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Immigrant Rights Coalition Press for a Genuine Fix! |
New Jersey, January 8, 2004: "We were hopeful President Bush would announce a comprehensive immigration reform", said Chuck Bergstresser, Executive Director of New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, a statewide immigrant and immigration advocacy and policy coalition. "Instead Bush outlined a limited proposal that is strictly a temporary guest worker program-a road to deportation."
The President's remarks, "America is a welcoming nation, and the hard work and strength of our immigrants have made our Nation prosperous", were not backed up by the solutions he proposed and perceived by immigrants and advocates as mere political rhetoric. Bush fell short of striking the right balance between the needs of employers and the needs of workers- the native-born and immigrants alike. Instead, he offered a temporary guest worker program that would provide status to undocumented immigrants and foreign workers who are employed in the U.S. that would primarily benefit employers.
Under this temporary status, undocumented workers employed in the U.S. must pay a one-time fee to register and abide by the rules for such a program. Visas could be renewed only once, but workers must return home after their period of work expires. Immigrants and their advocates are skeptical as the system would prioritize market needs and supply employers with a cheap workforce giving employers enormous power over the future of this immigrant workforce. Concern is also raised over how the Administration plans to "protect all workers in America with labor laws, the right to change jobs, fair wages, and a healthy work environment".
President Bush should be serious about immigration reform, and not propose a temporary guest worker program, but a comprehensive immigration reform. "Immigrant workers pay taxes and contribute to the economic engine of this country. Meaningful immigration reform providing nothing less than a path to citizenship, and passage of the AgJOBS and DREAM Act are what is needed now," stated Ira Stern, Chair, New Jersey Immigration Policy Network. Advocates believe strongly, the DREAM Act, which would enable undocumented youth who have grownup in this country to earn a legal status and pursue college education, and the AgJOBS bill which expands the opportunity for agricultural workers to earn a legal status, would pass this year if the President would endorse them publicly.
The fact that President Bush has come out with his immigration reform plan is an acknowledgement that our immigration system is broken. Merely enforcing broken laws will not work.
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, 972 Broad St., 8th fl. Newark NJ 07102 Ph: 973-622-6448 Fax: 973-622-6618 www.njipn.org.