Immigration reform: A Q&A with Sen. Robert Menendez

Immigration reform: A Q&A with Sen. Robert Menendez
By Linda Ocasio/The Star-Ledger
on April 14, 2013 at 5:45 AM
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Eight U.S. senators — Democrats and Republican — have been working furiously on an immigration reform bill that is expected to be introduced this week. Editorial writer Linda Ocasio spoke with one of the eight, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), about what to expect. An edited transcript appears below:

Q. What are the basics of the new bill for people who entered the country illegally?

A. In broad strokes, an undocumented person who arrived here before Dec. 31, 2011, would have to register with the government and pass a criminal background check. They’d get temporary-status work permits and the opportunity to travel to their home country. They cannot be a public charge. They’d have to learn English for permanent residency, and pay taxes.

DREAMers get a special, accelerated pathway to citizenship. They came here as children, they have no allegiance to any other country, we’re all they know. And we’ve invested in them already.

Agricultural workers also will have a special pathway. Why? We have an industry in great need, and we have agricultural workers who are multigenerational, working peach orchards, grapes, asparagus. The bottom line is we recognize hard work and they have been doing this kind of work a long time.

Q. When the last immigration reform passed in 1986, America had 4 million undocumented people. Now we have 12 million. What’s to say that won’t happen again?

A. (Back then) we didn’t have a good handle on how you consider future flows of workers, under what conditions and under what guidelines you allow them to work here. How do you have reunification, so you’re not dividing families for a decade or more? How do you deal with agricultural workers, allow them to get work done, but enable them to return to their home country?

The new bill preserves their rights, but enables them to stay here for the work only. And it’s about having a more accurate E-Verify system, so employers know they can’t hire an undocumented worker. We don’t do a good job of tracking people who overstay visas. That will be taken care of in this legislation.

Q. Also in 1986, business lobbied to soften the provisions barring them from hiring undocumented workers. How will that be fixed this time around?

A. You will have a more universal and more accurate E-Verify program. To be effective, you’re going to ask certain things, but we’re going to ensure that information will not affect privacy. It’s not biometric, where there is a chip in a mass database with all of a worker’s information. It will involve a visual identification and questions. It will be simple for business to use, and will take care of the current shortcomings. And it will be mandatory.

Q. If the undocumented are given provisional status, how do we ensure they contribute to society? They may need driver’s licenses.

A. This legislation will not pre-empt state laws, as much as I would want it to, but this provisional status is lawful and should be helpful. A person in lawful status is eligible not for benefits but for certain rights.


Link: [url="http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/04/at_long_last_comprehensive_imm.html[/URL]

Hmm. First real indication that Dreamers will get a "special accelerated pathway." Maybe immediate green cards??????

I posted this a few days ago. The reason they don't speak of it is because it's not up for discussion. Both senators and house reps agree that we didn't decide to come here and some of us are scholars. If CIR passes I think we will simply get an adjustment of status to green card holders.

Doubtful its going to be a green card right away. It'll probably be like early versions of the DREAM Act where its conditional green card first since there was school requirements for Dreamers. After all, school is what makes a dreamer a dreamer.

However, many of us have already completed the school requirement, so why would those people be ineligible for immediate green cards? What are they to do? Go to school for another two years?

The last compromise between Senator Kennedy and Kyl included a Dream Act provision that allowed for permanent residency at the 3 year mark of holding a Z non-immigrant visa.The outline of the current Gang of 8 proposal seems very similar in many regards,but we'll have to wait and see what the specific Dream act provisions are.

I believe that many Dreamers will be applying for their parent's Green cards still once they become Naturalized.

Interesing

Cant wait for the bill.

Well said.

Excellent, I'm glad they all agree and it's really not up for discussion, this country really is all we know, way to go senators!