Vol. 71/No. 22      June 4, 2007

Like earlier proposals, the “Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007” is designed to meet the needs of U.S. capitalists: to allow some immigrants to eventually obtain permanent residence while keeping millions in a vulnerable status in order to maintain a permanent pool of superexploited labor.

Democratic senators Edward Kennedy, Diane Feinstein, and others joined Republicans such as John Kyl and John McCain at the press conference announcing the “compromise” bill.

Kennedy said it would “secure our borders and bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America.” He hailed the measure’s “doubling of border guards, securing our perimeters, increasing the number of inspectors, cracking down on smugglers and employers who break the law.”

Speaking at the press conference, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff applauded the measure as “strong on the border, tough on enforcement in the interior.”

The 380-page document stipulates that the U.S. government must first add 6,000 additional Border Patrol cops, build hundreds of miles of fences and vehicle barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, expand surveillance with radar towers and aerial drones, add at least 20 more federal immigration jails (including the use of former military bases), and strengthen sanctions for employers hiring undocumented immigrants. It also requires the establishment of a “high-tech worker identification” system to register all newly hired workers, immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.

Until these “triggers” are in place, a process that according to U.S. officials could take at least 18 months, undocumented immigrants who applied for legal status would be allowed to work on a “probationary” basis. Then they would apply for a four-year, renewable “Z visa,” paying fines and fees of at least $4,500 for a family of four.

After eight years, those with Z visas could apply for permanent resident status. They would be required to pay an additional $4,000 fine, show they spoke English, remain employed, and pass a background check. They would have to leave the United States and apply from their home country.

The application would be judged on a “merit” point system based on skills, formal education levels, and job experience, giving less weight to family ties than current laws. Spouses and minor children could apply for a green card but adult children and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens would have to qualify under the more restrictive point system. Visas for parents would be limited to 40,000 a year. Proponents of the bill argue that this provision will “end chain migration.”

The bill provides for a pool of 600,000 “guest workers” to be brought in for up to three two-year stints to meet the labor needs of U.S. bosses in areas such as construction, meatpacking, and landscaping. The workers would be required to leave the United States for a year between each stay. The guest worker visa would not put them automatically on the road to a green card. Nor could they bring their families.

The new bill combines elements of the previous White House-backed proposal and the bipartisan STRIVE (Flake-Gutiérrez) Act. While the Bush administration and prominent Republicans support it, some conservative senators have dismissed it as an “amnesty.” Liberal politicians are wringing their hands over the bill’s onerous restrictions on immigrants, while calling for its passage as the “best possible” deal.

Business groups have balked at provisions in the bill that affect them. “The point system would be skewed in favor of more highly skilled and educated workers,” Laura Foote Reiff, a spokesperson for a group of hotel, restaurant, nursing home, hospital, and construction businesses, told the New York Times.

Some bosses object to the burden that the worker ID program would place on them. Other employers want to keep a system that gives them more of a say in sponsoring workers, not a government-devised “merit” system.

Democratic and Republican politicians have announced plans to introduce competing amendments such as limits on the guest worker program. Other business groups want the temporary worker plan and object to hurdles for “employers who need a stable, reliable work force,” as Senate majority leader Harry Reid put it.
 
 
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