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A New Immigration Policy Proposal
Change in policy is long due
Nicole Martin
Staff Writer
Serious legislation regarding immigrant workers is long overdue, and
the immigration policy proposed by President Bush at the beginning of
the year appears to be a good start.
The US labor market is 14% foreign-born compared with 11.5% (or 32.5
million) of the general population. Both figures are probably underestimates,
as the number of illegal aliens is notoriously hard to calculate. Estimates
range from 8 to 20 million people. Approximately 2 million people enter
the US illegally each year as border patrols, hindered by tight budgets,
have been forced into a ‘catch and release’ pattern that
is inefficient and unsafe.
President Bush’s proposal allows workers who are already ‘matched’
with jobs to receive work visas. Additionally, employers who are unable
to find Americans to fill jobs can offer them to people overseas. Senior
administration officials have confirmed that approximately 7 to 8 million
people would be eligible for this program, although no cap on the work
visas has been discussed.
Once accepted, workers in the program would be allowed to apply for
a green card, although they would not be afforded a higher status than
those who are not in the program. The number of green cards is currently
fixed at 140,000. The program’s participants would not be allowed
to stay permanently, but the visas would be eligible for renewal for
three years. The administration has stressed that this is not an amnesty
program, yet, in permitting workers to come forward without being deported,
the program does seem to offer amnesty, if only temporarily. After the
visas expire, the immigrants are supposed to go home, but given the
current under-funding of similar programs, they will likely disappear
into the world from whence they came.
Some of the program’s critics hold that it will ‘reward’
illegal aliens. This argument neglects the fact that these people have
found their own reward in the form of jobs and that they are not going
to stop coming. President Bush’s plan acknowledges the facts and
offers solutions.
This is going to be a pilot project, and it is currently one with quite
a few holes. Bush’s budget did increase funding in the Department
of Homeland Security, but it is unclear whether that increase includes
funds for this program. Immigrants do have incentives to join the program,
as they will receive the minimum wage and all other labor protections.
But when the program ends, they cannot remain in the country legally,
which means the program may not provide a long-term solution to the
immigrants’ employment problem. Nor is it clear whether there
will be limitations to the number of renewals or if the laborers will
have time to look for new jobs if they get downsized. If not, immigrants
might be tied to bad jobs as the fear of deportation keeps them from
quitting.
Perhaps the most important question to be asked is not about the bill’s
details but its political feasibility. Skeptics have wondered aloud
whether President Bush even thinks the bill will pass, or whether he
wants it to. There was an initial burst of media activity in the few
days following the announcement of the program. Since then, there has
been little conversation and no action on the matter. President Bush
discussed the plan only briefly in the State of the Union address. The
response to President Bush’s announcement is a perfect example
of the hyperactive lack of attention in an election year. The media
has moved past this issue to those more pertinent to the election..
And while the Democratic nominees have not even deigned it worthy of
their attention, the issue should be discussed, if not this year, then
later.
Even if Bush were dedicated to its passage, there would be other hurdles.
In an election year, Democrats will be even more unwilling to make compromises.
Considering the vicious fights over the energy bill, the prescription
drug benefit, the appropriations bill and the judicial nominees, there’s
little bipartisan goodwill left. Conservative Republicans are already
unhappy about the expensive 2005 budget and the mounting deficit, and
will probably balk at the opportunity to spend more money to import
workers.
Senators Hagel and Daschle have proposed a bipartisan bill that has
only a few changes from the administration’s proposal. Daschle
is himself facing a difficult reelection fight, and introducing this
legislation is a smart move for him. This bill would have a good chance
of passing, but it has yet to be written and descriptions are currently
limited to press releases. It could be several months until it is introduced,
and the chances of a bipartisan bill passing will get slimmer and slimmer
as Election Day nears.
Even with these doubts that the proposed legislation raises, critics
are short-sighted in saying that the President is just “playing
politics.” It is true that the bill is a politically savvy move.
The President is starting to move toward the political center, trying
to appeal to more moderate voters. The issue is very important to the
increasingly influential Hispanic demographic. Democratic nominees,
if forced to take a position, will be stuck between supporting the President
and displeasing Hispanic voters. At the very least, political observers
should respect this aspect of Bush’s reelection strategy
The electoral value that Bush may gain from the bill has no bearing
on its worth as potential domestic policy. It should not be that amazing
that every so often the incentives in politics and in policy align,
for one brief moment, to create an effective bill. Good politics might
just be making good policy in this case.
Immigrants are streaming in. They are an important source of labor and
deserve protections such as the minimum wage. Although some politicians
would clearly rather ignore it, this is becoming more than just a problem
of border security and labor markets. The continued denial of basic
rights to these economic refugees amounts to a human rights violation
and should be addressed. If we are unwilling to change the fact that
our border patrols are under-funded and unable to enforce the laws,
we must offer protections to the people who do come into the country.
The proposal might have little chance of being passed this year, but,
at the very least, it has introduced an important issue to the arena
of public debate.
Staff Writer Nicole Martin can be reached at:
nwmartin@email.unc.edu
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