“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not
oppress the stranger. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall
love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
--Leviticus 19:33-34
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Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Problem:
Current policies fail on both counts. It is time to reform our
laws so that these traditions are strengthened.
The status quo is broken:
Current immigration policies leave millions of workers in the shadows,
vulnerable to abuse because they lack legal documentation, and unable to fully participate in a country
they have helped to build. The mismatch between outdated policies and the economic realities of our country
has led to a ballooning, unauthorized immigrant population and thousands of deaths at the border. We need a
new approach to managing migration. We can regulate immigration properly if we legalize hardworking,
taxpaying immigrants, welcome workers and families in the future within limits, set those limits so that they
are realistic and enforceable. We need a “smart border” strategy that screens and inspects
people and cargo to keep out security threats, while admitting immigrants and goods that strengthen our
nation. Such a strategy will make immigration safe, orderly, and legal instead of deadly, chaotic, and
operating outside the bounds of the law.
The Solution:
Passing comprehensive immigration reform that makes sense for America and itsnewcomers.
Work permits and a path to citizenship for those here and contributing:
As part of a comprehensive
reform, we should recognize and reward the hard work of immigrants living in the United States who are kept
in legal limbo by restrictive immigration policies. Legalization of the current undocumented population
would benefit both hardworking immigrants and their families and established workers and employers, by
providing immigrant workers with the same labor protections as their native-born co-workers and stabilizing
our labor force.
Expanded family and worker visas:
Immigration reform will not be successful until we harmonize
public policy with the factors that drive migration: family unity and economic opportunity. A comprehensive
reform will create legal channels wide enough so that family members and workers opt for a legal alternative
to entering the United States. We need to restructure our family preference system so that newcomers
aren’t forced to choose between long separations from their American families or seeking entry without
authorization. We need a “break-the-mold” worker visa program that provides legal visas, family
unity, full labor rights, labor mobility, and a path to permanent residence and citizenship over time.
Smart enforcement:
To better enforce immigration laws, we have to make them enforceable. By
legalizing those here and legalizing much of the future flow, we will go a long way to restoring the rule of
law. However, open borders is neither practical nor desirable. To augment wider legal channels, effective
enforcement requires a smart borders regime that screens those who enter efficiently, cracks down on human
traffickers, polices the border with professionalism and accountability, imposes penalties in a targeted
fashion on unscrupulous employers who exploit workers and undermine law-abiding competitors. It’s the
federal government’s responsibility to carry out enforcement and to that end we need to build a fully
funded and well- resourced federal immigration infrastructure capable of carrying out the related duties of
facilitating admissions and regulating the process in an even-handed and effective manner.
Integrate immigrants fully into American society:
Immigrants are more than workers. They are
neighbors, fellow members of our society, and an essential part of America’s future. Working with
immigrant and ethnic communities, our country needs better strategies and policies to encourage immigrants
to learn English, become citizens, participate in the civic life of communities as well as have equitable
access to essential services.
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