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 ///Rapid Response 04/03/07
2007 Immigration Reform Legislation
Representatives Gutierrez and Flake have
introduced the Security Through Regularized
Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE)
Act of 2007, which is the first comprehensive
immigration reform legislative proposal of
the 110th congress. You are urged to contact
your Representatives to express your concerns
for immigration reform during this session of
congress and your concerns about this bill.
The Church World Service Immigration and
Refugee program (CWS/IRP) offers the
following analysis of this new bill broken
down by title with explanation of the
provisions that CWS/IRP agrees with and those
that CWS/IRP feels need to be amended:
Church World Service applauds
Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Jeff
Flake (R-AZ) and co-sponsors for this
bipartisan initiative on comprehensive
immigration reform. We praise the STRIVE Act
for its realistic provisions for earned
legalization, a new worker program, visa
reform, and the inclusion of the DREAM Act.
We are concerned, however, that some sections
will negatively impact refugees and asylum
seekers who are legally rebuilding their
lives in the United States. Also, we are
curious as to how the creation of
"conditional permanent residency"
will increase the bureaucracy of the
immigration system and potentially create a
group of "second-class" citizens.
While we support many provisions in the
STRIVE Act, we consider other measures
unworkable, inhumane and detrimental to the
people and values of the United States. This
document cites our support for certain
initiatives and recommendations that others
be amended in order to effectively solve the
United States’ broken immigration
system.
Title I: Border Enforcement
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Increase and improve ports of entry
along U.S. borders and expand congressional
oversight and Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) reporting;
- Monitor deaths along the southern U.S.
border in an effort to eliminate such
tragedies;
- Require the United States to work with
Mexico to promote development and ensure fair
labor standards; and
- Explore detention alternatives and
ensure protection for asylum seekers through
increased detention oversight.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Prevent delays in implementing border
security provisions from inhibiting other
necessary reforms;
- Hold DHS to legal standards when
drafting a border security strategy (Section
112,(b)4);
- Mandate service training, including
language and cultural sensitivity for border
patrol and port of entry officers to help
immigrants apply for legal status and pursue
asylum when applicable; and
- Examine the impact additional troops
and surveillance will have on the number of
migrant deaths in the desert, the
environment, and the security, privacy and
well-being of residents and citizens who live
near U.S. borders.
Title II – Interior
Enforcement
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Exempt vulnerable populations from
enhanced document fraud penalties, given a
reasonable and fair process.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Restrict the allowance for expedited
removal and allow appeal for all immigration
judge decisions (Section 206);
- Mandate that all additional detention
facilities comply with existing and enhanced
health and treatment standards;
- Prohibit indefinite detention, which is
barred in the U.N. Convention Against Torture
(Section 231,(a)8E);
- Forbid the inequitable penalizing of
"any alien" differently than
citizens for the same crime (Section
234,(a)2);
- Exempt children and vulnerable
populations from penalties involving unsafe
deportation (Section 234,(a)3); and
- Oppose mandates on state and local law
enforcement officials to enforce immigration
laws and attorneys to report the status of
immigrants in proceedings. These provisions
will discourage immigrants from reporting
crime, leave them targeted by criminals, and
divert police efforts from handling serious
crime (Sections 210,218).
Title III – Employment
Verification
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Provide anti-discrimination benchmarks
and safeguards, along with appropriate
oversight of such mandates;
- Mandate security and privacy
protections and prohibit the creation of a
national ID card; and
- Provide administrative and judicial
reviews to protect employees from system
errors and arbitrary system use.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Include I-94 cards used by refugees in
authorized documentation for employment; and
- Ensure that immigrants will not be
deported for employer verification
non-confirmations.
Title IV – New Worker Program
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Allow undocumented workers to pursue
paths to permanent residency and citizenship
by self petitioning;
- Create a reasonable, workable,
market-based H-2C visa program with a
standing commission to counsel;
- Ensure labor protections, wage
regulations, worker rights and
non-discrimination for H-2C workers; and
- Keep families together by including
spouses and children in visa, residency and
citizenship applications.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Implement this necessary new worker
program despite lengthy delays in border
security initiatives;
- Reduce small business application fees
and the $1,000 individual fee for entry and
adjustment of status;
- Allow qualifying workers to
successfully renew their work permits
regardless of market conditions; and
- Ensure immigration history not be
considered prior to implementation of earned
legalization (Section 402(b)5B).
Title V – Visa Reforms
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Craft the H1-B visa to be more workable
and market driven to benefit the U.S.
economy;
- Protect vulnerable populations such as
widows orphans and spouses, parents and
children of the deceased; and
- Exempt immediate family members from
immigration caps and recapture previous
years’ unused visas for others.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Relieve families by implementing these
reforms despite delays in border security
provisions; and
- Implement a workable, retroactive
waiver for individuals who have lost their
loved ones to remain in the country.
Title VI – Earned Legalization
Program for the Undocumented
We applaud the efforts contained in this
section that will
- Define the administrative and judicial
review process for denied applicants;
- Allow immigrants facing removal to
apply for conditional nonimmigrant status;
- Admit conditional nonimmigrant status
applicants without counting them against visa
caps; and
- Include the DREAM Act and measures to
fight poverty in Mexico to address the root
causes of immigration.
We express concern and seek action from
legislators to
- Implement this pathway to legalization
prior to border security provisions, which
could take years;
- Reduce authorized stay and adjustment
of status fees (totaling $2,500) that
discourage usage of the legal process;
- Provide opportunities for persons who
immigrated after June 1, 2006 to earn their
legal status;
- Guarantee labor protections for
conditional non-immigrants to prevent the
creation of a "second-class"
status;
- Set a maximum limit for back taxes
required to be paid and provide ample
timelines by which to do so;
- Resolve current backlogs in time for
the processing of conditional non-immigrant
applications; and
- Re-examine the
"legal-reentry" requirement’s
workability in terms of feasibility,
motivation, and tracking.
We urge congress to pass comprehensive
immigration reform that is both responsible
and humane. The STRIVE Act of 2007 is a good
starting point, and should be strengthened
through these suggested amendments to fix the
United States’ broken immigration
system through policies that are equitable,
workable and effective.
Co-Sponsors
The following Representatives have already
signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.
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