Dear Readers:
It is clear that 2007 presents an unprecedented
opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
("CIR"), but members of Congress will only make CIR
a reality if their constituents demand it. While
anti-immigrant legislation is flooding Capitol Hill,
momentum for CIR continues to build.
First, AgJOBS legislation, a bi-partisan,
labor-management compromise on farmworker
immigration policy, has been re-introduced. The
AgJOBS legislation is quite complex, but essentially
contains two parts: (1) a two-step "legalization" or
"earned adjustment" program and (2) revisions to the
H-2A agricultural guestworker program.
Second, in his sixth State of the Union Address,
President Bush urged the passage of CIR. In the
State of the Union address, President Bush
states: "Extending hope and opportunity in our
country requires an immigration system worthy of
America - with laws that are fair and borders that
are secure. When laws and borders are routinely
violated, this harms the interests of our country.
To secure our border, we're doubling the size of the
Border Patrol, and funding new infrastructure and
technology. Yet even with all these steps, we cannot
fully secure the border unless we take pressure off
the border - and that requires a temporary worker
program. We should establish a legal and orderly
path for foreign workers to enter our country to
work on a temporary basis.
As a result, they won't have to try to sneak in,
and that will leave Border Agents free to chase down
drug smugglers and criminals and terrorists. We'll
enforce our immigration laws at the work site and
give employers the tools to verify the legal status
of their workers, so there's no excuse left for
violating the law. We need to uphold the great
tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and
assimilates new arrivals. We need to resolve the
status of the illegal immigrants who are already in
our country without animosity and without amnesty.
Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it
comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil,
and conclusive debate, so that you can pass, and I
can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law."
Third, last week, in a speech at Dupont,
President Bush asked Congress to consider an
increase the number of H-1B nonimmigrant
professional and specialty worker visas that are
availble on a fiscal year basis.
The "winds of change" seem to be more than just a
"gentle breeze". Our Nation's immigration woes
continue to be a "political football".
Perhaps Congress won't wait too long after
Superbowl Sunday to throw the preverbial "Hail Mary".
Click here
to read more about the Agricultural Job
Opportunities, Benefits,
and Security Act of 2007.
