Background

In recent years, HIAS has been an active voice in support of efforts to
resolve the complex problems associated with undocumented migration, a
process known as Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). These problems
include: the existence of 11 million individuals living in the United
States without legal status; the dangerous reality of unauthorized
border crossings that has resulted in thousands of deaths and
increasingly violent conditions in the border regions; and the
extensive backlogs in family immigration visas that cause prolonged and
inhumane separation of families. Further, the existence of such a large
shadow society severely hinders the United States’ pressing security
needs, which require the government to target enforcement resources on
individuals who pose grave dangers to the country. HIAS has been
actively supporting Congressional efforts to find a comprehensive
solution to this complex issue.

House Action

Instead of pursuing a comprehensive approach, however, the House chose to act in a piecemeal fashion, passing harmful anti-immigrant legislation aimed solely at border security and interior immigration enforcement.
This legislation—the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal
Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R.4437)—was introduced by House
Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) on December 6,
2005, and passed the full House by a vote of 239-182 less than two
weeks later.

This misguided and harmful legislation would dramatically affect the
lives of legal immigrants, citizens, and business owners, while ignoring the serious problems associated with undocumented migration.
For example, if enacted, this legislation would:

• Make any relative, employer, coworker, co-congregant, or friend of an undocumented immigrant who provides assistance to that immigrant into an “alien smuggler” and a criminal.
• Make 11 million undocumented immigrants—and legal immigrants who have temporary status problems—into criminals who local police can arrest. While illegal immigrants are currently subject to deportation, this bill would make unlawful status a federal crime and an “aggravated felony,” meaning the individual would be barred from reentry to the U.S. permanently.
• Increase the detention of asylum seekers and deprive many of them of federal court review.
• Make it harder for legal permanent residents to become citizens by keeping information regarding their application secret and preventing judicial review of their cases.
• Turn state and local police into immigration agents and thus alienate immigrant communities—communities that have an important role to play in identifying threats to public safety.

Senate Progress

Immigration advocates’ hopes that the Senate would take a more comprehensive approach was realized in the past few weeks. In early March, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter introduced his “Chairman’s Mark”, which was based on provisions from immigration bills introduced in the House and Senate. After initial debate focused solely on enforcement provisions, the Senate Judiciary Committee made considerable headway last week towards a bipartisan compromise that may include an earned path to citizenship for the current undocumented population and a plan for future immigrant workers that includes strong worker protections. While the bill includes many of the harsh enforcement provisions found in the House bill, this legislation would be a major step forward, particularly when compared to piece-meal,
enforcement-only approach taken in the House. The Senate Judiciary Committee will resume debate on this bill on Monday, March 27, and hopes to bring it to a vote later that day.

Rush to Judgment

While members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have been debating the Chairman’s Mark, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist utilized a rarely used procedure to bypass Committee and was able to bring his own enforcement-heavy bill straight to the Senate floor. As early as March 28, there will be a vote on whether to move forward with consideration
of Senator Frist’s legislation. Senator Frist has given the Senate Judiciary Committee a deadline of finishing their work by March 27 or
else he will move ahead with his enforcement-heavy legislation. Such an action would ignore the expertise of the staff and members of the
Judiciary Committee.

Please Call your Senators this Friday or Next Monday

It is essential that the Senate not follow the lead of the House, but instead be allowed a reasonable amount of time to consider reforms to
best safeguard security, fulfill labor needs, and remain true to this country's core humanitarian values.

1. Tell your Senators that you oppose Senator Frist’s decision to bypass the
Judiciary Committee and put his own enforcement-heavy bill on the Senate floor. Ask your Senator to vote NO on considering Senator First’s bill while the Senate Judiciary Committee is still working on its own immigration legislation.

2. Let your Senator know that no matter which piece of legislation is
ultimately considered, it must be comprehensive and contain the following provisions:

• Border protection policies that are consistent with American humanitarian values and effective against illegal migration, thereby allowing the authorities to carry out the critical task of identifying and preventing entry of terrorists and dangerous criminals.
• An opportunity for hard-working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows, regularize their status upon satisfaction of reasonable criteria and, over time, pursue an option to become lawful permanent residents and eventually United States citizens;
• Reforms in our family-based immigration system to significantly reduce waiting times for separated families who currently must wait many years to be reunited with loved ones; and
• The creation of legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to migrate to the U.S. to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner with their rights fully protected; and
• Programs to enhance citizenship and encourage the integration of newcomers into American society.

3. If your Senator is on the Judiciary Committee, ask that they make
sure that any immigration bill coming from their committee includes the
essential principles of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, listed above.

Find contact information for your Senators:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Senators on the Judiciary Committee:

Joseph Biden, DE

Sam Brownback, KS

Tom Coburn, OK

John Cornyn, TX

Mike DeWine, OH

Richard Durbin, IL

Russ Feingold, WI

Dianne Feinstein, CA

Lindsey Graham, SC

Charles E Grassley, IA

Orrin G. Hatch, UT

Edward Kennedy, MA

Herbert Kohl, WI

Jon Kyl, AZ

Patrick Leahy, VT

Jeff Sessions, AL

Arlen Specter, PA

Charles Schumer, NY