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The fact that Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle are even talking about moving an immigration reform bill just months before the midterm elections is cause enough for celebration, advocacy groups tracking the latest negotiations say.

Members of the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus, however, say they are most excited about what they describe as the collective sense of urgency driving the revived negotiations.

Advocates told Insider that Senate Republicans likely understand that the chances of making positive gains on immigration will plummet if Donald Trump devotees were to gain power next year. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, for instance, has stoked fears that terrorists are creeping into the country (which the Customs and Border Patrol refuted), while House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan's top priority is completing Trump's easily breached border wall. Should Republicans win in the midterms, such anti-immigration hardliners would be in charge.

"That means you have Speaker McCarthy and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, neither of whom are going to allow any sort of constructive immigration proposal to leave the House," Ali Noorani, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said of the obstacles that await if Senate dealmakers don't "figure out what solutions can be achieved now."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, and the top Republican on the panel, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, both said they're trying to do just that.

"Staff is gathering the measures that are currently bipartisan. We're going to put them on the table and see if we can build a package that gets 60 votes," Durbin told Insider at the US Capitol.

Cornyn added that this latest effort would be more constrained than other wider-reaching attempts. "Nobody is suggesting that we do anything like was attempted before, a comprehensive bill," Cornyn said, adding, " I just don't think that's feasible."

Democrats repeatedly tried to weave a path to citizenship for millions of longstanding migrants in last year's budget reconciliation bill but were blocked at every turn by procedural objections raised by the Senate parliamentarian.

House Republicans need to flip just a handful of seats to wrest the speaker's gavel from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell needs just a single pickup to again set the agenda in the bitterly divided chamber.

When asked by Insider, Durbin balked at naming specific proposals in the mix for the scaled-back immigration bundle."We're not at that stage yet," the Senate majority whip and co-author of the perennial Dream Act said.

One potential starting point Durbin offered was a Cornyn-backed bill providing emergency visas to medical personnel. "We'll see where we go from there," Durbin said.

Cornyn also floated the possibility of prioritizing protections for current recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute ballparked at 600,000-plus participants in December 2021 versus the millions of DACA-eligible individuals who have sought to stay stateside since the Obama administration rolled out the civic roadmap.

"I've always been sympathetic to giving them some certainty," Cornyn said of the current DACA crowd, adding, "They've been in litigation for 10 years."

Cornyn said he's looped in GOP Judiciary colleague Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina about the staff-level discussions and suspects that Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who chairs the Judiciary panel's immigration subcommittee, is also intimately involved.

Cobbling together a mutually agreeable bundle before the November election is doable, according to Cornyn. "I think it's just a matter of will," he said.

The can-do attitude on the Hill has inspired confidence in others that a last-ditch deal is within reach. "We think that it is similar to criminal justice reform," Jorge Lima, senior vice president of policy at Americans for Prosperity, said of the gradual approach that got the bipartisan First Step Act inked into law during the Trump administration.

Lima said the dozens of immigration alliance members have polling data that shows overwhelming support for a three-pronged package combining the Durbin-led Dream Act, the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act developed by Cornyn, Tillis, and Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

"By no means would just those three things solve everything we need solved on immigration," Lima said of the opening gambit. But securing something is preferable to accomplishing nothing.

"The history on this issue has always shown that you try to take something that does everything, and that's when the opposition can really break off and fragment folks," Lima said of the inherent danger of waiting.

"If Congress wants to add more to that, I think we would be excited. Because, again, this is only seen as a first step," Lima told Insider. "But we definitely think it's a very positive and impactful first step if they can get it done."

Noorani said he's hopeful that Republicans who genuinely "want solutions on immigration" will take this opportunity to act rather than allowing anti-amnesty hardliners to dictate harsher terms down the road. He cited Sens. Cornyn, Tillis, Dream Act co-sponsor Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as lawmakers who've participated in immigration talks to various degrees in recent years.

"There's a way to get to 10 Republican senators," Noorani said. "The trick will be to do that while holding on to the Democrats."

Continue reading here:
Senators revive immigration reform talks ahead of midterm elections - Business Insider

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y.

By Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Catholic News Service Posted April 1, 2022

Can our broken immigration system be reformed? I believe it can be to meet our nations labor, family reunification and humanitarian goals, and it can be done on the basis of sound information.

America has been the land of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty and the poem, The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, have been symbols of our nation. Unfortunately, the golden door, referenced in Lazarus poem, has always been closed to many. Reform of the immigration system must be done on the basis of national interest and not prejudices.

Looking at the past 100 years, we see three periods. The 1920s had a national quota system excluding many Southern and Eastern Europeans, as well as Asians. 1965 saw the reform of that prejudicial law, which improved things.

1980 to 1990 saw the passing of the Refugee Act of 1980, which put the U.S. in conformity with the international laws on refugee acceptance. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act legalized almost 3 million people.

In 1996, concerns over continued undocumented immigration gave rise to new restrictive laws. Since 1996, more restrictive laws and policies were passed, with immigration increasingly framed as a national security issue.

Immigration policies should meet national needs. Unfortunately, these policies have been politicized. An evidence-based system should guide the political process and can bring about a just and fair system.

One challenge is the regulation of undocumented people. This population is misunderstood and often demonized. The majority, however, have sought to build a secure life and contribute to their communities. Since 2010, the number of undocumented immigrants has been decreasing.

Unregulated immigration is not good for the country or for those without status who are excluded from full participation in our nation. As we look at reform, we must distinguish between different types of migrants and expand legal pathways for labor and family migration, as well as refugees, those seeking asylum and other humanitarian flows.

Reform must begin by dealing with those without status, and any reform must be flexible and continuous. Immigration reform deals with the lives of people and our national identity. We cannot revisit reform every 10 or 20 years.

A major contributing factor of the undocumented population is the backlog in the family-based visa system, which can stretch for decades. Many people, tired of waiting for long periods of time, come to join their families rather than stay abroad. Also, having a functional asylum system is critical because of the turmoil in Central America and other countries.

There are many children who have been brought here by their parents. These native-English speakers are well-integrated and deserve a chance to be educated and contribute to our nation.

We must learn from both our past mistakes and successes. In the Immigration Reform and Control Act process, 300,000undocumented residents were not able to legalize. Legalization must be complete and meet the needs of all people in the U.S.

There is another older section of the immigration law that has been in effect since 1929, called registry. This provision allows people who arrived before a certain date to obtain status and eventually citizenship. In 1929, the entry date for registry was 1921. If immigrants had good moral character and had resided in the country since 1921, they could apply for permanent status.

This program recognized the equitable ties developed in the U.S. over a long period of residence. It has allowed many who have owned homes, started businesses and had American-born children to remain.

Congress last advanced the registry cutoff date in 1986 when it moved the date forward to Jan. 1, 1972. In order to use the registry program today, an immigrant would need to have lived in the U.S. for more than 50 years.

By changing this date to Jan. 1, 2012, Congress would be able to legalize the majority of the undocumented population. In addition to changing the registry date one time, Congress should allow this date to advance automatically into perpetuity.

This would prevent our nation from having long-term undocumented immigrants and one way to put the U.S. on the road to having an immigration system that is truly in the national interest.

***

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. He writes the column Walking With Migrants for CatholicNewsService and The Tablet.

Originally posted here:
Reforming immigration for the national interest Catholic Philly - CatholicPhilly.com

This type of policy is exactly what we need to move forward. While state lawmakers continue working to tap into the states immigrant and refugee communities, it is also the responsibility of our representatives in Washington to move immigration reform that recognizes the substantial role that immigrants play in our states economic success. Recently, the president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce highlighted the importance of retaining and recruiting a robust workforce to build back Georgias economy and that federal immigration reform is necessary to achieve these goals.

Today, one in eight Georgia workers is an immigrant, making up 13 percent of our total labor force and filling roles in industries ranging from farming and agriculture, manufacturing, food services, and health care, all of which are strained by the statewide labor shortage. Further, undocumented immigrants contribute $7.1 billion to Georgias economy annually, and over two-thirds have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years. Beyond the fact that establishing an earned pathway to citizenship could add $149 billion to Georgias economy annually, our workforce would get the boost it needs.

Immigration reform can change lives as well as the trajectory of our economy. I applaud the ongoing efforts at the state level and urge Congress to take action at the federal level to modernize our broken system and ensure we bounce back stronger than ever. Lawmakers in Washington have the opportunity to pursue bills such as the Dream Act, Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and Bipartisan Border Solutions Act that would improve the legal immigration system, protect dreamers and essential workers, empower doctors and nurses, and protect the border. I encourage our leaders to work together and explore all opportunities for necessary and critical reforms to jumpstart the states workforce.

David Casas is director of grassroots operations, The Libre Initiative Georgia. He is a former Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Gwinnett County.

Read more here:
Opinion: Georgia must explore immigration reform to keep workforce, economy growing - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Immigration is woven into the fabric of American society. Its also complex, politically polarized and ever-evolving. This six-part, self-directed course will give journalists a thorough understanding of immigration and immigrants in the United States, as well as the skills and resources to produce strong, accurate storytelling.

Through readings and activities, you will evaluate and contextualize existing immigration research and the latest U.S. census data about immigrants. You will explore immigration enforcement practices, legal immigration processes, the policy positions of advocacy organizations, as well as the status of existing proposals and pending legislation for immigration reform. You will also learn key context for contemporary debates by reviewing the history of immigration laws and reform efforts from the first immigration law in 1790 which granted citizenship only to free white persons to the present day.

In addition to developing a foundational knowledge about immigration in the U.S., you will analyze examples of effective journalism and fact checks about immigration to hone your own story ideas, whether its quick turn-a-around articles to more extensive investigations.

You will think about how to get to know your local immigrant communities in their complexity Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, European, African and how to approach them as a journalist. You will also develop strategies to obtain information and interviews from immigration officials, how to gain access to detention facilities, and persons in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

Whether youre looking to diversify your sources, tell more nuanced stories about your community, uncouple political rhetoric from policy proposals or simply level up as a well-rounded reporter, this immigration course is for you.

If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org.

People working in journalism who cover immigration, immigrant communities, labor, agriculture, government, education and more will benefit from this training. Anyone who wants to learn more about how immigration works in the United States is also welcome to enroll.

This self-directed course is free, thanks to the support of our sponsor, Catena Foundation.

See the rest here:
Understand US Immigration From the Border to the Heartland (2022) - Poynter

-> This article is part of Documenteds Glossary. We want to make it easier to understand the U.S. immigration system. If you want to know more about different visa types and immigration terms,please check our library here.-> To find useful information for immigrants, such as where to find free food or legal representation, check out ourmaster resource guide.

Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) was intended to reform immigration laws that had for a long time harmed U.S. international relations due to the quota and preference system introduced in the Immigration Act of 1924. However, rather than to fix the controversial policies that favored northern and western European countries, the INA reinforced them by upholding and codifying the national origins quota system.

Under the National Origins Quota System, annual immigration was capped at one-sixth of one percent of each nationalitys population in the United States in 1920, which resulted in 85% of the 155,000 available visas going to individuals of northern and western Europe.

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INA also removed previous laws that prevented Asians from immigrating and naturalizing. But it also imposed a 100-visa annual limit for every Asian country and created a quota system based on race, rather than nationality, in which an individual with one or more Asian parent, born anywhere in the world and possessing the citizenship of any nation, would be counted toward the national quota of the Asian nation of their race.

The low quota allotment and the discriminatory racial construction for how to apply ensured total Asian immigration remained very low.

Additionally, the Immigration and Nationality Act initiated significant reforms seen in later immigration acts that prioritized immigration by skill workers and family reunification.

Also read: IIRIRA: Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, explained

Read more:
How the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 Upheld Controversial Immigration Quotas - Documented - Documented NY