Drafting an Immigration Bill

I'm not sure how I'm going to go about naming some of these blog posts. I'm sure with this one you can see where six months from now I may run into a problem, as another draft of another bill may come about. I'll worry about that when the time comes. In the meantime, I found this article in the New York Times very promising:

Bipartisan Effort to Draft Immigration Bill

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

Published: December 26, 2006

"The bipartisan bill would place millions of illegal immigrants on a more direct path to citizenship."

It appears to address what I think many folks would like to see; a bipartisan effort, doesn't require all illegal immigrants to leave in order to apply for citizenship, includes a temporary worker program, and perhaps incentives for illegal immigrants to leave the country (though I guess there'd be some debate as to what incentives would work).

Apparently it had all better come together before the presidential election comes into full swing, because then it becomes a political "hot potato". Amazing. Or not, depending on how jaded you are.

So, we wait and watch. If the bill comes together, perhaps we contact our representatives and press them to act quickly. I'm not entirely optimistic, but at least partially so. It's a good way to end the year, knowing there might be forward, positive movement on this issue in 2007. Here's hoping.

A very Happy New Year to you and yours.

*Photo courtesy of celikins.

Gaining U.S. Citizenship

I had hoped to make my next post about why folks come to the United States, legally or otherwise - what drives that desire? What's wrong with Cuba, Mexico, and other countries Latino immigrants flee from? Why don't they want to stay there? But so far the topic seems too broad, and I can't get a nice concise post out of it. I might have to ask folks to write in about why they are here, I'm not sure. I know there are economic and political reasons - I just don't know enough to write on it. Yet.

But I do have a little bit about what it takes to gain citizenship, and why it's not as easy as getting your driver's license. You always hear people on the other side of the debate saying things like, "Come here legally, like everyone else does." They make it sound like if illegal immigrants would just go sign a form, take a quiz, get a photo id, they'd be good to go. That's not how it works.

I found a nice article here, on FindLaw.com. They say, "If an individual does not gain U.S. citizenship through either birth or descent, he or she may achieve citizenship through naturalization. Naturalization involves the acquisition of citizen status through specialized legal processes. To become a naturalized citizen of the United States, a foreign national first must meet several legal standards."

Basically, you have to:

• Enter legally
• Stay five years (at least 50% of the time during that five years you need to be in the States)
• Be at least 18 (unless your parents bring you)
• Speak, read, and understand English (with some exceptions)
• Pass a test on U.S. history, politics, and government
• Have/show good moral character (perjury, gambling... not good if you're trying to be naturalized)
• Believe in the political system of this country
• Denounce your country, and be willing to fight for this one

There is more on immigration law here: http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration/immigration-overview/

So... not impossible, but as many people note, not something even some of us born here could do easily or on the first try (as far as the exam goes). Does that mean no one should try? No. Should the laws be changed to make it easier? I don't know. What about amnesty? That's another post. For now, all I've got are the facts. Conclusions will have to come later.

*Photo courtesy of Nate C. on Flickr

How Many Immigrants Are There?

Another rather simple/obvious question is, how many immigrants are there, anyway? I found some nice facts over at citizenJoe. Here's what they say:

On average 750,000 legal immigrants come to the United States every year.

In 1999, approximately 1 million illegal/undocumented immigrants arrived. And after you account for those who leave or gain legal status, it averages out to around 500,000 coming in per year.

1.7 million illegal immigrants crossed the Mexican border in 2005. Of that number, 500,000 slipped through, and 1.2 million were arrested and either immediately returned to Mexico, or were released and told to appear in court - out of which 98,000 of those "failed to appear" (the US ended their "catch & release" policy in 2006).

In 2000 the total number of illegal/undocumented immigrants in the US was approximately 7 million, and it's estimated there are more than 11 million now.

http://www.citizenjoe.org/node/317

Okay, lots of numbers. A couple of things strike me - one, that there are more legal immigrants arriving every year than there are illegal or undocumented. All immigrants are not illegal. I say this only because sometimes you read comments in the local paper that make it sound like if English isn't your native language, you must be here illegally. Hello?!

The second thing that strikes me is the number 7 million. 7 million illegal immigrants. No wonder it's a political hot potato. Can you imagine 7 million people not showing up for work one day? Not paying rent, not buying groceries? It'd cripple the economy! Your job, your cost of living would be affected by their leaving, and not in a good way. 7 million legal citizens would not step in and take over where those who left, left off. I'm sorry - it just wouldn't happen. And that's the cornerstone of why sending everyone home doesn't work.