Senate-passed
immigration bill falls short
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A UMNS photo by Linda S. Rhodes The Rev. Walter Coleman speaks at a Family Unity immigration rally in Chicago.
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The
Rev. Walter Coleman speaks at a Family Unity immigration rally in
Chicago. Coleman, pastor of Adalberto United Methodist Church in
Chicago, has been fighting for a comprehensive immigration plan for 15
years. A UMNS photo by Linda S. Rhodes. Photo #06660. Accompanies UMNS
story #352. 6/13/06 |
June 13, 2006
A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
The Senate immigration bill that was approved May 24 was "a half loaf,"
according to a United Methodist pastor who has been fighting for a comprehensive
immigration plan for 15 years.
The Senate bill gives legalization for about half of the 12 million undocumented
workers in the United States, said the Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of Adalberto
United Methodist Church, Chicago.
Bill Mefford, executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society,
called the path to citizenship in the Senate bill "an unworkable three-tiered
system."
The next step for the comprehensive immigration reform bill will be when
representatives of the Senate and House meet and try to compromise on a single
bill. Mefford predicted the conference between the House and Senate will happen
right after the July 4 break.
Some upcoming events planned to focus on the issue are:
- July 1 - National Citizenship Day, led
primarily by the House Democratic Hispanic Caucus and organizing groups
throughout the country. The goal is to register people to vote and promote
citizenship.
- July 19 - National Immigration Reform
Advocacy Day, also led primarily by the House Democratic Hispanic Caucus.
- July 12 - An Interfaith Conference and Lobby
Day, which will feature a series of panels on immigration issues.
By the end of June or early July, a campaign by
an interfaith group working on immigration will mobilize people to make calls or
send e-mail to representatives and senators and urge them to promote
comprehensive reform.
"Our fear is that an already weak Senate reform bill will be further weakened to
appease those opposed to comprehensive immigration reform in the House," Mefford
said.
Blocks to citizenship
The requirements for citizenship for undocumented workers in the country longer
than five years mean "they would have had to live an almost perfect life,"
Coleman said. "There probably isn't one in 50 U.S. citizens that could pass the
requirements."
"In this system, immigrants who have been in the U.S. longer than five years can
apply for the path to citizenship, those in the U.S. between two and five years
must 'check in' at a port of entry before they can apply for the path to
citizenship, and those in the U.S. less than two years must leave the United
States," Mefford said. "The administrative workload for this, and the potential
for abuse and mistreatment, is enormous. The path to citizenship must be secured
for all undocumented immigrants who want to become citizens."
"Sending people back who have lived in the U.S. for less than two years will
just create an underground, shadow (existence) because people are not going to
leave," Coleman says.
Mefford agreed that stringent provisions would prevent many workers from
qualifying.
"One inhibiting factor is the large financial cost, which would be compounded by
a tax increase that would solely apply to legalizing immigrants," he said.
"Precluded from a path to citizenship are those who have committed minor crimes
years ago. Adding to the confusion for immigrants, social service agencies and
government workers, the legislation establishes overlapping paths to
legalization, each with its own set of requirements."
The Senate version offers waivers that would reunify families, but it doesn't
cover families that have bans filed against them, Coleman said. Bans are issued
and recorded if undocumented workers have been charged with a false claim to
U.S. citizenship or caught trying to cross the border illegally.
"In some cases, somebody may have been deported and charged with a false claim
to U.S. citizenship because they used someone else's driver's license to cross
the border," Coleman said. "It is very arbitrary whether are not they will be
charged."
There is an indefinite detention time for immigrants in this bill, Mefford said.
"The bill would give the Department of Homeland Security the power to detain
immigrants for years without determining whether they pose a viable threat. This
would severely undermine due process, not allowing immigrants the right to have
their case heard before a court of law."
Another part of the bill expands the number of felonies classified as aggravated
felonies, Mefford said.
"Aggravated felony convictions bring greater penalties, which could include
mandatory detention, permanent deportation, and the denial of judicial review,"
he said.
'Oaks of righteousness'
Coleman said the "situation in the House is very difficult."
"As long as the Speaker of the House takes the position that he won't put
anything on the floor unless he has the support of the majority of the majority,
it looks like for now, compromise will be very difficult. We may be looking at
going into elections and trying to get a better situation next year with House
and Senate."
"The scriptural commands to welcome the stranger and advocate for the most
vulnerable in society compel us to continue this work of advocacy," Mefford
said. "As we strive to be a people of invitation to the strangers in our land,
let us accept their invitation to us to join our brother and sister sojourners
in their struggle to come out of the shadows and achieve their rightful
recognition as contributable members of society."
The church is a part of this struggle, Coleman said. "We have based our biblical
foundation on the passages that say welcome the stranger. This year has deepened
our understanding.
"I think the better passages come from Isaiah 61, when he says God has planted
people here like 'oaks of righteousness' that they might bring about some
justice in this country."
*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
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UMCOR: Immigration
Immigration
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