PROPOSAL FOR ALTERNATIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM BASED ON HUMAN, CIVIL AND LABOR RIGHTS FOR ALL
DRAFT – NOT FINAL, INPUT WELCOME
San Francisco, CA 10/25/10
We have compiled here immigration reform proposals based on the basic premise of dignity, human rights and equality for all. We believe that immigrants and migrants are entitled to basic human rights, legal status, equal protection under the law, and the same right to work as the rest of the population. Most of the proposals have been borrowed from previous legislation and from the ideas of immigrant rights groups and unions. Some of the proposals are new, most are not. We provide the sources to illustrate that we are not alone in envisioning better, more just and humane solutions.
DRAFT – LEGALIZATION
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
| Residents without legal status regardless of age may adjust their status to that of legal permanent resident if the resident was physically present in the U.S. immediately preceding the passage of this Act. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Graduates of any U.S. high school will receive expedited processing of their applications for permanent residence status. They will be considered in-state residents for the purposes of calculating fees or tuition for education. Financial aid will not be denied to students because of immigration status. | DREAM Act |
|
HR 265 – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, January 7, 2009 |
| Application fees will not be a barrier for adjustment to legal permanent resident status, particularly for low-income applicants. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Newly legalized residents shall be eligible to apply for public benefit programs one year after having received legal permanent resident status. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Applicants for adjustment to legal permanent resident status will receive authorization to work at the time of application. | Unity Blueprint |
| Funds will be made available to community-based, non-profit organizations to assist applicants for adjustment to legal permanent resident status. | Unity Blueprint |
| Applicants for adjustment to legal permanent resident status will not be restricted by the Legal Services Corporation Act from receiving legal assistance. Immigration status or lack of it shall not be used to deny services by legal aid groups funded by the Legal Services Corporation or other government services. | Unity Blueprint |
| Persons granted legal permanent resident status under this act will be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship within 5 years of receipt of legal permanent resident status. | Unity Blueprint |
| Bring the registry date up to January 1, 2005, and advance the date one year every year (rolling registry date) so that, in the future, any person residing in the U.S. before the date can immediately apply for permanent residence. | SIREN – Uplifting our Nation’s Values |
DRAFT – FAMILY REUNIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
|
H.R.2709 – Reuniting Families Act. Congressman Michael Honda, June 4, 2009 |
| All immigration rights will be equally available to same sex permanent partners. (Incorporate the ‘Uniting American Families Act’ into this family reunification bill) | H.R.2709 |
| Repeal the 3 and 10-year and permanent bars that prevent immigrants from legalizing their status. | Unity Blueprint |
| Allocate a visa outside the per-country limits and worldwide ceiling to any individual waiting for a family-based preference visa for more than one year, or permit such applicants temporary admission pending the processing of their visas. | Unity Blueprint |
| Reduce the affidavit of support income test required of family-based immigrant sponsors from 125% to 100% of the federal poverty level. | Unity Blueprint |
| Lower fee structures to accommodate low-income, and larger families. | United Front for Immigrants (Chicago) |
| Eliminate the cap on the total number of family-based visas available. | AFSC: A New Path |
| Increase funding to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to expedite the processing of visa applications and to expedite adjustment of status procedures. | AFSC: A New Path |
| Applicants for admission who can substantiate that they have been displaced by NAFTA policies should be given priority for entry into the U.S | United Front for Immigrants (Chicago) |
DRAFT – REPEAL EMPLOYER SANCTIONS, ENFORCE LABOR AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
| Repeal employer sanctions, ensure that hiring an undocumented worker is not “harboring” | Draft Bill to Repeal Employer Sanctions – 2005Judith P. Miller & David Tannenbaum
Michael Wishnie, Workers Rights Project of Yale Law School and the Break the Chains Alliance, AFSC – A New Path, Unity Blueprint, Casa de Maryland, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, AFL-CIO (until recently) |
| The budgets for the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be substantially increased, including funding special programs for labor law enforcement in industries in which immigrants are concentrated. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee, Unity Blueprint, AFL-CIO, Casa de Maryland, AFSC – A New Path and many others |
| Overturn the Hoffman and Sure-Tan Supreme Court decisions, ensuring that workers fired for union activity can be reinstated and awarded back pay regardless of immigration status. | Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance |
| Make threats or action related to immigration status to discourage a worker from exercising rights under the National Labor Relations Act an unfair labor practice. Neither back pay nor any other monetary damages shall be denied as a result of a complainant or plaintiff’s immigration status. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee, Unity Blueprint |
| Congress will establish and fund a commission to make a survey of the labor and employment conditions of immigrant workers. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee |
| Proposals for future immigration policy must augment economic stimulus programs that ensure that all workers have jobs at a decent and livable wage. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Ensure that undocumented workers are covered by Federal worker protection laws. | AFL-CIO |
Ensure that undocumented workers are covered by anti-discrimination laws and increase anti-discrimination protection for all immigrants:
|
Unity Blueprint |
| Fees paid by undocumented workers regularizing their status will be used to establish job creation and training programs in communities with high unemployment. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee |
| Specific money should be set aside for job growth programs targeted at communities with high unemployment. This would include many immigrant and African American communities. | Casa de Maryland |
| End electronic worker verification systems and other means of enforcing “work authorization” and employer sanctions. | AFSC – A New Path and many others |
| Allow all workers to apply for and receive Social Security numbers and to receive benefits from the system to which they contribute, regardless of immigration status. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Prohibit ICE agents from masquerading as personnel from an agency or organization that provides domestic violence services, enforces health and safety law or other labor laws, provides health care services, or any other services intended to protect life and safety. | Unity Blueprint |
| Grant temporary visas to immigrant workers who are detained in the course of a labor dispute because their employer has retaliated against them. | Unity Blueprint, AFL-CIO |
| Prohibit immigration enforcement activity during a labor dispute or during organizing or collective workplace activity. | AFL-CIO |
| Keep confidential any information about workers’ immigration status discovered in the course of thei investigation of illegal conditions or the violation of labor rights | Unity Blueprint, AFL-CIO |
| Prohibit states from enacting local employer sanctions laws or considering immigration status in determining workers compensation, disability and unemployment benefits. In all other respects, states will continue to regulate in this area. | Unity Blueprint, AFL-CIO |
| Extend free legal services available through Legal Services Corporation funding to all low income workers, regardless of immigration status. | Unity Blueprint |
| Unemployment benefits should be extended, and all workers should be eligible to receive them, regardless of immigration status. | Casa de Maryland |
| No stringent language requirements will be imposed to obtain legal status or citizenship, and prohibitions of discrimination based on language will be strengthened | Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales |
| Indigenous communities have the right to materials in their native languages about immigration law and legal proceedings generally. | Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales |
| Indigenous communities will have the right to use their languages and their cultural practices. | Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales |
DRAFT – GUEST WORKERS AND FUTURE FLOWS
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
SUNSET EXISTING GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS |
|
| At the end of five years after enactment, all H1-B, H2-A and H2-B guest worker programs will end. From that point onward, no employer may recruit immigrants for work in the U.S., and no visas may be issued that requires an immigrant to work in order to remain in the U.S. | AFSC – A New Path |
REFORM EXISTING GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS |
|
| During the five years after enactment, no H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visas will be issued unless the Secretary of Labor has determined that there are no workers living in the U.S. able to perform the work that workers holding those visas would perform, and that their employment would not undermine existing wages or conditions. During that time, no guest worker visas may be issued for workers in any industry in which the unemployment rate is greater than 6%. | HR 4381 – Congressman George Miller, 12/09 – here and below this bill is used as a model for provisions which apply more broadly |
| Any employer applying for H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visas must be registered by the Department of Labor, and the Secretary of Labor must verify that the employer has made extensive efforts to attract workers for the jobs to be performed by H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa holders. The Secretary of Labor will set the number of visa holders each employer may employ. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| The employer must provide employment to any worker already in the U.S. who applies for the position for which the employer is recruiting H1-B, H2-A and H2-B workers. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| The employer must provide notice to the local employment development office of available jobs, post the jobs on the internet, advertise in appropriate newspapers or professional journals, and inform the state labor federation of available jobs before applying for H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visas. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| Any worker holding an H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa shall be free to change employers, or to quit one job in order to look for another. | Unity Blueprint |
| All costs of visa application and of transport to and from the place of employment in the U.S., including meals and lodging, must be paid by the employer in advance of the departure of the worker to the U.S. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| All existing requirements on employers and protections on visa holders under existing H1-B, H2-A and H2-B programs, such as for housing and wages, shall remain in force unless superseded by the provisions of this bill. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| No employer may apply for visas if they have violated the terms of employment of for any previous visa holders, or any other Federal, State or local employment law. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| No labor contractors may apply for H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visas, only the direct employers of the visa holders. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| There shall be a limit of 65,000 visas issued annually in each of the H1-B, H2-A and H2-B categories. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| Each employer must pay fees for each H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa, which will be used to finance job training and creation programs in communities of high unemployment. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee |
| Employers must offer H1-B, H2-A and H2-B holders wages that correspond to collective bargaining agreements at that employer or in that industry, or the prevailing wage level in that industry, whichever is higher. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| No H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visas will be issued to an employer if any of its employees are currently on strike. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| All H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa holders shall have the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act or other applicable laws, and shall have the right to strike. No striking H1-B, H2-A and H2-B worker may be deported. | AFL-CIO |
| No employer may hire an H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa holder for a job currently being performed by another employee. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa holders will be entitled to Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, Social Security and all other benefits and entitlements available to other workers. | AFSC – A New Path |
| No employer may maintain a list of “eligible employess,” “ineligible employees,” or any other list used to blacklist or prevent the rehiring of workers from one year or season to another. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| All H1-B, H2-A and H2-B holders must be given a document prior to their employment specifying the terms and conditions of employment. That document must also include the name, address and telephone number of the nearest legal aid office. | HR 4381 – Miller |
| Any H1-B, H2-A and H2-B visa holder may receive legal services from any legal aid or publicly funded legal services program, and is entitled to bring any legal action that would be available to any other person in the U.S. | Alternative Legislation Group |
FUTURE FLOWS |
|
| 400,000 permanent residence (Future Flow – FF) visas shall be set aside each year for applicants who are not eligible for visas under family preferences. Those visas shall allow the holder to cross the border at will, and to reside either in the U.S. or their country of origin. These visas shall not be included in the number of visas available under family preferences, or for refugees or political asylum applicants. | HR 265 – Jackson Lee |
| Holders of all permanent resident visas, incluidng FF visas, will be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship one year after receiving their visas. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| If the unemployment rate in the U.S. exceeds 8%, the number of FF visas issued that year will be reduced to 200,000, If the unemployment rate exceeds 10%, the number of FF visas issued that year will be reduced to zero. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| FF visa applicants may apply for these visas at any U.S. consulate, and their applications must be approved within six months, if eligible and visas are available. | AFSC – A New Path |
| FF visa applicants will be given written material on receiving their visas that explains the labor and legal rights of workers and immigrants in the U.S. Such information will include the names, addresses and telephone numbers of labor unions, immigrant rights organizations, legal aid programs, and other sources of aid and support. | Jennifer Gordon – modeled after her proposal |
| FF visa applicants will be required to sign a pledge that they will not work for illegal wages or under illegal conditions. | Jennifer Gordon – modeled after her proposal |
| FF visa holders will be prohibited from working for any employer during a strike. Employment as a strikebreaker will be grounds for immediate revocation of the visa. | Alternative Legislation Group |
DRAFT – TRADE POLICY AND DISPLACEMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
|
TRADE Act, HR 6180 and S 3083, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Mike Michaud – here and below this bill is used as a model for provisions that apply the methodology used by the bill for labor rights to the causes of displacement, AFSC – A New Path |
| All existing trade agreements should be renegotiated to eliminate any provision that causes the displacement of communities and the increase in the economic pressure on people to migrate, including the decline in the standard of living of workers and farmers, the loss of jobs, the decline in wages and farm prices, the loss of housing, the loss of labor and social rights, the privatization of public enterprises or social services, the elimination of social services and benefits, environmental degradation, or the reduction in rural credit. | TRADE Act, HR 6180, AFSC – A New Path |
|
TRADE Act, HR 6180, AFSC – A New Path |
| Establish a commission to evaluate existing and future trade agreements and policies pursued by the U.S. in international financial institutions. That commission should report to Congress, and include representatives of community organizations, unions, immigrant and human rights organizations, environmental organizations, churches and other popular organizations. | TRADE Act, HR 6180, AFSC – A New Path |
| Ensure that all existing and future trade agreements require adequate farm prices and living standards for agricultural communities, and the fair treatment of agricultural workers. They must require prohibitions on dumping, allow any country to maintain agricultural subsidies and subsidies on prices for basic foods, and to maintain tariffs if needed to protect agricultural communities. | TRADE Act, HR 6180, AFSC – A New Path |
| Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families. | National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, AFSC – A New Path |
| Include the rights of migrants, as defined by the Convention, as a fifth “core labor standard,” used as a criteria for evaluating trade agreements and other international labor policies. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Ban the inclusion of guest-worker programs in any trade agreement or treaty. This includes defining migrants as the “providers of services” under WTO and other efforts to regulate the provision of services. | TRADE Act, HR 6180, NNIRR |
| Prohibit any state from enacting laws that conflict with the UN Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrants, or any U.S. treaty obligation guaranteeing the rights of migrants and non-English-speaking communities, including the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Enforce the rights of migrant and non-migrant workers as defined in conventions of the International Labor Organization. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Provide economic compensation to communities in developing countries that have withstood social and economic damages due to trade agreements and policies promoted by the U.S. that have led to displacement. This compensation should respond to the needs of local communities, including providing rural credit and outright grants, infrastructure projects to improve community health, education standard of living and cultural development. | AFSC – A New Path, United Front for Immigrants (Chicago) |
| Prohibit the use of U.S. military aid or any military intervention to pressure other countries into accepting trade agreements, structural adjustment programs or other economic mandates by corporations or international financial institutions | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Prohibit the use of U.S. bailout funds or other subsidies to corporations, governments or financial institutions that require the closure of workplaces or mass layoffs of workers, in the U.S. or in other countries | Alternative Legislation Group |
DRAFT – DUE PROCESS AND DETENTION
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
| Require that migrants apprehended entering the country be informed of their rights before they are deported, including rights available to victims of trafficking and violent crimes, and abused and abandoned unaccompanied juveniles. | Unity Blueprint |
| Repeal federal law that bars states from issuing drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. | Unity Blueprint |
| Make removal proceedings open to the public. | Unity Blueprint |
| Terminate the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, and provide remedies for immigrants with technical violations of NSEERS that did no harm. | Unity Blueprint |
| Repeal Special Registration and any future programs that single out immigrants/migrants from select countries for punitive treatment. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Make technical violations of registration requirements punishable by civil penalties. | Unity Blueprint |
| Prohibit the retroactive application of immigration laws. | Unity Blueprint |
Guarantee immigrants, regardless of status, the same civiland human rights as all U.S. residents by:
|
AFSC – A New Path |
| Prohibit ICE agents from masquerading as personnel from an agency or organization that provides domestic violence services, enforces health and safety law or other labor laws, provides health care services, or any other services. | Unity Blueprint |
| Provide temporary visas and work authorization for detained workers when they have been retaliated against by their employer for asserting their labor rights and they agree to pursue labor claims against their employer. Expand U visas to provide for whistleblower protections with regard to worker exploitation, civil rights violations and retaliation for exercising labor rights. | Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity(CIR ASAP) Act of 2009 – Congressman Luis Gutierrez |
| Eliminate the arbitrary 1-year bar to applying for asylum. | CIR ASAP |
| Restore the jurisdiction of federal courts to review decisions and practices of DHS, thereby also restoring the historic role that the courts play in reviewing agency actions | CIR ASAP |
| Preempt any state or local law that discriminates against an individual based on immigration status or imposes sanctions on any individual or entity based on the immigration status of its clients, employees or tenants | CIR ASAP |
| Eliminate all agreements between the Department of Homeland Security and local/county/state law enforcement agencies, repealing 287g.and clarify that the authority to enforce federal immigration law lies solely with the federal government | AFSC – A New Path, NNIRR, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, CIR ASAP |
| Establish an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Ombudsman | CIR ASAP |
| Eliminate detention and incarceration based on immigration status by allowing people detained for immigration violations to post bail or be released on their own recognizance. | South Asian Network & Allies Immigration Statement 2007 |
| Repeal laws that prevent release on bond or their own recognizance for apprehended migrants who are not a flight risk or risk to the community. | Unity Blueprint |
| Limit the amount of time an immigrant is detained after being ordered released on bond. | Unity Blueprint |
| Grant suspension of deportation and registry to immigrants of good moral character with five years continuous residence | Unity Blueprint |
| Prohibit mass non-individualized detentions of immigrants; restrict federal agents to only questioning persons reasonably suspected based upon articulable facts of being immigrants without visas. | Unity Blueprint |
| Eliminate arbitrary, indefinite, or mandatory detention or other forms of abusive treatment and detention practices that separate family members, and implement humane alternatives to detention that allow release on bond or their own recognizance after an individualized hearing. | AFSC – A New Path |
| End the privatization of the detention system by tearing down existing immigration detention centers, canceling the contracts to private contractors for operating them, and requiring the federal government to exercise responsibility for respecting the human rights of those charged with immigration violations. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Ensure that anyone detained for immigration violations receives adequate medical and mental health screenings, evaluations, medically necessary treatment, and continuing care, a review process for medical treatment requests and complete and confidential medical records, reasonable access to telephones, affordable rates, and privacy protections for calls, protection from sexual abuse, care for victims, and reports and investigations of abuse, and protection from transfers that fail to consider health and access to counsel. Establish an independent commission to investigate and report on compliance. DHS must report the death of a detainee within 48 hours, and report annually to Congress on the circumstances of all deaths in detention. | CIR ASAP |
| Prohibit apprehensions at community, educational, and religious locations, provide access to legal orientation programs and to counsel for any detained person. | CIR ASAP |
| Allow refugees to apply for immediate asylum, without detention. | AFSC – A New Path |
| Families with children may not be separated, and parents or childdren of citizens may not be deported. Minors may not be detained. | AFSC – A New Path |
DRAFT – REPEAL BORDER MILITARIZATION AND ENFORCE HUMAN RIGHTS
RECOMMENDATIONS |
SOURCE |
| Dismantle the “virtual wall” and all surveillance apparatus in our communities, including aerial drones, video cameras and radar towers (in urban, suburban and rural regions). | Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Remove National Guard troops and all military personnel from border communities, and prohibit their use in immigration enforcement. | National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (NNIRR), Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Prohibit private security personnel from taking any action in relation to immigration enforcement. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| End the privatization of all border control and national security operations. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Remove all walls, detention centers, surveillance posts, border patrol stations and border patrol agents from indigenous nations and lands. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Grant unrestricted crossing rights for members of indigenous nations and communities living on both sides of the border. | Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Repeal legislations which would militarize the U.S.-Canada border by building walls, assigning military or National Guard troops or other means. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| Repeal the purported “deconstitutionalized” zone in border communities. Reaffirm that constitutional rights apply to all persons inside the US. and in all areas, including those on the border. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| End the use of federal, state and local criminal laws to prosecute immigrants based on their immigration status. | |
| End the use of federal, state and local criminal laws to prosecute and incarcerate migrants for crossing the border without inspection. Abolish the Operation Streamline court. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos |
| End racial profiling as an official or unofficial practice of ICE and police agencies. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Require local, state and federal public officials to clearly and publicly declare their opposition to private vigilante groups and the hateful acts they perpetrate. Prosecute any criminal activity against immigrants by private vigilante groups, and prohibit private vigilante groups from detaining or harassing immigrants. | Alternative Legislation Group |
| Reduce the budget for border enforcement and detention, and redirect the funds to social, health and education services, family reunification, ending the backlog in visas and applications for permanent residency and citizenship, and enforcing civil and labor rights protections. | NNIRR, Coalición de Derechos Humanos, South Asian Network & Allies Immigration Statement 2007 |