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| Author: | Esther Pan |
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March 22, 2006
There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. Their presence signals the intense demand for labor in the country, as well as the ineffectiveness of policies for regulating the flow of people across U.S. borders. U.S. legislators are nearing action on a raft of proposals for dealing with the situation, ranging from building barriers and tightening border security to instituting guest-worker programs and amnesty. Debate has intensified during this election year, causing divisions within political parties and between groups usually allied on other causes.
Contentious and deeply divided, experts say. Public opinion polls show most Americans are in favor of strong punitive measures to prevent and/or reduce illegal immigration. However, business leaders, policy experts, and politicians—including President Bush—have proposed amnesty programs and other measures that will not cut off what they call a necessary flow of labor into the United States. "There's a big gap between the elites and the American general public" on how to handle immigration, says Joseph Chamie, director of research at the Center for Migration Studies. Immigration is a "political hot potato in an election year," he says. "It's a lose-lose situation for politicians."
There are several currently being considered. They include:
The McCain-Kennedy proposal. The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act was sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), with support from several key congressmen. The proposal would:
The Cornyn-Kyl proposal.The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act (PDF), sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), states that:
The Specter proposal. A compromise proposal from Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter would:
A committee bill with aspects of the three proposals above is expected to make it to the Senate floor the last week in March, although Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) has threatened to begin debate March 27 on his own version of the bill. Still, some analysts are positive about the developments. "I'm more optimistic than I was during the House debate because the Senate committee is working hard to seek consensus and is taking a responsible approach to the issue," says Deborah Meyers, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. Other experts agree. The Specter compromise is "a package that combines the better elements of the many bills," says Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
The House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (HR 4437) in December. It proposed strong steps against illegal immigration, including:
The House bill would also make it a felony for groups like Humane Borders and other charity organizations to give water or other assistance to illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico. The bill has sparked protest rallies across the country and has earned the opposition of the Catholic Church, which is encouraging its adherents to defy it. Other critics say the House bill, with its focus on only one side of the immigration issue, will likely make the problem worse. "Enforcement is clearly an important part of the question, but enforcement alone is insufficient," Meyers says. Jacoby agrees. "You need tough but workable enforcement," she says. "The law-and-order Republicans [in the Senate committee] laughed the [idea of building the fence] out of the room."
Advocates of temporary or guest-worker programs say they would acknowledge and legitimize a massive work force that is completely unregulated. While illegal immigrants work and pay taxes, they have no workplace protection and are vulnerable to exploitation or abuse. The giant pool of unregistered illegal immigrants in the United States is also an enormous security risk in the age of terrorism. Proponents of guest-worker programs—including many business associations—say they would honestly address the labor needs of the U.S. economy and give necessary protection to the workers who fill those needs.
"There needs to be a legal mechanism for people to enter and work in temporary jobs," Meyers says. She points out that many jobs—harvesting crops, for example—are seasonal, and many immigrants would like to come in, work for the season, and then return home. "Temporary worker programs are one approach, and certainly better than what we have now," Meyers says. "If there are legal channels of entry, why in the world would you risk your life to enter illegally?" Several of the Senate proposals also include methods for guest workers to become citizens. A Miami Herald editorial argues in favor of these measures, which would allow illegal aliens to earn legal status with hard work and good behavior. "Without such a provision, even border-security efforts are doomed. Politics must not be permitted to get in the way of what is in the country's best interest," the paper wrote.
Experts stress that many changes to the system are needed, including cracking down on employers who employ illegal immigrants. Last year, only three employers were cited for employing illegal immigrants. Jacoby argues for a national Social Security registry that employers could use to find out if potential employees are authorized to work in the United States. In addition, many argue for increasing the numbers of visas for skilled workers and eliminating the backlog in processing visas. Only if many steps are combined—stronger border control efforts, workplace enforcement, increased visas, and some kind of path for illegal immigrants to earn citizenship—will the problem be brought under control, experts say. "We have to do all these things together. They're all intertwined and necessary," Meyers says.
The issue is a highly sensitive one in an election year for all members of the House of Representatives. Many experts say the House bill passed because members wanted to show their constituents they are tough on immigration. Others say that while most people share the goal of reducing illegal immigration, most do not agree on what to do about it. "Everyone agrees: we want people to come in legally, not illegally," Meyers says. "But simply putting up more walls or adding border agents—without addressing the flaws in our system—is not responsible policymaking."
"It's very, very hard to say," Jacoby says. "[Senate Majority Leader Bill] Frist [R-TN] may not cooperate—he may see this as the first round of a presidential campaign" and seek to oppose McCain, a likely presidential rival. In addition, the legislation would have to pass through committee and debate on the Senate floor, before facing an even bigger challenge: the House version of the bill. "My guess is that the House bill and the Senate bill won't be able to be reconciled," Chamie says. "The political concerns have undermined any rational program." However, Meyers says, the Senate committee has "thoughtful members who have worked on this issue for a long time and have a lot to offer on it." All told, the chances for reform are "certainly possible, but you wouldn't want to be naïvely confident," Jacoby says.
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