FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 21, 2005

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Federico de Jesús 202-225-0100

Democratic Leaders Urge Presidents Bush and Fox to Act on Long Overdue Immigration Reform

Washington, D.C.-- House and Senate Democratic Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid today released a letter sent to President George W.  Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform.  Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also signed the letter.

"Immigration reform continues to be an important issue for our nation," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.  "At this time of heightened concern about our national security, the federal government needs to know who is living in our country and who is crossing our borders.  We need immigration laws that are humane, realistic and fair, and we need effective enforcement of those laws.  The President has talked for years about immigration reform but his allies in Congress have not acted.  This year Congress must make such reform a reality."

"After four years failing to act on the critical issue of immigration, President Bush must make good on his promise to reform our immigration system," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said. "Instead of progress on immigration reform, Congressional Republicans, often with President Bush's support, have passed harmful anti-immigrant legislation that jeopardizes our national security and is contrary to the mutual interests of our two countries. Democrats believe in comprehensive immigration reform that reunites families, provides earned legalization to hard working immigrants, and strengthens our borders."

In the letter the leaders offered a statement of principles asking Presidents Bush and Fox to bear it in mind as they proceed with their discussions concerning immigration reform.  The principles include: family reunification, earned access to legalization, border safety and protection, an enhanced temporary worker program, respect to civil liberties and constitutional rights of immigrants and visitors, and support to legislative initiatives in regarding immigrant student adjustment.

The Democratic congressional leaders wrote: "In this post-September 11th era, it is now more important than ever that we address the gap between our immigration laws and reality."

"We stand ready to work with you both to help advance a new paradigm for immigration policy.  We believe there is once again growing bipartisan support and momentum in Congress for the objectives we have outlined.  It is long past time to create immigration policies that reunite families, meet the labor needs of America's economy, secure new economic stability for Mexico, and honor the values of both countries.  We appreciate your consideration of our principles and look forward to working with you to make our common goals a reality."

"Current immigration laws fail to deal with real immigration situations facing not only immigrants but their families and all those working in the immigration field," said CHC Chairwoman Grace Flores Napolitano.  "While our national security must remain a priority, we must remember that the vast majority of immigrants are people with dignity who are willing to work hard and contribute to our nation. They deserve basic rights and protections and the benefits of a seamless immigration process." 

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The full text of the letter follows:

March 21, 2005

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Licenciado Vicente Fox
Presidente de Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos  
Residencia Oficial de Los Pinos
Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec
11850 Mexico, DF

Dear President Bush and President Fox:

More than three years ago, the Democratic leadership of the United States Congress wrote you to emphasize our strong belief in the value of our relationship, the importance of cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and to set forth our views on the critical issue of immigration.  At the time of your meeting, just days before the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and months after the historic elections in Mexico, momentum was building for comprehensive reform of American immigration laws. 

In this post-September 11th era, it is now more important than ever that we address the gap between our immigration laws and reality.  It is crucial that our federal government know who is crossing our borders and living in this country.  To accomplish this goal, we believe the United States needs immigration laws that take our security into consideration and, at the same time, are realistic, humane, and fair.  We believe there should be effective and efficient enforcement of these laws. 

  
Few issues have such a profound impact on the bonds between our two historically and economically interdependent peoples as immigration.  We offer the following statement of principles and ask that you bear them in mind as you proceed in your discussions concerning proposals for reform of migration policies.

Family Reunification

        The current statutory ceilings for family and employment-based immigrant visas, last revised by Congress in 1990, are wholly inadequate and have resulted in long backlogs that keep family members separated for many years.  Permanent residents of the United States currently must wait more than four years to be reunited with their husbands, wives, and children seeking to immigrate legally from overseas.  For residents with spouses and children in Mexico, the wait is even longer, at more than seven years.   

        We need to reunify families and allow husbands and wives and parents and children to remain together.  To accomplish this goal, not only do we need to reduce the time it takes for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to approve family-based and employment-based petitions, but we also need to adjust the current family and employment immigrant visa ceilings.

Earned Access to Legalization

        An earned legalization program would enhance our national security by adjusting the status of the many hard-working, tax-paying immigrants who have resided in the United States for many years.  Our economy depends on the undocumented immigrants in our workforce and it is neither in the best interest of the workers nor their employers for the workers to remain undocumented.  Such a program would allow immigrants to come out of the shadows and to be identified and registered as living in the United States, so that our nation can use its resources more effectively to root out terrorists.

        Eligible immigrants should be long-time residents with a strong work history in the United States and no criminal record, who are able to pass a background check.  Permanent residence should be available to those otherwise eligible to become U.S. citizens, who are enrolled in English language and U.S. civics courses, and who demonstrate ties to their community.

Border Safety and Protection

        We must provide security, safety, and stability at our borders.  We are committed to ensuring that our border patrol agents have the necessary resources to enforce the law.  At the same time, we also have the responsibility to ensure safety and due process protections at our borders. 

Establishing a comprehensive immigration policy will result in orderly entry at our borders and will enhance our ability to enforce our immigration laws, allow us to crack down on drug trafficking and smuggling, and assist our efforts to protect our national security.    

Enhanced Temporary Worker Program

        An enhanced temporary worker program should provide an appropriate mechanism for workers who wish to move between their home countries and ours to benefit from new economic opportunities and serve as a way for recent arrivals to the U.S. to earn permanent status.   Any such program must be structurally different from past guestworker programs to avoid their troubling legacy of exploitation and abuse.

        Any temporary worker program must not undermine the jobs, wages, and legal protections of U.S. workers.  It is important that both immigrants and U.S. citizens have meaningful access to educational opportunities and job advancement that increase economic success for all and contribute to the economic well-being of our nation. The program must, therefore, be market focused to ensure that U.S. workers are not displaced. 

        Participants in an enhanced temporary worker program must be given the same labor protections afforded U.S. workers, including the right to organize, the right to change jobs freely - not only between employers, but across economic sectors - and the fully enforced legal protection of their wages, hours, and working conditions. Anything else would not only subject migrants to abuse, but would also undermine the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.

Civil Liberties

        We believe the civil liberties and constitutional rights of immigrants and visitors must be respected, without discrimination against particular groups or communities.  Immigration judges, operating through fair and open hearings and subject to meaningful judicial review, can provide the due process required by the Constitution only if their independence and impartiality is respected.  We oppose mandatory and indefinite detention of immigrants and support adherence to guidelines that assure appropriate conditions of detention, including access to legal counsel.  The rights and welfare of children must be a priority and unaccompanied minors deserve special protections, including guardians ad litem and a right to counsel.

        We believe that state and local police should not enforce federal immigration law, but rather the federal government should fully bear that responsibility.  To extend such authority to local law enforcement would undermine the safety of our communities by eroding the trust that has developed between police and immigrant communities.  It would also spread local resources too thin and undermine our country's ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and secure our homeland. 

Immigrant Student Adjustment
       
        Tens of thousands of young students, despite their successes both in and out of the classroom, face a future of uncertainty due to limited access to affordable tuition, restrictions on financial aid, and undocumented immigration status.  Given that so many of these students were brought by their parents to the United States at a young age and are undocumented through no fault of their own, we are committed to supporting these dedicated students in their efforts to reach their educational goals.

       
        We support legislative initiatives that would grant states the right to decide who is a resident of their state for purposes of higher education benefits and grant immigrant students lawful permanent resident status, as well as full and equal access to federal financial aid. 

        We stand ready to work with you both to help advance a new paradigm for immigration policy.  We believe there is once again growing bi-partisan support and momentum in Congress for the objectives we have outlined.  It is long past time to create immigration policies that reunite families, meet the labor needs of America's economy, secure new economic stability for Mexico, and honor the values of both countries.  We appreciate your consideration of our principles and look forward to working with you to make our common goals a reality.

Respectfully,

Harry Reid                                              Nancy Pelosi

Senate Democratic Leader                      House Democratic Leader

Grace Flores Napolitano                         Luis V. Gutierrez

Chair                                                      Chair, Immigration Task Force

Congressional Hispanic Caucus               Congressional Hispanic Caucus

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi