President Bush’s State of the Union Address made a brief
reference to his administration’s position on immigration. This is the first
time within memory that a State of the Union Address has even mentioned
immigration, a courageous step in the current climate, but does it go far
enough? Does it address the real problems? I think not.
The President’s guest worker program would introduce a new
type of temporary immigrant, but would do nothing to address the real problems.
The real problems are:
- The multi-year backlogs for lawful immigrants being
sponsored by employers or close family members, and
- The need for a realistic solution for the ten million
plus undocumented foreign nationals who already live and work in the US.
The multi-year backlogs punish those who should be a high
priority. Adult children of citizens sometimes wait decades to immigrate
lawfully. Spouses and minor children of lawful residents wait four to five
years. Highly skilled professionals may have to wait five or ten years. Little
wonder that we have a massive problem with illegal immigration when the laws do
not work for those who should be our first priority.
The ten million plus undocumented foreign nationals have
lived here so long, paid taxes and become so much a part of the economy that the
only sensible and secure policy is a path to permanent residence. Some of these
people have been here for 10, 15, or 20 years or more. They are your neighbors.
Many have spouses and children who are U.S. citizens or lawful residents. Some
would deport them all, but this ignores the financial and logistical barriers.
Imagine a line of 200,000 busses, 170 miles long needed to transport 10 million
– the costs are staggering even if you don’t count the needed courtrooms and
detention facilities.
Most of those here unlawfully are nonetheless
constructively contributing to the U.S. economy and society. But it is bad
for national security, bad for the economy, and bad for families to have
such a significant number in unlawful status and vulnerable to those who would
prey on them because of the simple fact that they are undocumented. It is bad
for national security, because in the post-9/11 world we need to be able to
clearly distinguish those who are part of our way of life from those who would
tear it down.
It is bad for the economy, because 10+ million undocumented
people are already part of our economy. We depend on them to continue to
perform the work they do, to buy the goods and services they consume, and to
send money back to support their home countries. The economy of a number of
countries depends on money sent home by the millions here, and these countries
would be cauldrons of instability without this aid which dwarfs our own
government’s foreign aid. To suddenly rip the long-term undocumented out of the
fabric of our economy and send them home would have an impact on our economy
more damaging than that of 9/11.
It is also bad for families. Some members of millions of
families are still at risk of deportation, even when they are the primary
support of a family with U.S. citizen children. In addition, children who were
brought here as infants, who have committed no crime and who are culturally
American have no future here. The partial solution President Bush proposes does
not address either one of these problems.
For all these reasons, our immigration system needs reform.
It needs comprehensive reform which addresses the real problems. Partial
solutions aren’t good enough.
Let us get practical instead of angry with the victims of
our flawed system. We can turn this problem into a benefit. Once legal, these
aliens can pay their own way, including helping to sustain the social security
system. Once we fingerprint them, we can distinguish those who mean no harm from
those who would tear our system down. If they have violated the immigration law,
we can impose hefty financial penalties that will fund a reformed immigration
system. We can fix things, we do not need to have a system that tears families
apart, prevents employers from hiring critical workers, and often favors those
who violate the law. We must come to grips with the fact that immigrants are
essential to a nation with a growing economy and declining pool of workers. We
must develop a system that reflects that reality and strengthen our economy.
A comprehensive solution would give long-term undocumented
persons a chance to become lawful permanent residents, so long as they pay
penalties (hefty penalties) for their past immigration sins, demonstrate that
they are self-supporting, pay taxes, and pass rigorous security and criminal
checks. It would also allow those with needed skills and parents or spouses here
legally to immigrate without prohibitive delays.
Let’s not settle for a partial solution. Let’s solve the
real problem. Let’s protect national security, the economy and families. Let’s
ask Congress for a comprehensive solution.
____________________________________
Steve Clark is a Past President of the American
Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA). He is head of the immigration practice
at Flynn & Clark, P.C. in Cambridge.
