The following is the background information about Comprehensive Immigration Reform from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS):

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

 

Constituencies from across the political spectrum, including business, labor, faith-based organizations, civil and human rights groups, and immigrants themselves, believe that the current immigration system is broken and that now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform. President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders have shown the political will to change the current immigration system. Voices from our local congregations and immigrant service partners echo the need for a new approach.

LIRS joins our partners and these diverse groups in calling for reform. The U.S. government has the sovereign responsibility to establish a viable immigration system consistent with our values as an immigrant nation and a nation of laws. We recall that these newcomers are God’s children, too, who often have fled to the United States because political, social and economic conditions in their home countries made it impossible for them to provide for their families and maintain their human dignity. As we consider reforms, we recall our faith tradition and family histories, "You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9, NRSV).

 

Our Broken Immigration System

There are 10.3 million undocumented people in the United States. Who are they and why are they here? As has always been the case, these are people who migrated here for family, work and freedom—to unite with loved ones, to take up employment or to seek refuge from persecution. They are often the same honest, hardworking people who take care of our parents and children, clean our offices, and harvest our food. They come and remain here to carry out vital services for our communities, doing jobs for which there are not enough U.S. workers. Nonetheless, the system does not provided a viable way for these individuals to receive proper documentation. As a result, they often work for unfair wages in unsafe conditions, marginalized from the rest of society and separated from their families. We carefully consider these injustices and also the common good, "The existence of a permanent sub-group of people who live without recourse to effective legal protection opens the door for their massive abuse and exploitation and harms the common good." Any reform must acknowledge that these newcomers are integral to our communities and interwoven into the economic, cultural and political fabric of our society. It must also acknowledge that as a nation of immigrants and of laws we must be humane and just to newcomers while assuring orderly migration.

Four Essential Principles for Immigration Reform

To meet the needs of migrants and of America, meaningful reform must include four principles:

uniting families;

protecting human rights and worker rights;

ending the marginalization of the undocumented, making it possible for those working "below the radar" to live freely and openly in our society; and

giving immigrants willing to contribute to our economy and society a path toward citizenship.

Uniting families—Family unity has always been a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy and of advocacy by many faith-based groups. LIRS’s "advocacy will continue to insist that family reunification should be the primary objective of immigration laws." We must periodically review whether our policy is achieving the purpose of uniting families. Currently, undocumented people who are doing vital jobs in our communities rarely have a viable legal mechanism to provide immigration papers for themselves and their families. Even documented immigrants must often endure protracted separation from their families before legal means of reunification can be accessed. The current backlog of family preference visas, for example, makes U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents wait up to 20 years to reunite with their families. Comprehensive immigration reform can ensure that family unity policy is strengthened, both for undocumented people who receive earned adjustment and for those already in the system.

—Family unity has always been a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy and of advocacy by many faith-based groups. LIRS’s "advocacy will continue to insist that family reunification should be the primary objective of immigration laws." We must periodically review whether our policy is achieving the purpose of uniting families. Currently, undocumented people who are doing vital jobs in our communities rarely have a viable legal mechanism to provide immigration papers for themselves and their families. Even documented immigrants must often endure protracted separation from their families before legal means of reunification can be accessed. The current backlog of family preference visas, for example, makes U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents wait up to 20 years to reunite with their families. Comprehensive immigration reform can ensure that family unity policy is strengthened, both for undocumented people who receive earned adjustment and for those already in the system.

Protecting rights—Migrant workers experience lower wages, exploitative labor practices and dangerous working conditions, and live in constant fear and insecurity. Providing legal documents for honest, hardworking migrants would discourage such abuses of human rights and worker rights.

—Migrant workers experience lower wages, exploitative labor practices and dangerous working conditions, and live in constant fear and insecurity. Providing legal documents for honest, hardworking migrants would discourage such abuses of human rights and worker rights.

Ending marginalization—While the United States has the sovereign responsibility to control its borders, it must also create migration policies consistent with its constitutional and humanitarian values. By bringing people out of the shadows of marginalization, our immigrant communities can live in the light of day, able to contribute more freely. Moreover, by better documenting who is in our country, we can strive for smart enforcement, fair proceedings, efficient processing and targeted enforcement against those who want to harm us.

—While the United States has the sovereign responsibility to control its borders, it must also create migration policies consistent with its constitutional and humanitarian values. By bringing people out of the shadows of marginalization, our immigrant communities can live in the light of day, able to contribute more freely. Moreover, by better documenting who is in our country, we can strive for smart enforcement, fair proceedings, efficient processing and targeted enforcement against those who want to harm us.

Providing a path to permanence—Reform will provide earned adjustment, a path to permanent status for certain current and future workers who are patient and work hard. It acknowledges the integral part they already play in our society and enables them to participate and contribute even more fully.

—Reform will provide earned adjustment, a path to permanent status for certain current and future workers who are patient and work hard. It acknowledges the integral part they already play in our society and enables them to participate and contribute even more fully.

New Legislation Promises Reform

While recognizing that it is compromise legislation, LIRS welcomes the recent introduction of The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005. This bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation was introduced in the Senate by John McCain (R-AZ), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and in the House by Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ-8), Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL-4).

The legislation goes a long way to carrying out the principles above. It has a forward-looking, long-term perspective. This legislation will help certain migrants earn critical legal status and a path to permanency in the U.S. It strengthens family unity policy. It also provides a system that will decrease the incentive for illegal migration, providing future willing workers a legal, orderly way to connect with employers who cannot find U.S. citizens to fill their jobs.

Elements of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005

The bipartisan legislation includes provisions that establish

tighter border security,

a worker visa program allowing orderly legal migration of essential workers in the future,

an earned adjustment program for certain current undocumented workers,

family unity provisions for certain workers,

a path toward permanent status for current and future workers who are patient and work hard,

special protection for certain widows and orphans,

civic integration of newcomers into U.S. society, and

reimbursement to states for expenses related to undocumented non-citizens.

LIRS is committed to finding solutions that meet the needs both of migrants and of the broader communities in which they live and work.

Call to Action

Please contact your senators and representatives and urge them to cosponsor the Secure and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, and to bring it to the floor for debate. In whatever legislation emerges from the legislative process, urge them to support the four principles essential to successful reform: uniting families, protecting human rights and worker rights, ending the marginalization of undocumented workers, and providing a path to permanence. Visit www.lirs.org for sample letters and further updates.

 

Please write to your SENATORS and urge them to support comprehensive immigration reform. Use the following letter as a guide for writing your own personalized letter to your elected officials. Send your letter to

 

The Honorable__________ (full name)

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Your name
Your address

Date

Dear Senator ______________:

Please co-sponsor S.1033, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, and urge your party’s leaders to bring it to the floor for debate. This bill would be an important first step in fixing our broken immigration system by tightening border security and providing workers a legal, orderly way to connect with employers who cannot find U.S. citizens to fill their jobs.

To meet the needs of migrants and American, meaningful reform must include four principles:

1. uniting families;
2. protecting human rights and worker rights;
3. ending the marginalization of the undocumented; and
4. giving immigrants willing to contribute to our society a path toward permanency.

Please cosponsor S.1033 and support comprehensive immigration reform. I look forward to receiving your reply.

Respectfully yours,

Your signature

 

Please write to your REPRESENTATIVES and urge them to support comprehensive immigration reform. Use the following letter as a guide for writing your own personalized letter to your elected officials. Send your letter to

The Honorable _________ (full name)

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Your name
Your address


Date

Dear Representative ______________:

Please co-sponsor H.R. 2330, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, and urge your party’s leaders to bring it to the floor for debate. This bill is an important first step in fixing our broken immigration system by tightening border security and providing workers a legal, orderly way to connect with employers who cannot find U.S. citizens to fill their jobs.

To meet the needs of migrants and American, meaningful reform must include four principles:

1. uniting families;
2. protecting human rights and worker rights;
3. ending the marginalization of the undocumented; and
4. giving immigrants willing to contribute to our society a path toward permanency.

Please cosponsor H.R. 2330 and support comprehensive immigration reform. I look forward to receiving your reply.

Respectfully yours,

Your signature