On May 17, a bipartisan group of negotiators announced an agreement had been reached
in principle on a significant immigration reform bill for consideration by the U.S.
Senate. The bill now is being debated on the Senate floor, and action is expected
sometime in early June.
NRCA has been an active participant in the process through its involvement with
the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC). In fact, Craig Silvertooth, NRCA's
director of federal affairs, is one of the co-chairs of EWIC.
Throughout the process, NRCA's position has been that the status quo clearly is
unacceptable, exposing employers to unfair liability and worker shortages under
a dysfunctional system and a growing patchwork of state and local laws. NRCA has
worked toward comprehensive immigration reform, which would include assurances of
border security; a method for improving the availability of legal immigrants into
our industry; and a mechanism for the 12 million undocumented people currently in
the U.S. to have the opportunity to earn legal status.
The bill introduced in the Senate contains the following important provisions:
- "Triggers" for improved border security that must be met before the worker programs
can commence
- A temporary-worker program that would significantly increase the number of temporary
workers allowed in the country each year. Under the bill's provisions, temporary
workers could stay in the U.S. for up to two years and then would need to return
to their country of origin, wait a year and reapply for another two-year permit.
- A merit-based point system to accommodate those industries, like ours, in which
worker shortages are most severe
- An electronic verification system in which employers would be required to participate;
ideally, it would allow employers quickly and accurately to verify the legal status
of job applicants
- A method for undocumented people currently living in the U.S. to either earn renewable
work permits or earn citizenship through a process that involves having criminal
and drug records checked, paying fines and returning to their country of origin
to apply for citizenship
- Preemption of state laws dealing with immigration issues
NRCA supports the bill, recognizing it is far from perfect. Rather, it is the result
of an extensive negotiation that was a good-faith effort to address the legitimate
concerns of a number of disparate groups.
Debate on the bill will continue when Congress returns on June 4 from its Memorial
Day recess. It is critical for you to contact your senators and urge them to support
this bill—or at least to support a measure that contains all of the key provisions
in this bill.
Opponents of the bill—and even some supporters—will attempt to weaken
it through the amendment process. Already, one amendment has succeeded—one
that would reduce the allowed number of temporary workers from 400,000 annually
to 200,000. We do not want to see a series of amendments destroy the bill's key
provisions or the spirit of the compromise that was necessary to get it to the Senate
floor.
As you decide whether to support this measure, we ask you to consider the most likely
option if the bill doesn't pass, which is a return to the status quo. Worse, we
are likely to continue with the status quo at the federal level at least until after
the 2008 elections. And worse still is the likelihood of more states and municipalities
enacting problematic immigration reform measures of their own.
If you have any questions or need help contacting your senators, please call NRCA's
Washington, D.C., office at (800) 338-5765 or (202) 546-7584.