U.S.-MEXICO MIGRATION DISCUSSIONS: A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2001 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D.C. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m., in Room 106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Edward M. Kennedy, presiding. Present: Senators Kennedy, Hatch, Specter, and Brownback. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD M. KENNEDY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS Senator KENNEDY. We will come to order, if we could, please. It is a privilege to chair this hearing on the important issue of U.S.-Mexico migration. I commend President Bush and President Fox for their leadership and their commitment to work together to address this critical challenge. Few issues so profoundly affect the ties between our two countries. I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished witnesses, and I commend Dr. Papademetriou and Dr. Fernandez de Castro, representing the U.S.-Mexico Migration Panel, whose insightful report-"U.S.-Mexico Migration: A Shared Responsibility"-has provided both of our governments with a basic framework for the migration discussions. We know there is broad support in our country today for fair and balanced immigration reform that will benefit both immigrant workers and their families, and employers as well. I am pleased to see labor and business, conservative and liberal groups, faith-based and secular groups here together in support of comprehensive immigration reform. My hope is that we will be able to achieve lasting and long overdue reforms, and I look forward to working with all of you in the weeks ahead. America has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants. Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed significantly to the strength of our country, and we owe a great deal to Mexican nationals and immigrants from throughout the world. Today, many industries depend overwhelmingly on immigrant labor. Yet, many immigrants are undocumented. They live in constant fear of deportation and are easy targets of abuse and exploitation by unscrupulous employers. Others, seeking to work temporarily in the U.S., risk danger and even death to cross our borders. (1) The status quo is unacceptable. It must be replaced with sound immigration reforms that provide a manageable and orderly system where legality is the prevailing rule. These are complex issues, and they deserve careful consideration and debate. But they also demand immediate attention. We should not have to wait until next year. We have delayed too long already in achieving these long overdue reforms. Last month, many of us joined in supporting a series of principles that we hope President Bush and President Fox will consider as they discuss a fair and balanced immigration proposal. First, immigrant families must be reunited as quickly and humanely as possible. Family unity has always been a fundamental cornerstone of America's immigration policy. Despite this fact, over one million deserving individuals-spouses and children of permanent residents, have endured years of painful and needless separation. Millions more are waiting for action on their applications for employment visas. Two options that merit careful consideration here are significantly raising the current family and employment visa ceilings, and exempting Canada and Mexico from these ceilings. We should also remove other obstacles in our current immigration laws that are separating families. Last night the Senate passed an extension of 245(i), which will allow immigrants to remain in the United States while their applications are processed. This is an important down payment towards reuniting families and ensuring economic security and stability for individuals and American businesses. I commend President Fox's support for a legalization program, and I urge the administration to develop a responsible proposal on this issue. Adjusting the status of these long-term residents can provide employers with a more stable workforce and help to improve the wages and working conditions of all workers. No reform will be complete without an adjustment program. We should create a fair, uniform set of procedures for all qualified immigrants, not just Mexican nationals. We should seize this opportunity to create an earned adjustment program that benefits all deserving immigrants. In addition, we should also develop an effective temporary worker program to allow migrants, including those who recently arrived, to work temporarily in the United States. However, a temporary worker program cannot stand alone. It must be developed in conjunction with an earned legalization and family unity priority. We must also ensure that the temporary worker program avoids the troubling legacy of exploitation and abuse under past guest worker programs. A temporary worker program should not undermine the jobs, wages, or worker protections of U.S. employees. Individuals in the program deserve the same labor protections as those given to U.S. workers. A temporary worker program should also give participants an opportunity to become permanent residents, and eventually citizens, if they desire to do so. Also, temporary workers should not be forced to choose between their job and their families. Families should remain united while a program participant works in this country. We all agree that our borders must be safe and secure. Over the last 5 years, Congress has invested millions of dollars to vastly increase the number of border patrol agents, improve surveillance technology, and install other controls to strengthen border enforcement, especially at our Southwest border. Too often, this border enforcement strategy has diverted migration to the most inhospitable desert and mountain areas, causing increasing deaths due to exposure to the harsh conditions. Desperate migrants are increasingly being drawn to criminal smuggling syndicates, bringing increased violence to border patrol agents, border communities, and migrants themselves. The status quo is unacceptable. The chief cause of fatalities and safety hazards at our borders is the poor fit between our immigration policies and reality. Back and forth migration has been going on for more than a century. Substantially legalizing this flow will enhance border safety by permitting orderly entry through regular ports of entry and by shutting down smugglers' markets. Finally, we must restore due process protection to long-term residents affected by the 1996 immigration laws and reform the structure of the INS. We should also review other provisions of the immigration law that affect American businesses and labor, especially the effectiveness of employer sanctions. Many of us are concerned that the current system of employer sanctions is unworkable for business, results in discriminatory practices, and fails to address the worst abuses by unscrupulous employers. We have a unique opportunity in the weeks ahead to reform our current immigration system, and create policies to reaffirm our Nation's commitment to family unity, fundamental fairness, economic opportunity, and humane treatment. I look forward to working with President Bush, President Fox, and my colleagues here on the Committee and in the Congress to achieve these lasting reforms. [The prepared statement of Senator Kennedy follows:] STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD M. KENNEDY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS "U.S.-MEXICO MIGRATION DISCUSSIONS: AN HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY” It is a privilege to chair this hearing on the important issue of U.S.-Mexico migration. I commend President Bush and President Fox for their leadership and their commitment to work together to address this critical challenge. Few issues so profoundly affect the ties between our two countries. I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished witnesses. I commend Dr. Papademitriou and Dr. Fernandez de Castro, representing the U.S.-Mexico Migration Panel, whose insightful report-U.S.-Mexico Migration: A Shared Responsibility has provided both our governments with a basic framework for the migration discussions. We know there is broad support in our country today for fair and balanced immigration reforms that will benefit both immigrant workers and their families, and employers as well. I am pleased to see labor and business, conservative and liberal groups, faith-based and secular groups, here together in support of comprehensive immigration reform. I am encouraged that John Sweeney, Raul Yzaguirre, Tom Donohue, and Grover Norquist are on the same side of this effort. I also commend Ralston Deffenbaugh and Stephen Moore, two consistent leaders in support of immigrants. My hope is that we will be able to achieve lasting and long-overdue reforms, and I look forward to working with all of you in the weeks ahead. President Fox's visit is an excellent opportunity to reform our immigration policies to reflect the core values of family unity, economic opportunity, and fundamental fairness. America has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants. Throughout our history, immigrants have had a critical role in the Nation's economy, contributing significantly to the strength of our country. We owe a great deal to the hard work and the many contributions by Mexican nationals, and by many other immigrants from throughout the world. Today, many industries, particularly the agricultural, retail, and service sectors, depend overwhelmingly on immigrant labor. These workers enrich our Nation and improve the quality of our lives. Yet, many of them are undocumented. They live in constant fear of deportation and are easy targets of abuse and exploitation by unscrupulous employers. Others, seeking to work temporarily in the U.S., risk danger and even death, to cross our borders. The status quo is not acceptable. It must be replaced with sound immigration reforms that provide a manageable and orderly system where legality is the prevailing rule. We need immigration policies that not only reflect current economic realities, but also respect our heritage and history as a Nation of immigrants. These are complex issues, and they deserve careful consideration and debate. But they also demand immediate attention. We should not have to wait until next year. We have delayed too long already in achieving these long overdue reforms. Last month, many of us joined in supporting a series of principles that we hope President Bush and President Fox will consider as they discuss a fair and balanced immigration proposal. I look forward to discussing these principles with our witnesses here today. First, immigrant families must be reunited as quickly and humanely as possible. Family unity has always been a fundamental cornerstone of America's immigration policy. Despite this fact, millions of deserving individuals are awaiting immigrant visas in order to reunite with their families. Over 1 million are the spouses and children of permanent residents, who have endured years of painful and needless separation. Millions more are waiting for action on their applications for employment visas. Last year, Congress began to acknowledge the predicament of immigrant families. We enacted limited relief for certain spouses and children of permanent residents. This was an important first step, but the relief did not address the most pervasive problems. Working out an effective solution to the family and employment visa backlogs should be a major part of any reform proposal. Two options that merit careful consideration here are significantly raising the current family and employment visa ceilings, and exempting Canada and Mexico from these ceilings. We should also remove other obstacles in our current immigration laws that are separating families. Strict support requirements often prevent members of working immigrant families from receiving permanent residence. We should allow_responsible discretion, where the evidence indicates that an immigrant is not likely to become a public charge. The bars to inadmissibility based on unlawful presence are also excessive. They can result in immigrant families being separated for up to ten years and should be repealed. At a minimum, immediate family members should be exempt from these prohibitions, and more generous waivers should be made available for other deserving immigrants. In addition, Section 245(i) should be extended, so that immigrants can remain in the United States while their applications are processed. I commend President Fox's support for a legalization program, and I urge the Administration to develop a responsible proposal on this issue. No reform will be complete without an adjustment program. Hard-working immigrants living in the United States contribute to the economic growth and prosperity of our nation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2008, America will have 5 million more jobs than there will be individuals to fill them. Immigrant workers are, and will continue to be, essential to the success of many American businesses. These long-term, tax-paying immigrants should be allowed to apply for earned adjustment of their status. These long-term residents can provide employers with a more stable workforce and help to improve the wages and working conditions of all workers. All similarly situated, long-time, hard-working residents should have the same opportunity to become permanent members of our community. We should create a fair, uniform set of procedures for all qualified immigrants. Many of today's undocumented workers are Mexican nationals-but many others are from Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. We should seize this opportunity to create an earned adjustment program that benefits all deserving immigrants. In creating such a program, we can borrow from time-tested provisions in our current immigration laws, such as registry. At a minimum, eligible immigrants should be long-time residents who are persons of good moral character, have no criminal or national security problems, and are eligible to become U.S. citizens. The wider availability of legal status for Mexicans and other nationals has important foreign policy ramifications. Immigrants earning permanent legal status are likely to receive higher wages and send back more funds to their native lands. Recent data indicate that Mexicans in the U.S. send more than $8 billion dollars a year to their families and communities in Mexico. The remittances sent by Central American immigrants have contributed substantially to the vital economic recovery and reconstruction of that region. These remittances are a critical source of funding for development initiatives that will profoundly improve the lives of persons in those countries, encourage them to remain at home, and contribute to the well-being of their nations and our nation. In addition, we should also develop an effective temporary worker program to allow migrants to work temporarily in the United States. Any such program should also benefit migrants who have recently arrived. However, a temporary worker program cannot stand alone; it must be developed in conjunction with earned legalization and family unity priorities. We must also ensure that the temporary worker program avoids the troubling legacy of exploitation and abuse under past guest worker programs. A temporary worker program should not undermine the jobs, wages, or worker protections of U. S. employees. Individuals in the program deserve the same labor protections as those given to U.S. workers, including the right to organize, the right to change jobs, and the 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. A temporary worker program should also give participants an opportunity to become permanent residents, and eventually citizens, if they desire to do so. Our current immigration laws already provide high-skilled temporary workers with this option. The same standards should apply to any temporary worker program for other essential workers. Also, temporary workers should not be forced to choose between their job and their family. As in the current temporary visa program for high-skilled workers, families should remain united while a program participant works in this country. We all agree that our borders must be safe and secure. The issue is whether our current enforcement policies are effective. Over the last five years, Congress has invested millions of dollars to vastly increase the number of border patrol agents, improve surveillance technology, and install other_controls to strengthen border enforcement, especially at our southwest border. Too often, this border enforcement strategy has diverted migration to the most inhospitable desert and mountain areas, causing increased deaths due to exposure to the harsh conditions. Desperate migrants are increasingly being drawn to criminal smuggling syndicates, bringing increased violence to border patrol agents, border communities, and the migrants themselves. The status quo is unacceptable. The chief cause of fatalities and safety hazards at our borders is the poor fit between our immigration policies and reality. Back and forth migration has been going on for more than a century. Substantially legalizing this flow will enhance border safety by permitting orderly entry through regular ports of entry and by shutting down smugglers' markets. Controlling our borders is a shared responsibility. Mexican and U.S. law enforcement authorities should continue to develop joint strategies and expand the recently announced coordinated operations. Effective joint efforts on the border will save lives, break up smuggling rings, and build new confidence and trust between our nations. Sound reasons may exist for beginning the reform of our migration policy with a temporary worker program for Mexico, but we should do so with a view to expanding it quickly to equally deserving people of other nations. Our closest neighbors in the Caribbean and Central America should be among the first to benefit from this expansion. Finally, we must restore due process protection to long-term residents affected by the 1996 immigration laws and reform the structure of the INS. We should also review other provisions of the immigration law that affect American businesses and labor, especially the effectiveness of employer sanctions. Many of us are concerned that the current system of employer sanctions is unworkable for business, results in discriminatory practices, and fails to address the worst abuses by unscrupulous employers. We have a unique opportunity in the weeks ahead to reform our current immigration system, and create policies to reaffirm our Nation's commitment to family unity, fundamental fairness, economic opportunity, and humane treatment. I look forward to working with President Bush, President Fox, and the Congress to achieve these lasting reforms. |