Important News: The Senate Judiciary Committee is acting at this hour on the motion to consider the US immigration bill as altered, including the alterations to the bill passed by the House of Representatives. The fact that the bill will be included in the committee debate is indeed great news because this is the key movement that sets forward the entire debate on comprehensive immigration reform. The substitute bill has passed, 12-6, and clears a pathway to citizenship for more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States today. This bill contains multiple changes and amendments that were negotiated by committee members of both parties. One of the major changes would be tighter requirements for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship in the country.
In particular, illegal immigrants seeking new merit-based green cards would have to get through a number of hurdles, including background checks, fines, and basic knowledge of US civics and English language skills. The essential requirement is to ensure that the immigrant who acquires citizenship is healed to integrate into American society and also assists in building the economy. The other tectonic reform is the increase in funding for ensuring border security. The funding is boosted by $25 billion over the next ten years and is specifically used for border infrastructure, technology, and personnel. These amounts go toward the work of erecting new, physically imposing barriers on the US-Mexico border and investing in surveillance technology and personnel training.
The bill even provides a permanent solution for the beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has been under fire in courts since it came into effect. Individuals can apply for permanent residency, and after achieving a high school diploma, among other requirements, they are free to apply for citizenship. Furthermore, the bill sets forth provisions that would prevent separation of families and reduce backlogs in court. That bill would put in place additional resources for family reunification, legal service providers, and immigration court staff. Some of the concerns and challenges being raised in their view were: high funding for border security and stringent measures to enforce more on the citizenship applicants, especially from Democrats. However, many are hailing the importance of the committee’s approval of the bill.
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“Today’s vote is a significant step forward in our effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” said Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We’ve worked hard to find common ground with our Republican colleagues, and I’m really proud of what we have in this bill.” But not everyone is happy with the rewritten bill. Some advocacy groups are worried that it jacks up border security and that provisions on specific issues—say, farm-worker visas or temporary workers—have not been included. “The bill, however, still falls short of meeting the needs of immigrant communities,” said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers. “We urge Congress to now continue in its work to develop comprehensive policy solutions that truly do put the needs of all immigrants and their communities first and that truly do reflect fairness and justice.” It now goes on to the full Senate, at which, if passed, it can be taken to the House of Representatives for further debate and voting. This is a fantastic victory in the long procedure of puppetry at the struggle and reform of America’s immigration work.
