U.S. Senate tackles immigration reform compromise
Members of First United Methodist Church of
Hyattsville, Md., demonstrate on the National Mall in Washington during
an April 2006 rally for immigrant rights. The U.S. Senate began on June 4
debating a compromise immigration reform bill that could affect 12
million undocumented workers. A UMNS file photo by Jay Mallin.
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A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
June 4, 2007
A comprehensive immigration reform bill in the U.S. Congress has
sparked 108 amendments with a variety of outcomes that could
dramatically affect the fate of at least 12 million undocumented workers
in the United States.
The Senate resumed debate on the bill June 4 and was expected to vote
on the matter by June 12. The debate will focus on a bipartisan
compromise agreement labeled a "grand bargain" during a May 17
announcement by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
The proposal (S. 1348) would legalize millions of unlawful
immigrants, tighten border security and mandate that employers verify
they are hiring legal workers. Conservative opponents say the compromise
would reward between 12-20 million illegal aliens with amnesty and
encourage legal immigration. Supporters say the bill, while not perfect,
is a good starting point toward fixing an immigration policy that has
long been broken.
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society is among faith-based
groups supporting the agreement as a starting framework with some
reservations about parts of the bill that apply to families.
The denomination's social advocacy agency is urging United Methodists
to support three family-based amendments in particular: the
Mendendez-Hagel amendment delaying the family backlog cutoff date; the
Clinton-Hagel amendment to designate minor children and spouses as
immediate relatives of lawful permanent residents; and the Dodd-Hatch
amendment, regarding foreign-born parents of U.S. citizens.
Describing family unity as "a significant issue of faith," the United
Methodist agency has lobbied for an immigration system that preserves
and encourages the family life of those affected, according to Bill
Mefford, an executive with the Board of Church and Society.
"In Scripture, it is the family that is created by God to provide the
economic and practical necessities, the religious instruction, the
emotional stability and care, and the primary means of
socialization for the individual," Mefford wrote in an e-mail action
alert about the bill. "Policies which devalue families ultimately
devalue individuals and entire societies."
Menendez-Hagel amendment
Bill Mefford reports on pending legislation during a
February United Methodist conference on immigration issues. A UMNS file
photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.
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As it stands, the compromise would clear the backlog under the existing
family and employer-based system, but only for those who submitted their
applications before May 1, 2004.
"As a result, an estimated 833,000 people who have played by the
rules and applied after that date will not be cleared as part of the
family backlog and will lose their chance to immigrate under current
rules," Mefford said.
The Menendez-Hagel amendment would extend the application cutoff date
to Jan. 1, 2007 – the same cutoff date set to legalize undocumented
immigrants.
"It would also add 110,000 green cards a year to ensure that we don't
start creating a new backlog or cause the eight-year deadline for
clearing the family backlog to slip by a few years," Mefford said.
Clinton-Hagel amendment
Current immigration law limits the number of green cards available to
spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents to 87,900 per
year. For these spouses and minor children, quota backlogs are
approximately four years and nine months long.
Critics say thousands of legal immigrant families have been
devastated by "inequitable" policies that affect minor children and
spouses dependent on the status of their U.S. sponsor.
The Clinton-Hagel amendment would re-categorize these spouses and
children as "immediate relatives," thereby lifting the cap on the number
of visas available to close family members and allowing permanent U.S.
residents to reunite with their loved ones in a timely
fashion.
Dodd-Hatch amendment
The bill would set an annual cap for green cards for parents of U.S.
citizens at 40,000 (less than half the current annual average number of
green cards issued to these parents). It also would create a new parent
visitor visa program that only allows parents to visit for 100 days per
year and collective penalties that critics say are harsh.
The Dodd-Hatch amendment would increase the annual cap of green cards
to 90,000, extend the duration of the parent visitor visa to 365 days
to help families remain together for a longer period; and make penalties
levied on individuals who overstay their S-visa applicable to that
individual and not collectively applied to their fellow citizens.
"This amendment is essential to making sure that our permanent legal
immigration system is fair to U.S. citizens and their parents, and
facilitates family reunification," Mefford said.
Divisive issue
Discussion on the compromise has been wide-ranging, with many groups at opposite ends of the spectrum.
In a telephone conference call May 30, members of the Board of Church
and Society joined representatives of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society,
Church World Service, Religious Action Center of Reformed Judaism,
Jewish Council of Public Affairs and Mennonite Central Committee, urging
callers to make their voices heard on the immigration proposal.
"With all the pending amendments, what we need to watch out for are
things that change the compromise or chip away at it," said Krista
Zimmerman, Mennonite Central Committee.
NumbersUSA Action, a nonprofit public policy organization led by
United Methodist Roy Beck, called the bill an effort "to use federal
immigration policies to force mass U.S. population growth and to depress
wages of vulnerable workers."
"It is crucial for Senate offices to hear
from you as people of faith that family is not only an effective means
of economic growth for the United States, but also is a significant
means of social assimilation as well as spiritual and emotional
stability."
–Bill Mefford
On its Web site, the organization urges a "no" vote on the
Clinton-Hagel amendment. "This amendment runs counter to the claims of
the measure’s proponents by actually exacerbating the scourge of 'chain
migration.' By itself, in fact, the 'grand compromise' would not end
chain migration, as its backers have suggested, but make it worse, and
making the problem worse still through adoption of this amendment is no
solution," according to the Web site.
The group also opposes the Mendendez-Hagel amendment.
"The compromise bill already includes an increase of almost 600,000
green cards to reduce the so-called 'family unification' backlog,
something NumbersUSA strongly opposes," the group says. "This amendment,
offered by Sen. Menendez (who was one of the chief negotiators in
bringing to the floor the 'grand compromise' before breaking away to
seek an even more egregious open borders position), would only worsen
the problem caused by 'chain migration.'"
United Methodist involvement
The United Methodist Book of Resolutions
calls for the Board of Church and Society "to work for public policy
that is hospitable to visitors to the United States in every step of
entry and visit to the U.S. from visa application to the time while they
are enroute to and are accepted entry into the United States."
The resolution also states that the United Methodist position "has
been clear on the issue of immigration including those who, while
working in the U.S. and making their contribution, do not have the
needed documents for residence.
"The 2000 General Conference adopted a resolution which specifically
charged The United Methodist Church to declare the 'Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Resolution Act' evil and unjust and to call the
United States government to accountability and insist upon changes and
possible abolition of the 1996 Immigration law, the continued existence
of a unified Immigration and Naturalization Service, rather than a
division into administrative and enforcement prosecutorial branches, and
the development of an amnesty program for undocumented persons."
Family immigration has been the cornerstone for the U.S. immigration system for the past 40 years, according to Mefford.
"Family unity is a significant issue of faith and is vital to
society," he said. "The legislation before the Senate will eliminate the
family preference system and replace it with an untested merit-based
system which devalues families and emphasizes high-skilled workers."
"It is crucial for Senate offices to hear from you as people of faith
that family is not only an effective means of economic growth for the
United States, but also is a significant means of social assimilation as
well as spiritual and emotional stability," Mefford said.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Library of Congress summary of S.1348
Senators of the 110th Congress
Social Principles on immigrants and refugees
United Methodist Board of Church and Society
NumbersUSA--Immigration
Immigration: Related articles |