There is a new, potential plan in the works for comprehensive immigration reform that could involve a major change in strategy. In a recent report in the LA Times, the CIR bill would look very similar to prior years, but a new independent commission would be created to assess employment-based visa numbers.

The new commission would assess labor and industry data to decide how many foreign workers should be allowed into the country. The system would replace a maze of special temporary worker visas that are granted each year to high-tech specialists, agriculture workers and other foreigners brought into the U.S. by foreign and domestic firms, according to the article.

This potential proposal could cause a disruption among Republicans like John McCain to drop their support for CIR.

For more information on this article:
Read this story from the LA Times

The Sanctuary, a pro-immigrant and civil liberties group, asked the presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, to complete a questionnaire that featured a number of immigrant-related questions.

Senator McCain has yet to send his response, but Senator Obama has answered the survey with some informative answers to his plans for immigration reform.

The questionnaire is featured below:

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Barack Obama
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Address: xxxxxxx Chicago, IL 60601
Home Phone:
Campaign Phone Office: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Office Sought/Opponents in:

If you are a State candidate, please indicate your State Registration Number:
The Sanctuary is a multi-issue organization working in the service of human rights, human reasoning
and progressive discussion. Therefore it is critical for us to understand your position on the following
issues.

Please give specific answers to the questions and answer them as thoroughly as possible. Please type
your answers. Use additional sheets as necessary.

1. Could you please articulate what you think are the most pressing issues for the U.S. immigrant
community, at home AND abroad, and how you would hope to address those issues as President?

At home, the immigrant community faces a real challenge from the tension our inability to fix
our immigration system has engendered. Abroad, not enough is being done to encourage job
creation and economic development and to decrease the pressure to immigrate without
authorization to the U.S. in search of work.

2. Do you support comprehensive immigration reform?

Yes.

3. What policy conditions would comprehensive immigration reform have to meet in order for you to
support it? Please be specific?

I fought in the U.S. Senate for comprehensive immigration reform. And I will make it a top
priority in my first year as president. Not just because we need to secure our borders and get
control of who comes into our country. And not just because we have to crack down on
employers abusing undocumented immigrants. But because we have to finally bring the 12
million undocumented out of the shadows.

We should require them to pay a fine, learn English, abide by the law, and go to the back of the
line for citizenship – behind those who came here legally. But we cannot – and should not –
deport 12 million people. That would turn American into something we’re not; something we
don’t want to be.

(more…)

By Thomas J. Joy, Esq.

The national elections in November 2008 will result in a new President.  In addition, all of the seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the seats in the Senate will be contested.  The focus is understandably on the race for President.  However, the elections in the House of Representatives and the Senate are just as important, if not more so, when considering the controversial issue of immigration.  As a general constitutional principle, neither the President nor the Congress can create new laws on their own.  Each needs the other in order for new laws involving controversial issues to be enacted.

At first glance on the major immigration issues being debated in the election, Barack Obama, the candidate of the Democratic Party, and John McCain, the candidate of the Republican Party, would seem to agree.  Both support securing the borders of the United States from illegal immigration.  Both support bringing the illegal immigrants already in the United States out of the shadows and into the mainstream.  Both support the implementation of an electronic employment eligibility verification system and enforcement against employers who hire illegal workers.  Both support reform of the immigration system to fill needed jobs in the United States while at the same time protecting the American labor market.  Finally, both support the need to reunite families.

Upon closer inspection, however, one can clearly see major differences in degree in their positions on the various issues.  Their political party affiliation has a major influence on how serious and committed they can and will be on the issues.  As members of the Senate, both supported the failed comprehensive immigration reform efforts in the recent past.  John McCain, however, has alienated the conservatives within the Republican Party for having co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration reform law with leading Democratic Party liberal Senator Edward Kennedy.

As a result of the conflict within his own party, John McCain has moved more to a “secure the borders first” position and away from a strong position on comprehensive immigration reform.  On the other hand, Barack Obama, while articulating a strong support for comprehensive immigration reform, must deal with a key group of conservative Democrats who tend to vote with the enforcement oriented Republicans on immigration issues.  At the far end of the Democratic Party spectrum are those few who want to focus only on legalization (otherwise called amnesty by some).  At the far end of the Republican spectrum are those few who want to change the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to deny United States citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal alien parents.

Meanwhile, there is presently proposed bipartisan legislation pending in Congress to increase the quotas for employment based immigrants and also to provide more immigrant visas in the healthcare industry.  If these proposed laws do not become law this year, they will almost certainly be reintroduced early in 2009 when the new President and Congress take office.

In summary, we must take a wait and see position concerning how successfully the new President will be able to bring together the different factions in his own party and work together with the other party to structure and pass a comprehensive immigration law.