By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
Local Latino leaders say an immigration reform bill under consideration in Congress is unlikely to benefit a majority of the local immigrant population.
Under the bill, illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1 of this year would receive probationary legal status. To qualify for permanent residency, illegal immigrants would have to pay a $5,000 fine and a $1,500 application fee.
In addition, the head of household would have to return to his or her home country and wait for eight to 13 years before returning to the United States.
Ben Balderas, executive director of El Centro Latino, said most local Latino immigrants would not be able to apply for permanent residency or citizenship.
“There are probably not a whole lot of people who are going to be able to afford the proposed fees,†he said.
The waiting period for heads of households “is ridiculous,†he added. “I don’t know how many people are going to take advantage of that.â€
According to Balderas, many people in the local Latino community had expected legislators to present a more flexible bill that offered more options to illegal immigrants.
“They’re a little disappointed in what eventually came out,†he said. “It was less than what they expected.â€
Carrboro has a rapidly growing Latino population, with about 12 percent of its residents from countries of Hispanic origin. By contrast, Orange County’s Latino population makes up about 5 percent of the total population, while North Carolina’s population is 6.4 percent Latino.
Some conservative lawmakers have criticized the bill as an amnesty bill that rewards those who have broken the law and entered the country illegally, while their liberal counterparts have opposed a section of the bill that would give a priority to immigrants with education and job skills over those with family members in the United States.
The bill, which will be considered by House lawmakers once the Senate is able to pass the measure, would also add 370 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and 18,000 new border patrol agents.
The legislation would allow a maximum of 400,000 guest workers to enter the country each year. Guest workers could receive two-year visas that could be renewed three times.
Maria Palmer, director of the multicultural center at North Carolina A&T State University and a longtime leader in the local Latino community, said the bill would not benefit many members of the local immigrant population.
“It’s a terrible compromise that would benefit very few of the people who have worked the hardest to prop up the U.S. economy,†she wrote in an email. “And I think folks in N.C. should inform themselves and understand the issues.â€
“Our laws are immoral,†she said. “I know grandparents who have overstayed their visas and are now illegal because our government would not extend their stay so they could help their daughters by taking care of their grandchildren.â€
Palmer, a former member of the state board of education, criticized local lawmakers who have come out against allowing illegal immigrants to apply for permanent residency: “I have seen such incredible abuse that I cannot stand to hear the platitudes of our ‘law and order’ politicians.â€