Comprehensive Immigration Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young People
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IMMIGRATION Comprehensive Immigration Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young People Zenen Jaimes Perez February 2014 Since the Senate passed its immigration reform bill S.744—the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act—in June 2013, the House of Representatives has also introduced several bills that mimic the Senate’s legislation. The most comprehensive of these bills, H.R. 15, is modeled on the Senate’s legislation. Both of these bills address major problems with immigration including the status of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, border security, interior enforcement, asylum reform, and updates to legal immigration. For millions of young people, the passage of these immigration reform bills would have enormous positive impacts. According to the Pew Hispanic Research Center, more than half of undocumented immigrants currently in the country are under the age of 35. Legal status for most undocumented immigrants would also result in a cumulative increase of $1.1 trillion in gross domestic product and would result in an average annual increase of 159,000 jobs for all Americans. Immigration reform would help millions of young people, both documented and undocumented, achieve greater financial security. The bills would also help pull many undocumented young people out of poverty and eliminate the fear of deportation that millions of young people face every day. In this brief, we will examine the specific provisions of the immigration bills and their impacts on young people. Updated Border Security Will Address Humanitarian Needs Under the Senate and House legislation, immigration officials along the border, including Border Patrol agents, will receive new training to properly deal with the humanitarian needs of young people and the physical safety of immigrants. According to data collected by the Border Patrol, in 2012 immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border increased 27 percent despite lower numbers of overall crossings. Additionally, the age of immigrants trying to cross the dangerous border has 1 Generation Progress Comprehensive Immigration Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young People
steadily decreased with more than three times the number of unaccompanied minors making the journey in 2012 than in 2008. The updated trainings for the Border Patrol and more regular reports would help agents be more humane and effective with their work and increase accountability for an agency with deep mistrust among immigrant communities. In addition to increased oversight, the Senate’s legislation will also create a new program to recruit former members of the Armed Forces and reserve members to serve with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The new program seeks to increase the number of Border Patrol agents from 21,394 to 40,000. Many of these new agents would be recruited directly following their military service. Immigration Reform Will Provide Undocumented Immigrants Lawful Status The main part of the Senate and House legislation includes a path to some sort of legalized status or presence in the U.S. for many of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants. The bill would create a new Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status that would allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the country without fear of deportation or removal. The RPI status would last for six years with an option to renew for an additional six years. Ultimately, the RPI status seeks to place undocumented immigrants on the path to green card status and U.S. citizenship. Eligibility for RPI status depends on date of entry into the U.S., financial penalties, criminal background checks, and new immigrants would remain ineligible for any federal means-tested public benefit. DREAMers Receive Expedited Pathway For Status Both pieces of legislation also create a special pathway for DREAMers to receive legal status. Under these provisions, young adults would be allowed to quickly enter RPI status and allow them to work freely in the United States. After five 2 Generation Progress Comprehensive Immigration Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young People
years, DREAMers could apply for a green card and apply simultaneously for
citizenship. The wait for DREAMers would be significantly less than other RPI
status immigrants, and they would also be exempt from financial penalties.
DREAMers have been leading the debate on immigration reform over the past
five years and this special pathway highlights the bipartisan support they have
achieved. To qualify, a DREAMer must have entered the country when they were
15 or younger and must have been in the country since December 31, 2011.
They would also need to have graduated from high school or received a GED,
pursued higher education, or served in in the military.
The DREAM Act provisions in both pieces of legislation expand on the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that activists pushed President Obama
to implement in 2012. The 520,000 DREAMers with DACA would automatically
qualify for provisional legal status. Both Senate and House versions of the bills
would also expand the number of qualified DREAMers
from 1.4 million to 2.1 million by removing the upward
age limit that excluded thousands of people from
DACA eligibility. The special provisions for DREAMers
in the reform bills highlight the huge impact young
immigrants have had and will have on the future of
American society.
Merit-Based Visas Favor Young Immigrants,
Exclude Vulnerable Populations
The Senate and House legislation also include a vast
overhaul of the country’s legal visa programs. The
new system moves away from past family-based visa
allocation to a merit-based system. The merit-based
visa allocation is split into two different tracks. The
first track allocates 120,000 to 250, 000 visas annually
to immigrants based on their skills, family ties, age,
and nationality. The second track will help clear the
backlog of 4.7 million visa applicants who are currently
waiting for their visa to become available. If the Senate
bill became law today, the second track system would
begin allocating pending visas in 2015 and clear the
backlog by 2021.
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Title Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young PeopleAdditionally, both pieces of legislation would allow F-1 student visas to serve
two purposes. Foreign students would have a clear pathway to remain in the
country after their graduation if they graduated with a degree in science,
technology, engineering, or mathematics or if they agree to serve in medically
underserved areas of the country. Ultimately, the new visa allocation system
would place a heavy priority on recruiting young, educated, and financially
stable individuals.
New Integration Programs Will Benefit Millions
Of Young Immigrants
One of the biggest parts of both pieces of legislation is the creation of three
new agencies or programs to help immigrants transition into their legal status.
The Office of Citizenship and New Americans would replace the current Office
of Citizenship and would be tasked with filling the void in the coordination
of federal integration programs. The Office would set goals and indicators
assessing integration strategies and coordinate federal efforts with
state programs.
The bills would also create the Task Force on New Americans to expand
integration efforts for younger immigrants. The task force would be comprised
of 14 different cabinet-level secretaries responsible for the smooth transition of
immigrants into legal status. It would coordinate federal integration programs
to ensure immigrants receive access to education, workforce training, health
care, access to naturalization, and community development.
Finally, the pieces of legislation would also allow the Secretary of U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) to create the new United States Citizenship
Foundation. The new foundation would be a private-public partnership
to help the federal government work with states to pilot programs to help
undocumented immigrants register for RPI status, green cards,
and naturalization.
These new agencies are a step forward in helping new immigrants gain access
to lawful status and help reduce fraud. Current integration efforts and an
uncoordinated federal and state response have left many immigrants open
to abuses and false information. These new offices seek to address these
challenges by making sure new immigrants, particularly young people, have the
tools necessary to adjust their immigrant status.
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Title Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young PeopleChanges To Asylum And Visas Help Thousands Of Refugee Seekers
And Immigrants
Another change that will benefit thousands of young people are updates to the
rules regarding asylum seekers. Under current policies, asylum seekers must
demonstrate convincing evidence that they filed an application within one year
after the date of their arrival to the U.S. This policy has left out thousands of
vulnerable asylum seekers that often face life threatening situations if they
are deported.
Young people and LGBT applicants face many struggles in adjusting to life in
the U.S. It is unreasonable to expect that these asylum seekers, many of whom
cannot navigate current federal policies by themselves, to build a life, deal with
trauma, and apply for asylum within one year of their arrival. Both S.744 and
H.R.15 address this issue by lifting the one-year deadline for
asylum applications.
The bills also expand the U visa program to help the most vulnerable
undocumented immigrants. The U visa currently provides 10,000 slots for
victims of certain qualifying crimes who have suffered substantial mental or
physical abuse and are willing to help law enforcement investigate or prosecute
those crimes.
Since the program began in 2008, the USCIS has reached the statutory
maximum of visas awarded just months after they became available. This means
that thousands of victims of crimes such as rape, sexual assault, torture, and
domestic violence face deportation for cooperating with law enforcement
to prosecute criminals. The reform bills would expand the number of U visas
available to 18,000 and include child and elder abuse as qualifying crimes.
Senate Bill Provides Millions For New Youth Jobs Programs
Unique to the Senate bill, Title V of S.744 deals exclusively with youth jobs.
If passed, the legislation would establish a Youth Jobs Fund dedicated to
creating employment opportunities for low-income youth. The fund will help
young people aged 15 to 25, regardless of immigration status, access summer
and year-round employment opportunities with approved employers that
comply with current labor laws. Under the program, $1.5 billion would be
allotted and paid for via a $10 surcharge on employment-based immigrant and
nonimmigrant visas.
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Title Reform Still A Need For Millions Of Young PeopleAlthough this component of S.744 is not included in H.R. 15, Congress should
do as much as possible to create programs to lower youth unemployment,
which is currently at twice the national level. A Youth Jobs Fund would help
expand the work of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the
federal agency that administers AmeriCorps. Under current sequestration cuts,
the agency was left with 13 percent fewer funds while still providing thousands
of jobs for young people.
Immigration Reform Will Help Millions Of Young People
While the House has failed to bring an immigration bill to the floor yet, the
issues discussed here demonstrate the robust impact that immigration reform
would have on documented and undocumented young people. For many
young undocumented immigrants, the bills would provide a pathway to
citizenship that would finally allow them to access many benefits and public
services. According to a CAP study, for documented Americans, the bills would
boost our economy and provide a $618 billion cumulative increase in the
income of all Americans.
While the benefits of immigration reform are clear, there are also many
shortcomings with the present bills. The Senate’s S.744 provides billions of
dollars in wasteful spending for increased
border security, including a 700-mile long
wall, which has proven to be ineffective.
Additionally, both bills exclude new
immigrants from federal means-tested
benefits, including enrollment in insurance
plans throught the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) as well as access to Pell grants. These
restrictions will only heighten the growing
disparities between new immigrants and
wider society. The path to financial and job
security for millions of people in the country
depends on Congressional action toward
immigration reform. Source: The Center for American Progress.
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