Immigration reform takes center stage in Congress and in the US

There were massive demonstrations and marches, some reaching more than 500,000 people. It dominated the headlines in mainstream newspapers and television news programs. Finally, reforming US immigration laws is the hottest topic in Congress and around the US. Various proposals are being introduced and debated, concerning what to do with the approximate 12-14 million illegal aliens in the US.

This week, a Senate committee (the Senate Judiciary Committee) approved a proposed law that could possibly allow illegal aliens to finally legalize their status. That Senate Committee proposal now goes to the full Senate for debate.

The House of Representatives (the other branch of Congress) passed its own proposed law, which focuses on enforcement, but did not include any provisions granting immigration benefits to illegal aliens.

But please be aware that these are only proposals. They are not yet law. Unless and until a proposal passes both the Senate and the House, and is signed by the president, it is not a "law". It is only a "proposal".

Typically, a proposed law is introduced into either the House or the Senate. If that proposal is passed by either the House or the Senate, it then goes to the other legislative branch to be voted on. If the House or Senate have proposals that are different, they must come to agreement on a single version of the proposed law, and eliminate any conflicting portions. Once a single, agreed-on proposal is approved by both the House and Senate, it then goes to the president for signature.

At the present time, there are several proposals in the House and Senate, and now the debate begins on which provision (or version) will be agreed on.

The proposal from the Senate Judiciary Committee includes the following main points:

• It creates a guest-worker program, that would offer illegal aliens a path to green cards and eventual citizenship.

• As part of the path to "legal" status, aliens would have to, among other things, pay back taxes and a penalty/fine.

• It would allow up to 400,000 new visas annually for foreign workers to enter the US, for up to three years. The visas could be renewed, for a total stay of six years. This program would allow visas for the worker’s family and a path to permanent resident status (green card) if the alien learned English (which most Filipinos know already), among other requirements.

• It would offer 1.5 million "blue cards" to workers who would work in the agricultural fields (picking and harvesting crops) at least 100 days a year, in order to create a legalized work force for the agricultural industry.

• As many as 14,000 new border patrol agents would be hired by 2011.

The proposal from the House of Representatives includes the following:

• It would be a felony (very serious crime) to be a TNT. Now, its just a civil (not criminal) violation of immigrations laws.

• Employers would be required to confirm the authenticity of an employee’s social security number from a national database, or face very stiff fines.

• There is no provision for granting any kind of immigration benefit (or "amnesty") to illegal aliens.

As you can see, there is a vast difference between these two proposals. I urge you to write to your Senators and Members of Congress, urging them to agree on the proposal by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would allow illegal aliens a path to legalization.

Once again, I emphasize that these are only proposals, so that you should not be running around asking, "Can I file right now?" Any proposal must be enacted into law and signed by the president.

We will continue to monitor these developments, and let us hope that a law will pass that grants benefits to illegal aliens.

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