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Immigrants get new hope for fairness

The new bi-partisan immigration reform bill introduced this week in Congress brings some hope for moving the immigration question away from prejudice, partisan grandstanding and merciless repression.

In the current anti-immigrant climate the new initiative is a welcome - and long overdue - breath of fresh air.

"At a time when immigrants are facing the real threat of the REAL ID Act and when more and more people are dying at our border, this initiative brings new hope to immigrant communities across the nation," said Daniel Chávez, of Asociación Tepeyac, a Mexican community organization in Manhattan.

It is too soon to give a verdict on the merits of the proposed reform law, but something is certain: It puts back some needed common sense in the immigration debate.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity to have a rational discussion on immigration," said Chung-Wha Hong, of the New York Immigration Coalition.

It certainly is. On Thursday, Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), along with Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) introduced the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005. It could be everything the shameful Real ID Act is not.

"The status quo is unacceptable and we need to modernize our broken immigration system to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Kennedy said. "We need policies that continue to reflect our best values as a nation - of fairness, equal opportunity and respect for the law."

Unlike the Real ID, which treated immigrants as potential terrorists, this bill does justice to the important role they play in our economy and our society.

"The New York Immigration Coalition applauds the inclusion in the bill of 'win-win' provisions that allow employers to get the workers they legitimately need by allowing more workers to come to the U.S. legally to work, pay taxes and pursue a better life for their families," said Margie McHugh, the coalition's executive director.

Gutiérrez, one of the bill's sponsors, said: "This bill reflects the enormous contributions immigrants make every day, it respects our nation's proud history of welcoming men and women to seek a better life and it better protects our homeland by creating a system of improved accountability and security."

One of the main aspects of the bill is that it provides the undocumented with a path to permanent residency and citizenship, and a way of ending the years of painful separation family members experience under the current legal immigration system.

Despite what anti-immigrant zealots say, the bill is not an amnesty. The undocumented would have to pay a $2,000 penalty before they can apply for work authorization. The permit lasts six years, but after four years of lawful presence, the workers could apply for permanent residence. Workers outside the U.S. would be allowed to pay $500 at local consulates to apply for a visa, but only if they can show proof of employment or an employment offer.

Immigrants are our neighbors, the parents of school children like our own, they are hardworking people who pay taxes, fight wars and hold the most difficult jobs out there. They deserve to be treated fairly.

"We urge all New York congressional leaders to put their full support behind this historic immigration reform bill so that hardworking illegal immigrants can truly begin their journey on the road to U.S. citizenship and travel it with dignity and respect," said Brian McLaughlin, president of the New York City Central Labor Council. In a city that owes so much to its immigrants, it is the least our elected officials can do.

Originally published on May 15, 2005