FCNL Analysis of House Immigration Reform Bill (H.R. 4321)

FCNL has lobbied for immigration reforms that would:

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (H.R. 4321) would:

Fix the broken system to make legal immigration work better in the U.S. economy

• Establish a Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets, to research the economic impact of immigration and use market indicators to determine the availability of future employment visas.
• Provide that fees generated by this legislation will be used for training American workers, funding border enforcement and security, and reducing visa backlogs.
• Expand requirements for recruiting American workers in fields that have traditionally relied on undocumented immigrants.
• Create 100,000 Prevent Unauthorized Migration visas, available annually through a lottery, for individuals from countries that represent at least 5% of the total undocumented population in the United States, who could then apply for a green card after three years.

Make family unity a priority

• Eliminate the family visa backlog by recapturing unused visas, reclassifying spouses and minor children of green card holders as immediate relatives, exempting immediate relatives from the annual cap on the number of immigrant visas, and increasing the number of visas available per country per year.
• Allow immigration officials the authority to waive "unlawful presence bars" in order to reunite families.
• Prohibit the separation of families with children during immigration enforcement-related activities and increase protection for detained parents and caregivers.
• However, this bill does not recognize the rights of binational families headed by permanent partners, rights which are currently recognized by at least 19 countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany.

Figure out a fair way to handle the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already here

• Create a legalization program that would allow undocumented immigrants in the United States, including those currently in removal proceedings, to regularize their status.
• Immediately issue a conditional nonimmigrant visa to applicants, valid for six years, which would allow them to work and travel and would exempt them from detention or removal.
• Waive all bars related to undocumented status (such as a forged Social Security number), except security and criminal bars.
• Permit holders of the conditional nonimmigrant visa to apply for green cards in six years, or when the visa backlog is clear, as long as they demonstrate contributions to the United States and do not have a felony conviction or three or more misdemeanors.
• Create an accelerated path to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented students (DREAM Act).
• Allow undocumented farmworkers to legalize their status (AgJOBS Act).
  

Protect all workers

• Create an electronic employment verification system for all new employees, to be adopted by U.S. employers in phases.
• Prohibit the creation of a national ID card.
• Include privacy protections, anti-discrimination provisions, and judicial review and due process protections.

Help immigrants to integrate into their new home communities

• Require that any future increases in citizenship fees are closely examined to make citizenship more accessible and affordable.
• Ensure that the citizenship exam is uniformly administered.
• Create a grant program for community organizations to help immigrants pursue citizenship.

Reserve detention for those who are accused of dangerous crimes; strengthen due process and fairness for all immigrants at every stage of the system

• Establish humanitarian standards for detention facilities regarding medical care, access to telephones, protection from sexual abuse, and detainee transfers.
• Create an independent Immigration Detention Commission to investigate, evaluate, and report on compliance.
• Screen entrants more carefully to identify people who are seeking asylum and people who are otherwise particularly vulnerable and consider release or non-detention alternatives for them while their cases are reviewed.
• Expand secure alternatives to detention programs and permit any detainee to request, at any time, a redetermination of their custody decision by an immigration judge.
• Require specific due process protections during immigration enforcement-related activities.
• End the 287(g) program, which currently deputizes local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration law.
• However, this bill does not end mandatory detention and does not establish the same minimum standards for immigrant detainees as is currently required for criminal populations.

Require enforcement measures to recognize humanitarian values

• Require the Department of Homeland Security to formalize a national strategy for effective and accountable border security.
• Require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a comprehensive plan for the systematic use of surveillance technology for all U.S. land and maritime borders.
• Create a Southern Border Security Task Force composed of federal, state, and local law officials.
• Establish a U.S.-Mexico Border Enforcement Commission to recognize border communities as partners in devising border enforcement strategies.
• Create a Border Relief Grant Program for eligible state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to address drug-related criminal activity on the border.
• Modernize ports of entry and support additional training, oversight, and evaluation of border agents.
• Instill measures against human smuggling and migrant deaths.
• Suspend the Operation Streamline program pending review.