Immigration Issue Soon to be Considered by United States Senate

February 27, 2006, JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The United States House of Representatives has passed immigration legislation – H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 – that makes it illegal for organizations like the Catholic Church to assist undocumented immigrants regardless of their needs. Now that the House has completed its work, the United States Senate will consider similar immigration legislation but with some very key differences.

The Senate version – S. 1033, The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act – proposes comprehensive reform of immigration laws and is supported by the Catholic Church in the United States. S. 1033 would establish a process whereby undocumented persons who are working and making contributions to society could seek permanent residency. This legalization process would allow undocumented persons to “come out of the shadows” and regularize their status. Legalization, or allowing permanent residency for undocumented persons, merits support for several reasons:

Legalization would keep families together and improve the well-being of United States citizens’ children. A 1999 study by the Urban Institute found that eighty-five percent of immigrant families were of “mixed” status, that is, families in which “one or more of the parents is a non-citizen and one or more children is a citizen.” Nationwide, about nine percent of families in the United States are of “mixed” status.

There are between five and six million undocumented workers in the United States and they are an integral part of many industries, including agriculture, service, construction, meatpacking, and poultry processing. Legalization would recognize and maintain the economic contributions of the undocumented. According to a 1997 study by the National Research Council, immigration delivers a “significant positive gain” of $1 billion to $10 billion a year to the United States.

Legalization would improve wages, allow workers to better defend their rights and seek humane working conditions.

Legalization would better integrate United States immigration policy with economic policy. Federal immigration policy has yet to adjust to the growing economic interdependence of the United States and Mexico brought about by enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While Mexican workers search for employment, the United States labor market in the years ahead will experience a shortage of low-skilled workers. According to the United States Labor Department, the largest growth in absolute number of jobs during the next decade will be in jobs requiring short-term on the job training of one month or less.

The Senate legislation seeks to both ensure national security while also allowing working undocumented persons to obtain permanent residency so they can continue working, paying taxes, supporting their family and generally contributing to the common good of our nation. The Senate bill recognizes that border enforcement strategies will only be successful when our laws provide legal avenues for immigrants to regularize their status.

Meanwhile the House-passed version of immigration legislation – H.R. 4437 – adopts a mainly negative approach to the immigration challenges facing the nation. Of particular concern are provisions that would make criminals of both undocumented immigrants and those who assist them. The latter category would include Catholic agencies that have long provided assistance to immigrants and refugees.

Mike Hoey, Assistant Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, said “It’s important that Missouri Catholics contact Senator’s Bond and Talent and urge that the Senate take up and pass S. 1033. This is a comprehensive immigration bill which will protect our national security while allowing hard working undocumented immigrants to obtain permanent residency.”