How STRIVE, the New Immigration Bill, Works
Three Separate Immigration Bills, One Coherent Answer?
At 700 words, it's a little long for most to read, though it would probably make an excellent insomnia treatment.
Outline of STRIVE
STRIVE consists of several different parts enhancing both internal security and external security, and is intended to give illegal immigrants an incentive to come forward and be counted by providing clear paths to U.S. citizenship. The major points of STRIVE include the following.
A points system will enumerate variables that weights the chances of illegal and legal immigrants to gain citizenship. Points will come from a variety of places, including: job skills, education, proficiency with English, and certain family ties.
Preferences will move toward high-tech skills and advanced degrees, and away from the traditional family-tie preference. Green cards for family members will now be harder to get except for spouses and minor children (those under 21 years of age) of current U.S. citizens. Adult children will need advanced education or other preferences to come to the U.S. Citizens seeking to bring parents into the United States will face new legal limitations, and the number of parents allowed in will be capped.
To help those seeking citizenship, the US Department of Education has been directed to provide English instruction for free over the Internet.
A new temporary worker program is included in STRIVE in which guest workers may work in the US for two years, but then must return to their home countries for a year prior to returning. They have no extra points toward citizenship. This will be extended to 400,000 people seeking work each year, and may be renewed up to three times. There will also be a separate temporary worker program for agriculture.
New technology will be implemented to prevent immigration documentation fraud.
The bill will not kick in until certain border-control and worker identification program benchmarks are reached. These benchmarks include: 18,000 new border patrol guards; an additional 370 miles of border fence through the highest-trafficked parts of the border; and effective methods for verifying citizenship electronically at the workplace. It is estimated by experts that these benchmarks will be reached within about 18 months of the bill's implementation as law.
Illegal immigrants here now must comply with the law by:
- Obtaining a "Z visa"
- Pay fees and a $5000 fine; pass a criminal background check and security check (with felony convictions being automatically barred from getting the special visa); and remain continuously employed; they may also have to pass an English proficiency test
- Heads of households must return to their home countries temporarily
The path to citizenship may take between 8-13 years. It is open to those who illegally crossed the border by January 1, 2007. They may claim a probationary card right now that allows them to live and work legally in America, but they may not begin to seek either permanent residence or citizenship until other benchmarks set by the bill are met.
The SKIL Bill
STRIVE is not the only bill in session designed to address the illegal immigration problem. This is a separate bill, S. 2691/ H. R. 5744, also called the "Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership Act of 2006."
In this bill, immigrant workers with sought-after technological skills might have an easier time entering the country with an H1-B visa; this bill would increase the cap on these immigrants from 65,000 to 115,000 annually, and potentially climb to as many as 180,000 per year depending on whether or not each year's quota is exhausted. Workers in certain industries who received advanced degrees in America would be allowed in on an H1-B visa but not counted toward the quota set (so we could have 115,000 regular ones and another unlimited number with a special exemption every year). Just for some perspective, last year's 65,000 quota was filled within a day of being opened by Immigration. Other limitations prevent companies from staffing entirely with H1-B skilled immigrants, or from recruiting solely from overseas, which should prevent some abuses of the system from harming highly-skilled American citizens.
The DREAM Act
Yet another separate bill, called the DREAM Act (another strained acronym, this one standing for "The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act"), would allow young illegal immigrants to take advantage of in-state tuition rates at colleges, and upon successful completion of their college program, gain citizenship. This, too, is a bipartisan bill that looks as if it will be passed.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Through_Regularized_Immigration_and_a_Vibrant_Economy_Act_of_2007
http://blog.frankmorton.com/
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:7:./temp/~c110UqUVZ9::
Published by Jamie K. Wilson
Jamie K. Wilson is the wife of a US sailor and mother of two teen boys, one Marine, and two beautiful baby girls. The family hails from Louisville, Kentucky originally. View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentIT IS SUCH A SHAME OUR OWN GOVERMENT HAS SOLD US OUT FOR WHAT I DONT KNOW THEY ARE NOT LISTING TO THE PEOPLE WHO PUT THEM IN OFFICE THEY HAVE TO BE GETTING SOME FREE TACOS FOR A YEAR. ITS MAKES ME SICK TO LOOK AT ANY OF THEM.
Good article. I see this whole thing as a case of "we can't enforce the laws we have now, so let's just change them."
I think the bill doesn't address everything well enough but at least it is a start at trying to come to some kind of compromise, I hope.
I have mixed feelings on this. I was going to write an article about it...I still may. Hmm.
Bigotry? Did you know that in Long Beach California you will not be hired at McDonalds if you do not speak Spanish? You also need not bother applying for most construction, lawn care, hotel maid, office and some Banquet serving jobs.
California is running out of clean water supplies and must import it from other states. This is why (all countries) put limits on immigration. When people are working without paying taxes (their bosses also do not have to pay payroll taxes, so illegals are a bargain for them) the cost is passed on to the tax paying citizens. The gangs, of course, do not pay any taxes at all. The bulk of illegals hate "Americanos" and they even plant Mexican flags on US government buildings. "Deport them" sounds cold-hearted, but is it, considering those facts?
There already is a "guest worker program" for poor people to enter the country legally to work. Enforce border control? They dig tunnels under the ground to cross the borders. The ports were shut down in 2006 when all the ILLEGALL workers walked out to participate in the "Day without Immigrants". Mexico has ties with China. Does everyone really want people who broke laws to control the ports? As long as the La Raza's are planning to "take back" the 5 states we "stole from them", I wonder who the bigots are? The Mexican Mafia gang members boast about their conquests and how they are spreading across the USA.
I wonder if the heads of households will be able to get back into the country. And what's really going to happen if they don't pay the $5,000 fines within the allotted time? Not sure what the solution is either.
Economic bigotry my ass. What is the sense of bringing in more POOR PEOPLE...when we do not even take care of the one's we have...not to mention the working poor, and the one's barely keeping it together...bringing in more people makes no damn sense of any kind. It goes completely against reason itself.
While there are some good aspects to the bill, I mostly agree with Carol. It is economic bigotry. The statue of liberty doesn't say "give us your engineers and scientists" and great damned timing, I might add, as in a few months me and my wife were going to do paperwork for her parents to come here for a year or two to be with their grandson...I tell ya, living ex-pat gets more inviting every day!