President Obama made the statement last week that he is confident, that an Immigration Bill will be introduced in the Congress, in the next few months. The key senators charged with crafting the legislation indicated that, their process is almost complete. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) also confirmed that a bipartisan senate group is 90 percent done, with its draft of a bill which will revamp the Immigration law.
Overhauling the country’s immigration system is Obama’s top legislative priority, for his second term. He said that the law makers have come close and his expectation is that, we will actually see a bill on the floor of the senate soon. The biggest issue, however, is to resolve a long simmering dispute between organized labor and business group, over a new program to provide US work visas, for the low skilled foreign workers and the wages, that business should be required, to pay to those workers. The position of the labor unions was that businesses are trying to create a program that would let them import workers, to whom the employers would be required to pay the wages.
BINGO! President Obama’s prediction was correct. Top labor and business groups reached the agreement on a guest worker program, for low skilled workers that would eliminate one of the last significant obstacles. To a new proposal for a broad overhaul of Immigration Laws, Senator Charles E. Schumer said “we are very very closer than we have ever been.”
The Chamber of Commerce and the A.F.L-C.I.O., the nation’s main federation of labor unions, have reached a tentative agreement about the size and scope of a temporary guest worker program, which would grant up to 200,000 new visas annually for low skilled workers, such as restaurant and hotel workers. It was also agreed upon, to exclude certain higher skilled jobs, including crane operators and electricians, from the guest workers program. This tentative agreement seems to satisfy both, the business community and the labor groups.
To settle the wage dispute, the two sides agreed, that guest workers would be paid the prevailing industry wage, in the guest worker program. Business and labor leaders both agree, that they need a system that responds to the needs of the economy and they are now in a position, where they are both coming together, around key reforms that will fix the broken immigration system and move our economy forward.
We believe that the legislators are writing the bills and the legislation, will be introduced in the congress, within the next few days. The passage of the bill, will overhaul the US immigration system dramatically, strengthening the border and cracking down on employers, as well as remaking the legal immigration system, and provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the US. Under the emerging agreement, a new “W” visa program would bring tens and thousands of lower skilled workers. The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Illegal aliens, who are granted legal status, will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status, after 10 years and may apply for US Citizenship 3 years thereafter. We hope that the comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill when passed by the congress, will include provisions to strengthen family Immigration preserve and strengthen a bedrock value of Americas Immigration System. Under the present system there is a long waiting period for spous