Thread: Fixing A Broken System

Fixing a Broken System
Wednesday, 15 October 2008

An interview with Luis Gutierrez

The Honorable Luis Gutierrez is an eight-term US Congressman serving Illinois’ Fourth District. The first Latino elected to the US House of Representatives from the Midwest, Gutierrez has been a consistent advocate of immigrants’ rights. He is currently a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, a member of the Judiciary Committee, and the chair of both the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force.



In the summer of 2007, you and Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the Security Through Regularized ImÂ*migration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act, which addressed many of the key issues surrounding illegal imÂ*migration. What were your goals in proposing this piece of bipartisan legislation, and how did it differ from other pieces of immigration legislation introduced in the House and the Senate?

To truly fix our broken immigration system, any proposal must include three factors: 1) a strong border security plan, 2) a tempoÂ*rary worker program, 3) a path to legalization for the millions of people who are in this country working and contributing to their communities. STRIVE would accomplish these goals, creating a system that allows people to come out of the shadows and work here legally, safely and humanely. It regulates future flows of workers. And it greatly enhances our border security through a combination of cutting-edge technology, improved cooperation and increased resources. My legislation offers real solutions to the challenges we face. It creates a system predicated on family values by developing laws that better value families—a system that keeps families strong and, most importantly, keeps husbands and wives, parents and children together. It is the only comprehensive bill that deals directly with the undocumented who are living, working and contributing to a better, more dynamic America.

STRIVE creates a system that is tough and enforceable—a system that would eliminate the exploitation and abuses that are ubiquitous in our underground economy. It also creates a system that is fair and just and which reflects the enormous contributions immigrants make every day.

You have been a consistent supporter of a temporary-workÂ*er program, claiming that it would help fill the void in the workforce left by aging members of the baby-boomer genÂ*eration. Critics of such a program argue that it would rely too heavily on government bureaucracy, and, consequently, that it is not a dependable option for bolstering the labor force. How do you propose that the government structures such a program so that it can be run efficiently?

I recently read in the Wall Street Journal that before a recent letÂ*tuce harvest, one grower took out ads in his local papers for fieldworkers. He needed about 350 workers. The grower got one reply. Just one reply. The Labor DeÂ*partment estimates that the total number of jobs requiring only short-term training will increase from 53.2 million in 2000 to 60.9 million by 2010, a net increase of 7.7 million jobs. The simple truth is that most of our aging, more educated workforce is unwilling to perform this type of labor. However, these jobs need to get done to keep our economy growing and our communities thriving. Under the legislaÂ*tion I have proposed, once the flow of labor is legalized, workers here and those who come in the future will not be second-class workers but legal workers with full labor rights. But I’m not proposing an unlimited flow. There must be caps, limits, controls, and screenÂ*ing—unlike the current system, which is uncontrolled, unlimited, and unscreened, and leads to illegal immigration. The overhaul I propose would make the new limits honest, enforceable, and realistic, and the levels can be adjusted based on economic conditions. Additionally, workers must have unprecedented protections, including wage protections; a mechanism to ensure that jobs are first offered to American workers; a prohibition on treating those on temporary visas as independent contractors; a prohibition on hiring temporary workers in the midst of a labor dispute; visa portability so that workers can vote with their feet and change jobs; whistleblower protections; and a mechanism for immigrant workers to apply for permanent residence. Such protections are essential if we are to substitute the current unregulated flow of easily exploitable undocumented workers with a regulated, legal flow of workers with equal labor rights and an eventual path to citizenship.

[b]Opponents of your positions on immigration issues have labeled you as an advocate of an “open-borderâ€

Here's how we fix it:

ENFORCE THE BLOODY LAWS!!!!!!

The only thing that is broken is our political system which gives us Congress people like Gutierrez!!