On May 4th, Democrats in the House proposed a new bill to amend U.S. immigration law; the proposed bill adds fuel to the already heated discussion of immigration rights, a hot topic in this year’s presidential election.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Robert Menendez (D- NJ), Rep. Louis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), chairman of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force, brought a proposal before the House. The bill contains virtually all of the demands insisted upon by immigrants’ rights groups: the issue of undocumented immigrants deportation, the reduction in the backlog in processing immigration applications, family reunification, and the creation of a temporary worker program that offers green cards to the workers. The proposed bill, the Safe, Orderly, Legal Visas and Enforcement Act (SOLVE), would allow a vast number of currently undocumented immigrants to receive green cards.
On May 4th, Korean immigration advocacy groups, including the Young Korean American Service and Education Center, Asian Americans for Equality, and the Korean American League for Civic Action, demonstrated in support of the bill in front of City Hall in New York, calling also for voters’ rights in local elections. The immigration advocates are giving the bill 100 percent support and urge President Bush to also support it.
Advocacy groups have asked President Bush and presidential candidate John Kerry to officially show their positions on SOLVE. The groups are trying to utilize public opinion to get the bill passed in this election year, playing upon both candidates’ sensitivity to voters’ issues.
During the May 4th demonstration, the New York Immigration Coalition announced its plans to launch a campaign to give immigrants voting rights in local elections. The coalition estimates that 120,000 people are eligible on the basis of their legal immigrantion status. They also emphasized that the presidential candidates’ views on SOLVE will influence the direction that the issue of immigrants’ voting rights will take.
Immigrant groups state that the amendment announced by President Bush earlier this year fails to include the issue of green cards for undocumented immigrants, or the issue of making entry to the U.S. more accessible; SOLVE addresses both issues. The president’s proposal presents a temporary job program for foreigners, but is not comprehensive enough to satisfy the groups, which hope to stimulate Republican policy on these issues. The groups view the Republican Party as strongly anti-immigration.
On the other hand, Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry has already expressed his opinion on immigration; supporting the plan to give green cards to those undocumented immigrants who have been here for a specified time. Advocates expect Kerry’s strong support for SOLVE.
SOLVE proposes that green cards be given to illegal immigrants who have been in America for more than five years and have paid taxes for at least two years; that annually, 350,000 foreigners can enter America legally under the Temporary Job Program, with corresponding green cards; abolishing the three or ten-year mandatory reentry wait period for (illegal and other) immigrants who have been deported from the United States; a quick turnaround for applications, as well as a rapid solution to the problem of backlogged applications; lifting of quotas on family members waiting to emigrate to the United States; and abolishing quotas that currently limit green cards to spouses, parents and minor children.
If SOLVE is passed, several million currently undocumented immigrant workers and their families will receive green cards; also, a tremendous wave of immigrants can be expected annually through business visas such as the E-2. In the case of Korean immigrants, 150,000 currently undocumented immigrants, and almost 100,000 applicants will benefit from SOLVE. The Korean community can therefore experience a rapid quantitative and qualitative change if SOLVE becomes law.
