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Bush Immigration Principles Fail to Provide Real Relief for Immigrant Families January 9, 2004 No Concrete Proposal for Comprehensive
Legalization Oakland, CA - The proposal for immigration reform outlined today by President George Bush promises little hope for fair wages or decent working conditions, much less opportunity for legal status, for the millions of undocumented immigrant workers in the U.S. Instead, the proposed “new” policy amounts to little more than another “guestworker” program, with even fewer protections and opportunities than programs currently under consideration in Congress. The Bush proposal might be good for employers wanting cheap and vulnerable labor, but does little to contribute to the human rights and well-being of immigrant workers. The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and other immigrant rights advocates hoped that the Administration would finally follow through on its pledge of over two years ago to consider a path to permanent residency for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who live and work in the U.S. However, the main fix that the President proposes - a three-year, renewable temporary worker visa - provides no definitive path toward legalization, but rather, ensures a pool of cheap labor for “bad jobs” that American workers try to avoid. Nor did the proposal specify how immigrant families could be united or remain together in the U.S., only that participants could leave to visit home countries and gain re-entry. The President also spoke of the tragic deaths of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, indicating that his proposals for temporary work visas would help migrants who have been victimized by smugglers. However, he also reaffirmed border security policies which themselves have contributed to discrimination, abuse and violence against immigrants in the border regions, sometimes at the hands of border patrol agents. After September 11, stepped-up “militarization” of the border has forced desperate men, women and children into more hazardous migration situations. The President’s proposal did not specify changes to the current legal immigration program, which is woefully backlogged and inadequate in addressing the demand for immigration access. Since participants in the new temporary worker program would have “fall in line” to apply for permanent residency status, they too would be thrust into the existing backlog that itself contributes to undocumented immigration. The fact that the Department of Homeland Security, which is dedicated to national security, would be responsible for implementing the proposed program is also disturbing. DHS immigration enforcement programs, as described in NNIRR’s recent report, Human Rights and Human Security at Risk, already jeopardize community safety and compromise access to immigration services. DHS oversight provides little incentive for undocumented immigrants to emerge from the shadows and identify themselves through a program that carries little hope for longterm legal residency. Comprehensive immigration reform must include opportunities for permanent residency and family reunification, labor protection, access to due process, safety and community security. Undocumented immigrant students, many of whom have lived in the U.S. most of their lives, have been waiting for President Bush to support pending legislation that would provide them with access to permanent residency and a future free from fear of deportation. Farmworker unions have negotiated with agribusiness to bring to Congress legislation that would protect their rights as workers and create a path for legal residency. President Bush’s proposals made no mention of these efforts. Instead, his announcement, which comes less than a week before he is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox, has the transparency of a pre-election appeal to Latino voters -- not a serious attempt to chart a path towards a fair and just program of much-needed immigration reform. |
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