Warning: Letter to Editor from Union Official Talking Head

Fairness for Immigrants
Sunday, August 19, 2007; Page B06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00949.html

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) is on the right track in restarting efforts to resolve our immigration crisis ["A Less Ambitious Approach to Immigration," op-ed, Aug. 6].

Standing by while this crisis worsens is unacceptable. If Congress can't muster the political will to pass a more ambitious, comprehensive bill to overhaul our outdated and dysfunctional immigration system, then taking a different approach is a needed, practical and sensible way forward.

Key to resolving the immigration problem is the plight of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already here. Most of them are working hard, paying taxes and trying to raise their children, but they lack protections many of us take for granted.

Creating a guest-worker program is a fatally flawed proposal because it would create a permanent underclass. That would run counter to our identity as a nation of immigrants and would fuel the discrimination that is dividing our communities. Offering these workers a path to citizenship is the best solution.

Our broken immigration system must be brought into line with today's economic and political reality. We depend on this labor and should provide immigrants with the protections other workers receive. Further, we must offer these workers a fair chance at citizenship and a shot at the American dream.

MATT NERZIG
Spokesman, Local 32BJ
Service Employees International Union
New York