Fighting for Real Immigration Reform

Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy joined over 300 hotel workers from more than thirty states at Union Station for a rally on much needed immigration reform to secure our borders and strengthen our economy. The Kennedy-McCain plan to fix our broken immigration system has received strong diverse backing by business and labor groups, Republicans and Democrats, religious groups and immigration advocates because of its commonsense approach to both strengthen border protection and our economy by offering a pathway to citizenship.

“Our bill will protect our borders. And it will protect opportunity and basic dignity for all immigrants in the United States,” Senator Kennedy said. “There are powerful forces that want to keep things just as they are. And we must stand up to them. They want to oppress workers and deny them a fair wage. They want cheap workers who will leave in fear. They want profits instead of human dignity. But we say, that’s not the American way. We say “no” to a broken immigration system and “yes” to strong and fair reform.”

On Thursday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin its legislative work on an immigration bill by reviewing Chairman Specter’s immigration proposal – a plan that Kennedy and his colleagues will work to improve. Kennedy has concerns with Specter’s proposal because it would establish for the first time in our nation’s history a class of millions of people who are forever in a temporary worker status, thereby creating a second-class status for immigrant workers. Of Specter’s proposal Kennedy said: “It will seriously harm immigrants and their families and do little to fix our broken immigration system. It will make us less secure. It will take hard-working immigrants who are trying to provide for their families and declare them criminals. And it will drive millions of decent people farther and farther underground.”

In addition to UNITE HERE, over 60 groups have endorsed the bill, ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition to the Service Employees International Union. The plan has received over 60 positive editorials from newspapers across the country, many touting its realistic approach of both strengthen border protection and enforcement while reflecting our best values as a nation—of fairness, equal opportunity, and respect for the law.

Senator Kennedy Speaks at the UNITE HERE Rally on Immigration Reform

A Comparison of the McCain-Kennedy Bill and the Specter Bill on Immigration

KEY SECTIONS OF THE McCAIN- KENNEDY IMMIGRATION BILL

Title I- Border Security: Establishes a National border Security Strategy based on ”smart” border technology, information sharing, and cooperation. Encourages the development of multilateral partnerships with Canada, Mexico, and Central America to establish a North American security perimeter and improve border security.

Title III- Temporary Worker Visa Program: Creates a new temporary visa to allow foreign workers to enter the US. Visa is valid for 3 years, and can be renewed one time for a total of 6 years. Contains strong labor protections for all workers, visas for family members, a path to permanent residence and citizenship and a flexible market-based cap.

Title IV- Enforcement: Creates a new electronic work authorization system that will replace the paper-based, fraud-prone I-9 system. The Department of Labor will have new authority to conduct random audits of employers and ensure compliance with labor laws; also includes new worker protections and enhanced fines for illegal employment practices

Title V: Promoting Circular Migration Patterns: Requires foreign countries to enter into migration agreements with the U.S. to control the flow of their citizens to the U.S. Encourages partnerships with Mexico to promote economic opportunity, reduce the pressure to immigrate to the U.S., and cooperation on access to health care so the U.S. is not unfairly impacted with the costs of administering health care to Mexican nationals.

Title VI Family Unity and Backlog Reduction: Provides additional visas to reduce family and employment immigrant visa backlogs. Removes unnecessary obstacles in current law that separate families, such as the affidavit-of-support requirements and the rigid bars to admissibility.

Title VII Adjustment of Status for Qualified Undocumented Immigrants: Allows undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to come out of the shadows, submit to background checks, and register for a legal status. Immigrants and their families would have 6 years to earn permanent residence and ultimately citizenship. To qualify, they would have to continue working, play by the rules, pay substantial fines and back taxes, and learn English.

–Crystal Patterson