The Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Grows More Urgent

August 15 , 2007

The failure of Congress to pass an immigration reform bill has had a ripple effect across all levels of government. Tragically, much of what has resulted has been both cruel and ineffective in addressing problems with our immigration system. Meanwhile, immigration debates grow more heated.

At the national level, the Bush Administration announced on August 10 that it would strengthen its focus on “enforcement” measures. Among other actions, the federal government wants to build more border fencing, increase detention capability, and speed up deportations. At the same time, it plans harsher punishments for undocumented workers and their employers, who will now face the increased likelihood of criminal charges and higher fines. New rules require employers to check on their immigrant employees’ legal status when their Social Security numbers don’t match the government database—and to fire workers when discrepancies can’t be resolved. This is despite the fact that Social Security records contain a notoriously large number of misspellings and other errors. Reportedly, 140,000 letters will go out this year to businesses with data problems, and NETWORK is concerned that workers will be fired simply because their employers don’t want the bother of correcting mistakes.

Meanwhile, in the absence of federal action, state governments are considering and passing a large number of immigration-related laws. State legislatures have already considered more than 1400 immigration measures this year—and passed 170 of them, according to a recent report from the National Council of State Legislatures. In July, for example, Arizona passed a law with severe penalties for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers and requiring them to verify the legal status of job applicants through a federal immigration database. Numerous states have enacted laws denying public benefits, including healthcare, to undocumented immigrants

Local communities are also taking action. Some local governments are instructing their local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they stop. Others are passing ordinances severely penalizing employers who hire undocumented workers and landlords who rent to them.

Racial and ethnic profiling are increasing across the country, and immigrants, no matter what their legal status, are suffering. Communities are being divided, and our nation’s reputation as a land of justice is eroding.

The lesson is clear. This piecemeal, unjust approach will not solve our immigration problems.

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) indicates that he might try another effort at compromise in September. Time is running out. The U.S. needs fair and comprehensive immigration reform now!

(Click here for information on NETWORK’s principles regarding immigration reform.)