President Obama has said he will start working on comprehensive immigration reform next year, but a Hispanic representative, Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois, has taken the first stab at a bill he calls C.I.R.A.S.A.P. (Comprehensive Immigration Reform, As Soon As Possible). He is evidently feeling pressure from his Hispanic constituents. Given our discussion of immigration policy I thought it would interesting to highlight the proposed changes of this bill:The legislation hewed closely to some recent statements by Obama administration officials, mainly in its call for improved border security, a crackdown on employers who hire unauthorized workers and some way to open the door to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Under the bill, to gain legal status and possibly citizenship, illegal immigrants already here would have to demonstrate they had been working, pay a $500 fine, learn English and undergo a criminal background check, among other provisions. Unlike previous proposals in Congress, they would not have to return to their homeland first, something known as “touchback.”
The measure also calls for additional training and equipment for border guards, though not the hiring of new ones, and would require the Homeland Security Department to improve immigration jails and eliminate a program that deputizes local and state officers as immigration agents.
The bill lacks a broad program championed by many Republicans, as well as Democrats including Mr. Obama, to address future labor demands and to better control the flow of immigration. To do that, they have advocated a program under which people could work only temporarily in the United States and then return home. Instead, the bill calls for a federal commission to study the best approach for the “future flows of workers.”
What do you think about this bill. Do you think it will work? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the bill?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/us/politics/16immig.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
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