The New Immigration Bill: Are We Selling Legal Status?

Major provisions of Bush's recent immigration bill for illegal immigrants include granting probationary legal status to those who come forward immediately, creating a new renewable "Z" status for illegals in the U. S. before Jan. 1, 2007, and an opportunity to move to legal status by paying some $5,000 in fines and sending the head of the household back to their home country to reapply for legal status. In addition, illegal immigrants under 30 who came to the U. S. as minors could receive green cards in three years rather than eight. Undocumented farm workers providing documentation of 150 hours work in agriculture would also be eligible to apply for a green card.

As I see it, there are at least two problems for the illegals that will prevent this bill from being successful. The first is the $5,000 fine. Many undocumented workers do not have the financial resources to pay this fine. According to Julia Preston, a national correspondent for The New York Times who has travels across the country covering immigration issues, in 2005 illegals accounted for 24% of farm workers, 17% of cleaning workers, and 14% of construction workers. In addition, many are employed as roofers, insulation installers, and meatpacking factory workers. All low-paying occupations. I would imagine all of their income goes to supporting their families paycheck-to-paycheck. As an English as a Second Language teacher, I know that many of my students live below the poverty level despite being employed. Where would they find an extra $5,000 lying around to pay the fine?

The second problem is fear. After recent raids and deportations, I would think many illegals would be afraid to come forward. A recent article by AP writer, Elliot Spagat, backs this up. Spagat, points out that many undocumented workers do not trust the government. They are especially mistrustful of the part of the bill requiring heads of households to return home to file their paperwork for legal status. They are afraid that they will go, apply, and never receive an answer. They are also worried about how long the process would take and how long they would have to be away from their families. Indiana Congressman Mike Pence asserts that the process would only take a week but is that realistic? Considering the number of people affected, that time-line seems overly optimistic at the least. And what if they reapply for legal status and are denied? Who supports the family then? Will there be any guarantees or protection for them?

In my opinion, these two things make the bill prohibitive and, Barack Obama has said, it devalues families. They come here to make a better life for their families and we are, in essence, selling them legal status and separating families putting them at risk. Obama says that we should not "replace one dysfunctional system with another." Indeed.

Sources
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070518/
ap_on_go_co/immigration_congress_glance_2
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/17
/questions-and-answers-immigration/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/
2007/05/18/state/n170820D82.DTL&type=politics
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=5540344
http://www.bloggernews.net/16907