Legalization and A Road to Citizenship

Legalization: Reward work by granting legal status to hardworking, taxpaying, law-abiding immigrant workers already established in the United States.

Congress should grant legal status to hardworking, taxpaying immigrant workers and their families who are already living in the U.S, but who are caught in legal limbo. These workers and their families want nothing more than to get their immigration papers fixed, to get on a path to citizenship, and to pursue the American Dream.

It is time for the United States to get real about immigrant workers. In the last decade, nearly half of the new workers entering the workforce have been immigrants. Currently, immigrants comprise 1 out of 4 low-wage workers. The American economy increasingly depends on immigrants to grow. Yet American immigration policy is out of synch with reality. It continues to criminalize millions of immigrants who fill available jobs and contribute to our prosperity.

The result is that many members of our communities must live in fear of their future; are vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers; are denied protections and remedies available to others who are citizens or on the path to citizenship; and have no way to change their status. This not only undermines vulnerable immigrant workers, it undermines the bargaining power of American workers in the same industries. When some employers exploit undocumented immigrant workers, it creates an uneven playing field which enables unscrupulous employers to undercut the competitiveness of decent employers.

Opponents say that granting legal status will reward those who have violated immigration laws. What they fail to acknowledge is that the problem is bad laws that harm good people, and the solution is to change the laws so our policies reward work, embrace reality, and live up to our ideals.

Moreover, the combinations of policies we support - legalization and a path to citizenship; family reunification; justice on the job; and civil rights and liberties for all - will bring immigrants out of the shadows, make our immigration policies more realistic and enforceable, make it easier for immigrants to cooperate with the authorities, ensure full labor rights for all workers, increase participation in our democracy, strengthen our economy, and improve national security.

____________________________________

© 2003 Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union