US Comprehensive Immigration Reform Starts Rolling

It is apparent that the United States will tackle a newer comprehensive immigration reform system that will measure up to the 21st Century.

Today, President Obama conveyed to the American People his vision and desire to accomplish in regards to a new Comprehensive Immigration Reform System of the United States of America. Some of his poignant comments are shared below as a preview:

"When we talk about that in the abstract, it’s easy sometimes for the discussion to take on a feeling of “us” versus “them.”  And when that happens, a lot of folks forget that most of “us” used to be “them.”  We forget that."  
 
"It’s really important for us to remember our history.  Unless you’re one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else.  Somebody brought you." 

credit: whitehouse.gov

"We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants.  That’s who we are -- in our bones.  The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths.  It keeps our workforce young.  It keeps our country on the cutting edge.  And it’s helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known."

"We have to make sure that every business and every worker in America is playing by the same set of rules.  We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held accountable -- businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law.  That’s common sense.  And that’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform."

"I’m here because most Americans agree that it’s time to fix a system that’s been broken for way too long."  "I’m here because business leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, law enforcement, and leaders from both parties are coming together to say now is the time to find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as the land of opportunity. Now is the time to do this so we can strengthen our economy and strengthen our country’s future." said President Barack Obama, source: whitehouse.gov

The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the government will play their roles including 'We the People' of America. Of course, there will be politicking to play in the next weeks and months. The debate will bring opinions and unusual perspectives about such a vision. 

Mr. Obama's Immigration Reform touches many core issues that impact the American Society as a whole.  Many will disagree while majority will agree. Here are some of the points about the Comprehensive Immigration Reform he proposed, and your ideas and insights are equally essential to be heard. 

1. Keep Families Together. The proposal seeks to eliminate existing backlogs in the family-sponsored immigration system by recapturing unused visas and temporarily increasing annual visa numbers.  The proposal also raises existing annual country caps from 7 percent to 15 percent for the family-sponsored immigration system.   It also treats same-sex families as families by giving U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the ability to seek a visa on the basis of a permanent relationship with a same-sex partner. The proposal also revises current unlawful presence bars and provides broader discretion to waive bars in cases of hardship.

2. “Staple” green cards to advanced STEM diplomas.  The proposal encourages foreign graduate students educated in the United States to stay here and contribute to our economy by “stapling” a green card to the diplomas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) PhD and Master’s Degree graduates from qualified U.S. universities who have found employment in the United States.  It also requires employers to pay a fee that will support education and training to grow the next generation of American workers in STEM careers.

3. Create a “startup visa” for job-creating entrepreneurs.  The proposal allows foreign entrepreneurs who attract financing from U.S. investors or revenue from U.S. customers to start and grow their businesses in the United States, and to remain permanently if their companies grow further, create jobs for American workers, and strengthen our economy.

4.Encourage integration. The proposal promotes earned citizenship and efforts to integrate immigrants into their new American communities linguistically, civically, and economically.

5. Earned citizenship for DREAMers. Children brought here illegally through no fault of their own by their parents will be eligible for earned citizenship.  By going to college or serving honorably in the Armed Forces for at least two years, these children should be given an expedited opportunity to earn their citizenship.  The President’s proposal brings these undocumented immigrants out of the shadows.

6. Create a provisional legal status.  Undocumented immigrants must come forward and register, submit biometric data, pass criminal background and national security checks, and pay fees and penalties before they will be eligible for a provisional legal status.  Agricultural workers and those who entered the United States as children would be eligible for the same program.  Individuals must wait until the existing legal immigration backlogs are cleared before getting in line to apply for lawful permanent residency (i.e. a “green card”), and ultimately United States citizenship. Consistent with current law, people with provisional legal status will not be eligible for welfare or other federal benefits, including subsidies or tax credits under the new health care law.

7.Create strict requirements to qualify for lawful permanent resident status.  Those applying for green cards must pay their taxes, pass additional criminal background and national security checks, register for Selective Service (where applicable), pay additional fees and penalties, and learn English and U.S. civics.  As under current law, five years after receiving a green card, individuals will be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship like every other legal permanent resident.

8. Mandatory, phased-in electronic employment verification. The President’s proposal provides tools for employers to ensure a legal workforce by using federal government databases to verify that the people they hire are eligible to work in the United States.  Penalties for hiring undocumented workers are significantly increased, and new penalties are established for committing fraud and identity theft.  The new mandatory program ensures the privacy and confidentiality of all workers’ personal information and includes important procedural protections.  Mandatory electronic employment verification would be phased in over five years with exemptions for certain small businesses.

9. Combat fraud and identity theft.  The proposal also mandates a fraud‐resistant, tamper‐resistant Social Security card and requires workers to use fraud‐and tamper‐resistant documents to prove authorization to work in the United States. The proposal also seeks to establish a voluntary pilot program to evaluate new methods to authenticate identity and combat identity theft.

10. Improve partnerships with border communities and law enforcement.  The President’s proposal expands our ability to work with our cross-border law enforcement partners.  Community trust and cooperation are keys to effective law enforcement. To this end, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will establish border community liaisons along the Southern and Northern borders to improve communication and collaboration with border communities, boost funding to tribal government partners to reduce illegal activity on tribal lands, and strengthen training on civil rights and civil liberties for DHS immigration officers.

11. Improve our nation’s immigration courts.  The President’s proposal invests in our immigration courts. By increasing the number of immigration judges and their staff, investing in training for court personnel, and improving access to legal information for immigrants, these reforms will improve court efficiency.  It allows DHS to better focus its detention resources on public safety and national security threats by expanding alternatives to detention and reducing overall detention costs.  It also provides greater protections for those least able to represent themselves.

12. Cracking Down on Employers Hiring Undocumented Workers: Our businesses should only employ people legally authorized to work in the United States.  Businesses that knowingly employ undocumented workers are exploiting the system to gain an advantage over businesses that play by the rules.  The President’s proposal is designed to stop these unfair hiring practices and hold these companies accountable.  At the same time, this proposal gives employers who want to play by the rules a reliable way to verify that their employees are here legally.

13. Streamlining Legal Immigration:  Our immigration system should reward anyone who is willing to work hard and play by the rules.  For the sake of our economy and our security, legal immigration should be simple and efficient.  The President’s proposal attracts the best minds to America by providing visas to foreign entrepreneurs looking to start businesses here and helping the most promising foreign graduate students in science and math stay in this country after graduation, rather than take their skills to other countries.  The President’s proposal will also reunify families in a timely and humane manner.

14. Combat transnational crime.  The President’s proposal creates new criminal penalties dedicated to combating transnational criminal organizations that traffic in drugs, weapons, and money, and that smuggle people across the borders.  It also expands the scope of current law to allow for the forfeiture of these organizations’ criminal tools and proceeds.  Through this approach, we will bolster our efforts to deprive criminal enterprises, including those operating along the Southwest border, of their infrastructure and profits.

To understand more about other proposed areas of the reform in order to fix the long broken Immigration System; please click on the link to read the complete Fact Sheet: Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules

Please click the link to read the complete text of President Obama's Remarks on Immigration Reform

This will be a long road to travel, but with collaborative efforts of all concerned citizens, private and public sectors, the agencies of the government; a new reform will patch up the broken system. In that way, our Immigration Laws will be revised and become current for the 21st Century.

As a society, we will benefit enormously, from the global talents and economic growth as a nation plus we will re-affirm to recognize our strength that we were founded by immigrants as symbolized by the Historical Accounts of the Ellis Island in New York, and the standing Statue of Liberty, in Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

The Ellis Island View from Battery Park, NY

Photo credit: Ken Thomas_wikipedia.org

Immigrants arrived from various countries to be processed in Ellis Island, NY

Photo credit: Library of Congress_wikipedia.org

The Restored Hall where immigrants had to wait for their immigration status in Ellis Island

Photo credit: @junteet

Some of immigrants' trunks and baskets which they brought with them when arrived in Ellis Island, 

Exhibited today in the Museum for tourist to see some artifacts of history.

Photo credit: @junteet

Photo credit: @junteet

Your comments and insights are appreciated always. Your comments can be shared at the comments field below. Thanks.