S. 9 would recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants, amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for more effective border and employment enforcement, prevent illegal immigration, and reform and rationalize avenues for legal immigration.
Detailed Summary
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Senate and the House of Representatives should pass, and the President should sign, legislation to recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants and to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for more effective border and employment enforcement, to prevent illegal immigration, and to reform and rationalize avenues for legal immigration.
Status of the Legislation
The Senate is poised to introduce the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill again this year and it is expected to be introduced in mid-April, with hearings and mark-up in the Senate Judiciary Committee likely scheduled for the last week in April.
Points in Favor
This bill has been long awaited and will help solve the immigration problems in the country. Both legal and illegal. From the legal standpoint, the employment-based green card process is badly broken. It imposes great costs on industry and subjects the best and brightest of the world to unconscionable delays and career stagnation. Organizations like http://www.immigrationvoice.org are working hard to represent high skilled immigrants in DC.
Points Against
This bill explicitly authorizes the creation and mandatory use of a new, "hardened" Social Security Card for the purposes of verifying a person's eligibility for employment. The Social Security Administration has testified that issuing a new card to the public would cost $9 billion and require the size of the current Social Security Administration staff -- 60,000 employees -- to double to 120,000. The card will be expensive and include biometric features, perhaps including a fingerprint or iris/retinal scan.
The utility and social benefit of such a mandate is questionable. How will we get 300 million people a new card? How will we obtain a biometric sample from everyone? Will unscrupulous employers just continue to hire undocumented workers off the books and pay them in cash? How will remote worksites be able to link up to a central database? And, how will the database be protected against sophisticated identity thieves, smugglers and terrorists? All of these unanswered questions make this proposal unwise.
Visitor Comments
Wisconite
May 21, 2007, 5:05pm (report abuse)I am so disgusted with the ever creasing intrusion of SPANISH I could just SCREAM. The label on many food products not to mentions push 1 for Spanish, etc. Is this suppose to be the us Americans to learn spanish or for the Hispanics to learn English?
If the Hispanics want to learn English, why are business spending a HUGE amount of money communicating with them in spanish?
Maybe if Hispanics had to pay ALL the expenses of raising a child, they would not be so quick to procreate. I sure as h...l do not want to support there family.
Kill The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and take no survivors. Our government were suppose to be protecting us from illegal immigrants of any nationality. Especially those on our souther boarder.
Kosu
May 21, 2007, 11:15pm (report abuse)Unbelievable views! Somebody mentioned "basic english skills" BUT I see passion, emotion and heartfelt plea's in these comments. Anyway Iam a benificiery of this bill if there is any such provision in regards to EB2/EB3. Unlike many here I am relatively new to GC Q. I have an option to go for EB1 which probably get me to GC holy grail faster but I dont care, ps't its pathetic to scramble for GC. Hmm I have a PhD in semi-conductors with 3 patents and probably another 10 actual workable ideas which can make money to the company I work. If I dont get a GC they way I see it, the problem is not mine. I will go and work for the nice new chip-fabrication plants in singapore or in europe. Guys take it easy, you are "the people" any country wants if not US it will be europe or Asia which will welcome you open hearts.
Outraged
May 22, 2007, 12:45am (report abuse)If this passes, God Bless (what used to be) America!!! As a 20 year Naval veteran of this country I will feel betrayed by our so called leaders. It's time for a good third party candidate! One that has nothing to gain but the respect of the people that vote him in!
Mark
May 22, 2007, 11:01am (report abuse)First, they are Illegal Aliens.
Second, if they wish to be in this country then learn the language. I am tired of going into a store and seeing bilingual signs everywhere. If this bill were to go through, I would like to see an attachment making American English the primary language in this country and doing away with the excessive cost our government spends on a yearly basis for bilingual forms. If you want to immigrate to this country, learn the language!
EB3
May 22, 2007, 12:01pm (report abuse)Kosu: Completely agree. I have 3 degrees in engg, science & tech. I have been in the GC queue for 4 years already. I have been in US with valid visas for several years prior.
I am at a point of giving up waiting, packing bags and going else where. I have no family unity here, no freedom to work (change jobs), no freedom to live with my family, restriction galore on other fronts.
Yet, I am in the highest income tax bracket. I have been paying for SS, Medicare etc but I get no benefits!
Natasha Pirogov
May 23, 2007, 5:20pm (report abuse)The new immigration reform bill is very unfair for the people who have been following the law and staying legal in the USA. After all, the people who followed the law and stayed legal are receiving no benefits at all from the law. For example people with H1-B visa or any other type of working visas should get benefited from the reform bill in first place. Let's be fair to the people who followed the laws!!!!!!
Shaht
May 29, 2007, 12:30pm (report abuse)I did my master's from a very reputed US school 2 years back. Looking at current mess in EB visa process, I have decided not to file my GC till things become clear. Unless some concrete steps are taken to reduce EB backlog as well as some provisions are made for students with Advanced degree holders, there will not be any option for people like me but to go back or migrate to other country which offer better and quicker options to settle down.
lone economist
June 3, 2007, 9:37pm (report abuse)This is giving BIG business another club to beat american's wages and labor down further.Not to mention "gang members" who promise to be "good boys" and drug dealers poisoning our youth get a free pass. Instant citizenship nice prize!This only proves that the Whitehouse and CONGRESS IS BOUGHT AND PAID by special interest.Even a professor can get angry.
John
June 13, 2007, 6:25pm (report abuse)Nothing personal, but all you people threatening to go back to your own country ..... please go. Now. We don't want you here.
Anonymous
July 4, 2007, 10:27pm (report abuse)I feel sorry for Americans because H1 visas really displace Americans for low wage H1 workers. I am pursuing an MBA in a top business school. All day I read cases about how money-hungry the corporate world is. "This hunger" does not know any color, race or brotherhood. A corporation only knows how to make its shareholders richer. On the other hand, America is all about giant corporations. Canada is a resourceful country but one of the prime reasons for America's success is that America is blessed with great entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and many more.
Dawn - Lost Programming job to H1B
August 22, 2007, 4:39pm (report abuse)I lost my programming job to an H1B visa holder. Then the company outsourced the entire department to India, him too. There needs to be something that encourages high-skilled workers from other countries but does not hold them hostage to American companies. They know they have you as a hostage so they can treat you like crap. As usual, the only one who wins is the Corporations.
Casey Murphy
September 10, 2007, 7:50am (report abuse)i like bush.
Bills Daddy
September 26, 2007, 9:06am (report abuse)Bill: look at the numbers. Congress is there to represent us!
If we overwhelmingly want it, congress should do it.
you could always move.
Jacklyn Adames
October 20, 2007, 6:55pm (report abuse)Its amazing how many people have lefyt comments saying things like, "I don't want immigrants taking my job, leave my country and make money in your country." America is what is it becuase of immigrants, legal or illegal. ACCEPT IT!
Linda Miller
October 31, 2007, 3:56pm (report abuse)Messed up! I voted against but I am in favor of this bill. Please change one vote to be in vavor of this bill S9.
Thanks!
Chris
November 14, 2007, 7:48pm (report abuse)The difference is legal and illegal.... If you are here illegally YOU are breaking a federal law! THere is nothing wrong with the current laws... they are just not practiced like they should be .... too many liberals will be the demise of this country... think about it, If 9-11 happened in China, there would be three hot holes in the middle east and we could all skate on glass. Do it the right way, my mother did... she waited 8 years to be legalized the right way... Stop thinking of yourself and think of the future of the integrity of the nation! Tolerance makes me puke! An American goes to another country, we respect the laws and tradition.... an illegal comes here and does not give a ..... Get in to this country the right way!
Bud
December 1, 2007, 7:53am (report abuse)1 in 8 Americans are immigrants. 1/2 are illegals! An average of 4,380 Americans are killed by illegals each year. More then killed in Iraq since the beginning. Illegals are taking good paying jobs from Americans. They are driving down wages for many others. They are raping our social programs. Illegals are hurting our education system, bringing in drugs to our kids, committing crimes, and more. We need to close our borders (recently Iraqis and Afghans were caught crossing), build a good fence, hire more agents, and enforce laws. Ike Eisenhower had it right. He started in the west and hunted illegals down and deported all of them. If the government doesn't, maybe we can get our own guns and meet at the border and do it ourselves. And while we are at it, just meet in Washington and boot the whole lot out. Did not the Second Amendment give us the right to protect ourselves when government was not protecting us?
Jhazline Lachey
May 1, 2008, 4:52pm (report abuse)Nowadays immigration has become synonymous with illegal immigration. I believe that efforts should be put on for fixing the legal immigration system first before talking about illegal immigration.
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ruEL
New York Immigration Lawyer Marina Shepelsky, located in Brooklyn, assists clients from the New York metro area and across the United States in all immigration and naturalization matters http://www.e-us-visa.com
H1BWORKER
May 19, 2008, 12:05pm (report abuse)US Immigration System is broken...and no one is going to fix this problem..USCIS is worst agency on earth..they are not smart and they are lazy people..who do not want to work..May be BOMBAY has better Municipal Corporation system compare to imiigration system of USA!! They should stop wasting our time and life too...
Cadian_PR
August 7, 2008, 1:08pm (report abuse)I came to USA in 1997, completed my MBA and worked for a high tech start up from 1998..contributed to make that company a success. It was sold to Canadian counterpart for 25 million in the year 2007.
While at work, I traveled worldwide installing, providing training for the system that I helped design, develop and test. I was thinking of starting my own hi-tech business after my GC is finished. But it took too long and I decided to immigrate to Canada. I still have the urge to go back to US and start my company but I am doing well with my own company here in Canada and am less and less motivated to go there everyday I pass here....
I don't know if I would have contributed lot more to US economy if I was given the GC. But it is for sure...I would have given it my best shot. Sometime it is not enough to be the best and law abiding...you need to be lucky.
God bless you all and God bless AMerica. This is the best place I had been and I still love America.