Republicans and Democrats alike have made immigration reform a priority for 2014. One divisive point is the creation of a “Pathway to Citizenship” for people in the U.S. without legal authorization. While the phrase “Pathway to Citizenship” may invoke images of a U.S. passport kiosk at every mall, the reality is that Senate Bill 744, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate in June 2013, provides merely a starting point toward permanent residency and is not the amnesty that opponents fear. With a further clarification of what the “Pathway to Citizenship” actually looks like, both sides can move through the current blocked pathway toward immigration reform.
Senate Bill 744, is a broad-based comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes regulations for: awarding permanent residency to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university; creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire undocumented immigrants in the future; requiring prospective workers to verify legal status and identity through a non-forgeable electronic system; allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they are unable to recruit a U.S. citizen, and establishing an agricultural worker program.
The bill also provides undocumented individuals the ability to apply for permanent residency after ten (10) years in a temporary status. This process has improperly been referred to as a “Pathway to Citizenship”. The phrase is inaccurate because the effect of the bill to is to allow new American immigrants the ability to apply for permanent residency not to apply for U. S. citizenship. Specifically, the bill creates an immigration benefit known as Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status for certain undocumented foreign nationals present in the U.S.
Foreign nationals who have continuously resided in the U.S. since December 31, 2011, would be eligible for RPI status. The process starts with a ten (10) year waiting period in a provisional status which could be revoked at any time with required renewal every (6) six years. Only after ten (10) years, the individual could apply to be a permanent resident. Those in RPI status could not apply for permanent residency until all other backlogs had been resolved. Also, people with RPI status would be permitted to work and travel. Individuals who have committed certain crimes or who fall within established inadmissibility grounds for security, public health, or similar reasons would be barred from this status. RPI applicants would be required to demonstrate knowledge of civics, the ability to read and speak English, and evidence of having paid all taxes owed.
The RPI status holder would be required to maintain this temporary status for ten (10) years before applying for permanent residency. If permanent residency is granted, in accordance with the current requirements for citizenship, there is another five (5) year waiting period before a permanent resident can apply for citizenship.
As provided by Section 316(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, citizenship through naturalization requires: continuous residence in the United States as a legal permanent residence for at least five (5) years, actual physical presence at least half of that time, good moral character, and literacy and knowledge of the history and government of the U.S.
Current law coupled with the proposed RPI status requires a minimum fifteen (15) year waiting period to apply for citizenship. Instead of the sublime sounding walk along a garden “pathway”, the process is more like a fifteen (15) year subway ride that stops for intervals of five (5) to ten (10) years with multiple checkpoints, fines and fees.
House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders are expected to release their own proposal on immigration reform this week in a one-page list of principles which is expected to be issued before President Barack Obama makes his State of the Union address. Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, a Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee stated he would not support legislation with a “special” or direct pathway to citizenship for the 11.5 million new American immigrants in the country without authorization. Mr. Goodlatte has said he would instead offer a provisional legal status to illegal immigrants, then allow those who can demonstrate they are eligible, to apply for permanent residency through the existing system, based on sponsorship by a family member or an employer. Most of what Mr. Goodlatte proposes is either in existence in or in the Senate’s bill.
Comprehensive immigration reform that provides the ability for a new American immigrant to obtain permanent residency is not the drastic measure that opponents fear. Even if there is no major change to current immigration law, 3.1 million to 4.4 million undocumented immigrants now in the U.S. would be eligible for permanent residency. As reported in a recent policy brief by the National Foundation for American Policy, a “roadmap” already exists for parents of American citizens to obtain permanent residency. The brief also reports that even without major changes to current immigration law, as many as 600,000 new American immigrants could apply for permanent residency as spouses of citizens and legal residents, and up to 45,000 could receive permanent residency within two decades as low-skilled workers.
As for proponents of the Senate’s bill, some recognize that the sticking point should not be an all of nothing approach to the issue of a “Pathway to Citizenship”. Over eighty (80) “DREAMers”, undocumented new American immigrant students who were involuntarily brought to the U.S. as children, have published an open letter to “friends and allies in the immigrant rights movement” calling on them to move beyond the demand of citizenship or nothing. Specifically, they ask advocates and Democrats to “focus on a practical legislative solution for immediate relief for families, even if it doesn't include a special path to citizenship. Our families and communities need relief now, not ideological hard lines.”
If Congress fails to pass immigration reform by the end of 2014, Senate Bill 744 dies and the legislative process will inevitably start again in 2015. Such an unnecessary failure would be a mistake. When the polarizing misconception of a “Pathway to Citizenship” is replaced with a more accurate title of a “starting point toward permanent residency”, it is clear that the two parties are closer to the goal than they think.
Senate Bill 744, is a broad-based comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes regulations for: awarding permanent residency to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university; creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire undocumented immigrants in the future; requiring prospective workers to verify legal status and identity through a non-forgeable electronic system; allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they are unable to recruit a U.S. citizen, and establishing an agricultural worker program.
The bill also provides undocumented individuals the ability to apply for permanent residency after ten (10) years in a temporary status. This process has improperly been referred to as a “Pathway to Citizenship”. The phrase is inaccurate because the effect of the bill to is to allow new American immigrants the ability to apply for permanent residency not to apply for U. S. citizenship. Specifically, the bill creates an immigration benefit known as Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status for certain undocumented foreign nationals present in the U.S.
Foreign nationals who have continuously resided in the U.S. since December 31, 2011, would be eligible for RPI status. The process starts with a ten (10) year waiting period in a provisional status which could be revoked at any time with required renewal every (6) six years. Only after ten (10) years, the individual could apply to be a permanent resident. Those in RPI status could not apply for permanent residency until all other backlogs had been resolved. Also, people with RPI status would be permitted to work and travel. Individuals who have committed certain crimes or who fall within established inadmissibility grounds for security, public health, or similar reasons would be barred from this status. RPI applicants would be required to demonstrate knowledge of civics, the ability to read and speak English, and evidence of having paid all taxes owed.
The RPI status holder would be required to maintain this temporary status for ten (10) years before applying for permanent residency. If permanent residency is granted, in accordance with the current requirements for citizenship, there is another five (5) year waiting period before a permanent resident can apply for citizenship.
As provided by Section 316(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, citizenship through naturalization requires: continuous residence in the United States as a legal permanent residence for at least five (5) years, actual physical presence at least half of that time, good moral character, and literacy and knowledge of the history and government of the U.S.
Current law coupled with the proposed RPI status requires a minimum fifteen (15) year waiting period to apply for citizenship. Instead of the sublime sounding walk along a garden “pathway”, the process is more like a fifteen (15) year subway ride that stops for intervals of five (5) to ten (10) years with multiple checkpoints, fines and fees.
House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders are expected to release their own proposal on immigration reform this week in a one-page list of principles which is expected to be issued before President Barack Obama makes his State of the Union address. Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, a Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee stated he would not support legislation with a “special” or direct pathway to citizenship for the 11.5 million new American immigrants in the country without authorization. Mr. Goodlatte has said he would instead offer a provisional legal status to illegal immigrants, then allow those who can demonstrate they are eligible, to apply for permanent residency through the existing system, based on sponsorship by a family member or an employer. Most of what Mr. Goodlatte proposes is either in existence in or in the Senate’s bill.
Comprehensive immigration reform that provides the ability for a new American immigrant to obtain permanent residency is not the drastic measure that opponents fear. Even if there is no major change to current immigration law, 3.1 million to 4.4 million undocumented immigrants now in the U.S. would be eligible for permanent residency. As reported in a recent policy brief by the National Foundation for American Policy, a “roadmap” already exists for parents of American citizens to obtain permanent residency. The brief also reports that even without major changes to current immigration law, as many as 600,000 new American immigrants could apply for permanent residency as spouses of citizens and legal residents, and up to 45,000 could receive permanent residency within two decades as low-skilled workers.
As for proponents of the Senate’s bill, some recognize that the sticking point should not be an all of nothing approach to the issue of a “Pathway to Citizenship”. Over eighty (80) “DREAMers”, undocumented new American immigrant students who were involuntarily brought to the U.S. as children, have published an open letter to “friends and allies in the immigrant rights movement” calling on them to move beyond the demand of citizenship or nothing. Specifically, they ask advocates and Democrats to “focus on a practical legislative solution for immediate relief for families, even if it doesn't include a special path to citizenship. Our families and communities need relief now, not ideological hard lines.”
If Congress fails to pass immigration reform by the end of 2014, Senate Bill 744 dies and the legislative process will inevitably start again in 2015. Such an unnecessary failure would be a mistake. When the polarizing misconception of a “Pathway to Citizenship” is replaced with a more accurate title of a “starting point toward permanent residency”, it is clear that the two parties are closer to the goal than they think.
