*EPF408 01/22/2004
Lawmakers Introduce Bill Calling for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
(Would allow certain undocumented workers, families to adjust immigration status) (800)

By Anthony Kujawa
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Two prominent lawmakers introduced a bill January 21 calling for comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration laws to strengthen national security, improve economic stability and reunite immigrant families. The proposal would allow certain undocumented workers and their families to adjust their immigration status to legal permanent residency and eventual citizenship if they meet certain requirements.

"Immigration reform is an urgent national security priority. We cannot continue to defer making tough choices about our nation's immigration policy," said Republican Senator Chuck Hagel at a January 21 news conference introducing the bipartisan legislation with Senate Minority (Democratic) leader Tom Daschle.

"It is not in our security interest to have 8-10 million people undocumented and unaccounted for in our country. Congress must reform the patchwork of immigration laws that have created an underground, black market labor force," Hagel said.

The bill, called the "The Immigration Reform Act of 2004: Strengthening America's National Security, Economy, and Families," would provide funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for increased border security, criminal and background checks on visa applicants, and identification of undocumented workers and immigrants living in the United States.

Hagel spokesman Mike Buttry clarified that the Hagel-Daschle bill was not conceived as an alternative to President Bush's proposal on immigration reform announced January 7. "The President laid out principles, not a bill, so ours is more comprehensive," said Buttry. "The President talked in vague terms about a temporary program, ours is a permanent program," he said.

On January 7, President Bush called for a "national debate" on immigration reform, proposing a program that would permit millions of undocumented workers in the United States, and persons in other countries with a job offer in the United States, to work in the United States for three years legally, with the chance of an extension of time if no U.S. citizens are found to fill the jobs.

Bush said his program, if approved by Congress, "would offer legal status as temporary workers to the millions of undocumented men and women now employed in the United States and to those in foreign countries who seek to participate in the program and have been offered employment here."

He said the legal status granted by the new program would last three years and would be renewable, but it would have an end. The new program, said Bush, "expects temporary workers to return permanently to their home countries after their period of work in the United States has expired." More information on President Bush's "Fair and Secure Immigration Reform" proposal is available at: < http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2004/Jan/07-872560.html >

Under the "Willing Worker Program" of the Hagel-Daschle bill, foreign workers could enter the United States to take jobs that would otherwise go unfilled. Foreign workers would be admitted for a limited period of time, be allowed to change employers and receive the same wage levels and working conditions as U.S. workers. Visa renewals would be available and qualified workers and their families would be provided an opportunity to adjust their residency status.

According to a fact sheet, the Hagel-Daschle proposal would allow undocumented workers and families currently living in the United States to become "invested stakeholders" in the United States and eligible upon DHS approval to adjust their immigration status to legal permanent residency and eventual citizenship if they meet the following six requirements:

-- Passed national security and criminal background checks;
-- Resided in the U.S. for at least 5 years;
-- Worked a minimum of 4 years in the U.S., (one of which must occur post-enactment);
-- Paid all federal taxes;
-- Demonstrated knowledge of English language and American civics requirements; and
-- Paid a $1,000 fine, in addition to required application fees.

The legislation also includes provisions and funding to reduce the existing backlog of family sponsored visas to ensure that immigrants will be allowed to be reunited with their U.S. citizen and legal resident family members, according to the fact sheet.

"This bipartisan legislation cuts through ideology and offers a straightforward way to secure American borders, strengthen our economy, and help immigrants, while protecting American workers," said Daschle.

"The Hagel-Daschle bill will keep out those who seek to harm Americans, while welcoming those who would strengthen our nation by pursuing the American dream for themselves and their families," added Daschle.

"Immigration is an issue that touches every aspect of our society, and I'm grateful that Senator Hagel and I have been able to address this vital challenge in a spirit of pragmatism and bipartisanship," he said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee could hold hearings on immigration in February.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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