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Updated on April 04, 2005 |
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S. 2010 - The Immigration Reform Act of 2004
In response to President Bush's immigration reform proposal ( /h1/ref200204.html) announced on January 7, 2004, Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) introduced an alternative legislative immigration proposal. "The Immigration Reform Act of 2004", S. 2010, is an immigration package that addresses national security, economic stability, and family reunification. A summary of the bill is below.
Family reunification
S. 2010 modifies current law by creating a new category of visas for immediate family members of Legal Permanent Residents (LPR). Spouses and children of LPR's may bring their families into the United States as "immediate family members" without having to obtain one of the 480,000 annual family-based immigration visas. State Department figures estimate that this will eliminate the tremendous family-based visa backlog in four years.
Temporary workers
The President's proposal and S. 2010 both stress the need for unskilled workers for continued domestic economic stability. S. 2010 changes the H-2b category requirements by creating a new category, H-2c. These changes would result in about 350,000 new work visas per year. These new workers would not have to have specific expertise in any given field, rather would have to be willing to work when a domestic employee is not found to complete the work.
Additionally, immediate family members of these immigrants would not need a visa on their own, however, they would not be allowed to work unless they separately obtained work status. S. 2010 allows these workers to petition to remain in the United States.
Legal Permanent Resident Status
S. 2010 provides Permanent Legal Residency (PLR) status to temporary (as well as certain undocumented) workers if they can prove certain residency requirements, pay a $1,000 fee and pass national security and criminal background checks.
Legislative Action
S. 2010 was introduced on January 21, 2004 by Senators Hagel. Senator Daschle is the bill's lone co-sponsor. The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee where it has not been scheduled for a hearing. Press reports quote Senate staff as saying that neither this bill, nor any major immigration proposal, is expected to become law this year.
Reactions
S. 2010 is considered a good start by many in the Immigration advocacy community. Such groups as the National Council for la Raza (NCLR) and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Council (NAPALC) have applauded this bill. They tout the fact that S. 2010 contains a concrete mechanism to allow workers to obtain PLR status. They also applaud the family reunification provisions. However, some such as NCLR are concerned that the limits established in this bill - 350,000 new annual visas - is too low.
While the President's plan has no limit, they are strongly critical of that proposal due to its lack of Permanent Legal Resident and family reunification provisions. The White House has said in the past that it does not wish to see any amnesty or PLR provisions in an immigration reform bill because it does not wish to reward people who have broken U.S. immigration laws.
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Copyright © 2001-2004, Indian American Center for
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