Immigrant Workers Deserve Fair and Meaningful Immigration Reform: Bush Plan Falls Short of Meaningful Reform for Immigrant Workers

For Immediate Release: January 7, 2004
Contact:  Amy Sugimori, Staff Attorney, New York 212 285 3025 x 102
Rebecca Smith, Coordinator, Immigrant Worker Project, Washington State  360 534 9160

Today, President Bush announced a proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, asking Congress to work with him to achieve significant immigration reform.  There is no question that there is a need for reform. 

• Immigrants in low wage jobs work extremely hard, often in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. They perform some of the toughest jobs around, usually providing service and convenience to others.  Low wage immigrant workers cook, clean, build, wash, drive, harvest, and care for our children, disabled, and aging loved ones.
•  We all rely enormously on this work.  It bolsters our economy.  It is the indispensable labor that paves the way for productivity and growth.  Immigrant workers also fuel the U.S. economy as consumers.  They buy food and clothes, pay rent and taxes, and create more jobs for others.

The President’s proposal on immigration is centered on the needs of business, in the form of an extended “guestworker” program.   Current guest worker programs are descendants of the “Bracero” program from the middle of the last century. Guest workers do not acquire any rights to live or work in the U.S. beyond their temporary employment with a particular employer.  The proposal does nothing to recognize immigrant workers’ participation in civil society and right to become part of the political process our country treasures. 

 A just and fair immigration policy that would meet their needs must contain the following elements:  

First, a fair and comprehensive legalization program that allows them the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents.  This should include legalization for workers currently present in the U.S., wage and labor protections for new and established workers, family reunification provisions, as well as a path to citizenship for immigrants here and those to be admitted.

Second, measures must be taken to ensure that all workers on this country – regardless of status- are covered by and able to enforce all labor and employment rights, including the right to be paid a minimum wage and overtime, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to a safe and healthy workplace, the right to workers’ compensation if injured and the right to organize.

Third, the historic boundaries between enforcement of immigration laws and enforcement of other criminal laws must be preserved.  The prospect of local police and other agencies enforcing immigration laws means a less safe, less healthy society in which criminal violations committed against immigrants are ignored.

Finally, the government should not engage in the intimidating and counterproductive practice of conducting workplace immigration raids.  Rounding up, arresting and deporting immigrant workers will not strengthen workplace protections, nor will it reduce the need for their labor.  In fact, it is the threat of arrest and deportation that causes workers to remain silent about low pay for long hours of hard work and other labor violations that impact all workers, immigrant and non-immigrant alike.