This program is created on the untried theory of the need of employers in the U.S. We believe that it is too complex to be workable without significant testing in advance of passage. But we also oppose it because it encourages the “brain drain” from developing nations. This drain of resources from growing economies will undercut the economies further and serve as a prod to further immigration. Rather, we need to support trade and immigration policies that bolster local economies and ease the pressure for immigration.

• EARNED WORK VISA FOR UNDOCUMENTED (Z-visa)

• PROVISIONS: If enacted, this bill would allow for those people without documents to apply for a visa with work authorization that would be good for four years upon payment of fees, costs and penalties. This visa can be renewed after four years with the payment of fees and costs, taking of the naturalization test, and enrollment in an English class. The second renewal requires that the individual pass the naturalization test, which the person may take up to three times. The Z-visa holders must demonstrate and continue in full employment while in the U.S. (or a fulltime course of studies). The Z-visa holder can petition for immediate relatives (spouse and minor children) with the payment of additional fees and penalties.

• NETWORK’S Position: This is a significant step toward bringing 12 million people out of the shadows in our country. The fee and penalty levels as well as the proofs required for continuous employment raise questions about its functionality, however.

• EARNED LEGALIZATION (Permanent Residence for Z-visa holders)

• PROVISIONS: Z-visa holders may petition for adjustment of status to permanent residence if they return to the country of origin and petition at the consulate there and pay the filing fee and a $4,000 penalty at the time of submission of the petition. They will additionally have to demonstrate that back taxes are either not due or paid in full for all work done in the US. They will then join the line and wait until the backlog of family petitions are cleared before they will be eligible to receive a permanent resident visa. This will be a minimum of 6 years.

• NETWORK’s Position: This also is a significant step forward. However, it is unclear that this is a program that will work. The level of documentation needed to document employment and the need to pay back taxes as well as fees and penalties will create a heavy burden on the low wage workers in our country.

• FEES, COSTS AND PENALTIES

• PROVISIONS: Generally the fees and high penalties fall into the following categories:
• Fees—Generally, fees are defined as covering the costs of processing. For Y-visas there is no cap, but for Z-visas there is a $1500 cap for one person.
• State Impact Fees—Both Y- and Z-visa applicants will need to pay a “state impact fee” that will go to their state of residence to cover the local costs associated with their residence. The amount is set at $500 for an individual and an additional $250 for each dependant (spouse and minor children) for a maximum of $1500.
• Penalties—Z-visa applicants will have to pay a one-time $1000 penalty in addition to the fees listed above. Z-visa holders will have to pay a $4000 penalty when applying for permanent residence. There is a provision that 80% of the Z-visa penalties may be paid in installments.

• NETWORK’s Position: We understand the political compromise that required “earning” status in this country by paying penalties and fees. The levels of these fees are excessively high for people working at minimum wage jobs. We are concerned that we might gain the appearance of comprehensive reform, but not provide a realistic means for people to use it.

WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE CURRENT BILL

NETWORK will also work to ensure that there is a focus on the root causes of immigration, which are not addressed in S. 1348. Without a candid assessment and remedy for the causes, all of the punitive legislation in the world will not make a difference. NETWORK calls on Congress to address the issues of trade that have undercut the economies of Mexico and our other trading partners. Only by developing a vibrant economy in our neighbor countries will we ever change the flow of workers to this country.