EDITORIAL: Immigration Reform Now: Inaction Allows Abuses

Apr 08, 03:37 AM

Current Headlines: By The Philadelphia Inquirer

Apr. 8--So what's up with immigration?

When the Congress adjourned last year, the Senate had passed a sweeping immigration-reform bill that President Bush supported but that the nativists in the House just wouldn't accept.

With both legislative bodies now controlled by Democrats, many believed the new Congress could go bipartisan on immigration and make short work of the issue.

After all, the president was on board, wasn't he? Yep. And Bush says he's still for immigration reform.

But now that he should have the votes to get Congress to pass the type of legislation he supported last year, Bush has jumped ship. Maybe he can't stomach allying himself with those darn Democrats, who are giving him a hard time on Iraq.

The Dems also bear some of the blame. They haven't acted forcefully because they don't want to offend Big Labor, which fears a tide of immigrant workers will stunt wages.

The Senate immigration measure that Bush spoke so glowingly of only a few months ago included a path to citizenship for any among the up to 12 million illegal immigrants in this country who could qualify.

But lately the president has been floating a reform proposal that backs away from that course. Path to citizenship? Hmmph! Instead Bush wants to build border fences and add more bureaucratic barriers, fines and fees to the process.

The result would be a system that tells would-be Americans that they would do better to keep coming here underground. That's untenable.

The throng of undocumented immigrants already in this country has led to exploitation by employers who know the workers won't risk deportation by complaining about working conditions or wages.

It's led towns like Hazleton, Pa., to react with unfounded fear at the sight of unaccustomed numbers of dark faces and to recoil at the sound of foreign languages that folks aren't used to hearing in those parts.

Instead of celebrating its new diversity, Hazleton has passed ordinances that make all immigrants, legal or not, subjects of suspicion.

The town's ordinances are being challenged in court as an unconstitutional grab of federal authority. The laws' defenders argue that their statutes were a necessary response to the federal government's inaction on immigration.

The part about culpable inaction on Capitol Hill is true enough. But Hazleton's ordinances are not the right response. To stop more towns from emulating Hazleton, Congress and the president need to act on immigration.

The House is considering a bill, but it's not what the nation needs. Sponsored by Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) and Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), the measure says illegal immigrants who were in the country before June 2006 may apply for permanent U.S. residency after six years of "conditional" residency, but they must leave this country and return legally.

You can imagine the millions who will simply stay here illegally rather than leave and risk not being able to reenter the United States.

Bush has a proposal he's kept under wraps, but some details were leaked after private meetings between administration officials and congressional leaders. The plan reportedly requires illegal immigrants to register, pay fines of $2,000 every three years, then pay a $10,000 fee to obtain a green card for permanent residency. Do those sound like amounts that folks who make their living as low-paid laborers can pay? Again, the incentive will be to remain illegal.

The Bush plan is also said to provide more visas to educated workers with technical skills -- but by prohibiting future guest workers from bringing their families.

The last thing any of the communities already fearful of immigrants want to see is scores of rootless men moving to town without the families that provide stability. Isn't Bush supposed to be a pro-family president?

The Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, supported by more than 100 organizations, developed principles for reform that make sense. Among them:

Reform must be comprehensive. It's not enough to build fences, though some fencing in urban border areas may well be needed, as are other improved border security measures.

Reform must include a path to citizenship. That's still the best incentive to get the millions in this country illegally to come into the light and make restitution.

Reform must unite families, not break them apart.

Reform must protect workers. Guest-worker programs should allow workers to change jobs to avoid exploitation. Employers of illegal immigrants should be prosecuted.

Immigration reform is complex, but it's doable. Congress and the president need to find the will to do the job right.

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