Letter on REPAIR Proposal

This letter was initiated by the Grassroots Immigrant Justice Network, a group which was recently formed by leaders in the immigrant rights and labor movements across the country. Initial members include Isabel Garcia, David Silva Villalobos, Carlos Arango, Juan Jose Bocanegra, Nativo Lopez, David Bacon, Lisa Luinenburg, Cristobal Cavazos, John Steinbach, Daniela Ortiz-Bahamonde, George Shriver, Eduardo Quintana, Jason McGahan, and Domingo Gonzales.

Although the political climate seems uncertain, we are proposing a different approach to discussing Comprehensive Immigration Reform. We need to generate a national debate based on immigration as a labor mobility and human rights issue, not as an issue of national security and enforcement. Immigrants have made vast contributions to the United States, and they should be granted the right to live here legally and without fear. We should recognize migration as the global phenomenon it is and address the root economic causes of migration.

The principles guiding the national debate around immigration reform should consist of:

1. Build bridges between the peoples of the U.S. and Mexico instead of walls that segregate them and turn them into competitors in a struggle for survival. Take immediate action to stop the deaths along the border and end border militarization.

2. Analyze the effects of free trade agreements like NAFTA on the economies of ‘sender’ countries. End all economic and foreign policies that leave people in ‘sender’ countries with no choice but to migrate in order to support their families.

3. Provide a clear and easy legalization program for the millions of undocumented immigrants who have built their homes here and contribute greatly to the prosperity of the U.S. economy. All immigrants deserve the full rights accorded to U.S. citizens, not a second-class status.

4. Clear the backlogs of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been waiting to legalize their status since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Allow more families to reunite with their loved ones by expanding the definition of “family” under current immigration law.

5. Bracero-style guest worker programs and other forms of labor exploitation should be eliminated, and the labor system made to benefit workers and their families, not corporations and agribusiness. Increased labor protections for immigrant workers should also include the freedom of movement between jobs and across national borders.

6. End the criminalization of work through the use of 1-9 audits, E-verify, ‘silent raids,’ and other tactics used to carry out mass firings of workers. All workers, immigrants included, have the right to work and seek work without the fear of retaliation.

7. Immigrants and their families have the right to live in their communities without fear. Stop the raids and deportations, end ‘enforcement first’ policies like 287(g) and Secure Communities, eliminate the privatization of the detention system, and decriminalize the status of undocumented workers. Extend equal rights to all by ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers.

We agree with the statement of New York’s Immigrant Communities in Action:
“Arizona’s Law Should NOT Be a Call for Schumer’s ‘Blueprint ‘”

The immigration issue has taken center stage nationally, especially with the April 23 passage of SB1070 in Arizona and mass immigrant rights marches around the country on May 1 and in Phoenix on May 29. Now the Senate Democrats’ Reform Enforcement with Practical Answers for Immigration Reform (REPAIR) proposal is being painted as a reasonable “bipartisan compromise” for immigration reform. The REPAIR proposal is supported by President Barack Obama along with Senate Majority Leader Reid and Senate Democrats Menendez, Leahy, Feinstein, and Durbin.
The main aims of the Schumer “blueprint,” in its new form as REPAIR, include “better immigration law enforcement” and “ending illegal employment,” while laying out an arduous process for “permanent residency” for the estimated 11 or 12 million undocumented immigrant workers and their families in the United States.

Similar to initiatives before it, such as Luis Gutierrez’s CIR ASAP, the REPAIR proposal is in line with the recent tradition of the U.S. immigration system of promoting enforcement first and putting the economic priorities of privileged sectors before human rights and the reality of labor mobility. However, unlike the proposals before it, REPAIR, with its all-out commitment to “enforcement first” and what it calls “ending illegal employment” with a biometric identity card required for all workers, is a much more severe attack not only on immigrants’ rights but on everyone’s civil rights.

REPAIR falls short of satisfying any of the demands of the grassroots immigrant rights movement including: an end to immigrant raids and deportations, rejection of guest worker or “bracero” systems, the dismantling of militarization of the border, increased protection for immigrant worker rights, and a just legalization for all.
Immigrant rights leaders and organizations around the country have already raised many concerns with the REPAIR proposal, some of which are outlined below:

1. On Enforcement: Enforcement benchmarks, such as increased border militarization and the expedited removal of undocumented immigrants, must be met before any legalization takes place. This will only serve to guarantee the continued deaths of thousands of desperate workers crossing the border. And while some minimum standards for detention will be put in place, the enforcement structure itself will be left intact. The REPAIR proposal would also create a program to track visa overstays and would require all foreign nationals to submit biometric information to the U.S. government.

2. On Biometric Employment Verification: Instead of addressing the role that NAFTA plays in creating conditions of poverty and migration, the REPAIR proposal focuses on workplace enforcement as a means to reduce migration. Under this proposal, the Social Security Administration would be required to issue biometric social security cards to everyone in the country. These cards would be used to verify employment eligibility for citizens and non-citizens alike and would eventually replace the E-verify system. E-verify has already caused thousands of immigrant workers to be fired from their jobs--essentially denying them the right to work. The new biometric system would increase government control over the job eligibility of U.S. citizens as well.

3. On Workforce and Visa Control: The REPAIR proposal would create the Commission on Employment-Based Immigration, which would determine yearly levels of immigrant workers allowed into the U.S. High-skilled immigrant workers would face few entry restrictions, while low-skilled workers would be required to enter under the AgJOBS program or with the new H-2C visa. Although the proposal would increase some protections for workers, temporary worker programs in the past have been rife with abuse. While the REPAIR proposal would help to reduce family visa backlogs, it does not increase the yearly caps currently in place on family reunification visas. Many families have already been waiting for years to be reunited.

4. On Adjustment of Status: All undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. would be required to register with the U.S. government and apply for a Lawful Perspective Immigrant (LPI) visa. In order to be eligible, immigrants would have to submit biometric information, pass strict security checks, and pay a fee. Those who do not register and those who have certain criminal convictions would immediately be deported. After waiting eight years, immigrants could apply for Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status, which would require them to have English language and citizenship skills, have continuous residence in the U.S., pass more security checks, pay taxes, fees, and civil penalties, and register for the Selective Service. This proposal is a far cry from the legalization that immigrant communities have demanded for decades. Instead of recognizing the many benefits that immigrants have brought to our country, it seeks to punish them for the failures of our global economic system.

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Immigrants have fought for justice for many years, reminding legislators and politicians of the power and intelligence of their voices in 2006, a year that saw some of the largest protests in U.S. history, when a powerful movement for immigrant equality erupted across the country. Now is the time to connect with our communities in an honest dialogue while keeping our elected officials accountable to the vision of justice that comes from the immigrant communities that comprise our nation and world. We shall overcome. ¡Vencerémos!