Outline of Immigration Reform Bill Under Way

When the Democrats edged out Republicans in the 110th Congress, many immigrant rights advocates where optimistic about immigration reform. As legislators focus on controversial aspects of the issue, however, the initial optimism is giving way to grim projections that immigration reform might be railroaded again, this time, by the 2008 election hoopla.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) promised that the debate will begin in May 14, but so far there has been no bill drawn up that the Senate can deliberate on.

As with the previous Congress, the sticky issue was, and remains to be, the earned legalization proposal that will encourage some 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows.

Apparently, the objective of the proponents of immigration reform is to obtain the broadest support across political lines for the legislation. In this effort, the role of President George Bush as the figurehead of the Republican Party, is crucial. It will be recalled that conservative Republicans were few but very vocal about any measure that resembles amnesty, insisting that lawbreakers must not be rewarded with a path to citizenship.

Recent reports suggest that Bush aides and a few senators are in secret talks that will hopefully lead to an outline of the immigration reform bill, which by far, falls short of what comprehensive reform advocates had been hoping for.

For one, the outline echoes the enforcement-first tenor being pushed by the conservatives in Congress.  It contains trigger events before earned legalization can even be implemented. The triggers include tighter border security measures, including a high-tech ID system that includes temporary workers.

The Associated Press reports that these border security triggers can take up to two years to complete thereby failing to address the urgency of comprehensive immigration reform.

Secondly, earned legalization provisions are unrealistic and onerous. Undocumented immigrants, according to the AP report, would still have to leave the country and pay large fines before their status is legalized. Needless to say, the undocumented population can hardly be enticed out of the shadows with this “leave-first” proviso.

Thirdly, the immigration reform outline pushed by the White House, the New York Times reports, will be focused on supplying foreign essential workers to fire up the US economy. At the same time, immigration of parents and siblings will be “sharply  reduce(d).”

Should this policy shift push through, Filipino Americans will be among the hardest hit.. Considering more than a majority of immigrants from the Philippines enter the US on family-based sponsorships, this proposal will hardly be a welcome development for many Filipino Americans.

At any rate, the negotiations are still going on and the details may still alter the outline. The big question for the nation is whether the 110th Congress will be able to deliver a comprehensive immigration reform law soon enough to make a meaningful impact on the economy and on American society.