Comprehensive Immigration Reform: What Is It and Why We Need It

Why reform the immigration system? Why is it “broken”? ▫Immigration laws are out of sync with 21 st century economic realities ▫Current legal immigration system is plagued by backlogs and delays ▫Vast underground economy of vulnerable workers ▫Increasingly moved to harsh enforcement practices that hurt families but do not fix the problems ▫Decreasing due process protections

Immigration laws out of sync with 21 st century realities Nearly a quarter of the U.S. population is either foreign- born or the child of someone who is foreign-born In 2004, almost 15% of the labor force was foreign-born Between 1996 and 2003, foreign-born workers accounted for 58% of the 11 million new workers in the United States Immigrants perform key jobs in many industries

Current legal immigration system plagued by backlogs and delays Three kinds of backlogs: ▫Administrative: Not enough resources at CIS ▫Policy: Not enough visas available for family members ▫Security: No accountability for clearing names

Examples of family wait times within the legal system As of January 2007, a wife, husband or children of a Permanent Resident has a wait of almost five years (longer from Mexico) A U.S. citizen applying for a brother or sister has to wait 11 years; 22 years if from Philippines Adult unmarried children of US citizens must wait more than 5 years

Supply of and demand for workers do not match As of January 2005, 271,000 applications for employment- based green cards pending and DOL had backlog of 300,000 applications for labor certification Only 5,000 employment-based green cards each year to workers in less-skilled jobs Only 66,000 visa for less-skilled workers in seasonal, non- agricultural jobs like crab processing Current H1B visa program imposes arbitrary cap: limits researchers, scientists, tech experts

Underground economy punishes workers and families Deeply rooted: one-third of undocumented immigrants have lived here for 10 years or more; 1.8 million are children Undocumented immigrants come from everywhere Many ways to become undocumented Being punished for providing labor Harsh enforcement hurts everyone

Due process protections are being eroded 1996 IIRAIRA laws greatly expanded definition of “aggravated felony” to include non-violent crimes such as shoplifting; retroactive; deportable Also stripped immigration judges of ability to use their own discretion on individual cases Took away judicial review Post-9/11, Bush passed laws that allowed for mandatory and indefinite detention Immigration judges appointed on politics not law Denying bond to whole category of “suspected terrorists”

What is Comprehensive Immigration Reform? 7 components: ▫Enhance national security and safety with a sensible enforcement policy ▫Protect fundamental rights for all ▫Create a rational and human approach to the undocumented population ▫Keep American families together and reduce backlogs ▫Ensure future worker flows with full rights and protections ▫Allocate sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels ▫Promote immigrant integration

Obama Administration’s Views As a candidate, Obama pledged the need for immigration reform As a Senator, supported CIR bills that did not pass As President-Elect, established several transition teams on immigration issues; met with community groups Pledged an end to raids as we know them and has shifted focus on employers Recently, reiterated intent to introduce CIR legislation this year. Held bi-partisan meeting at White House in June 2009.

Political Timeline (12/09-7/10) 15-Dec: Reps. Ortiz and Gutierrez introduce CIR ASAP in House 27- Jan: Obama State of the Union. Only devotes 2 sentences to Immigration Reform. 18-March: Schumer-Graham bipartisan outline released 21- March: 250, ,000 people rally for CIR in DC. AAPI pre-rally held. Obama makes video statement on Mall. 10-April: Pressure continues with April 10 th national actions. Seattle is the most diverse rally in the country. Senate leadership make statements (Cantwell and Murray are first in the country). 23- April: Gov. Jan Brewer signs SB1070 into law in AZ 30-April: Senators Reid, Schumer, Menendez, Durbin, Leahy, and Feinstein unveil 30 page immigration reform bill framework Mid-May-July: Civil Disobedience around the country 25-May: Obama meets with GOP and announces plan to send 3,000 national guard to border and asks for bipartisan cooperation 27-May:Senate votes down bad enforcement amendments 25-June: Rep. Gutierrez holds press conference to announce more than 100 co- sponsors of CIR ASAP 1-July: President Obama gives nationally televised speech (35 minutes) on need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform 6-July: US Dept of Justice files lawsuit against SB1070 AZ

Challenges to Immigration Reform Economy and many pressing issues—Crowded Calendar Anti-immigrant sentiment; rising in bad times Some immigrants do not think immigration reform is their issue Vocal minority much louder than the supportive majority Elected officials scared of the issue-Upcoming elections

What will it take to get CIR? YOU! Write to your congressperson or hold a meeting and tell them we need immigration reform Publish an Op-ed or Letter to the Editor Work to Pass a local resolution in support of CIR The involvement of ALL immigrant and refugee communities

APIs: A Powerful Voice for Reform The API community is one of the fastest growing immigrant populations, with more than 15 million Asian Americans living in the United States. Nearly 450,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders have made Washington their home. Since 2000, the Asian population alone has increased by over 30 percent in WA. About 307,411 foreign born Asians in reside Washington. Top countries of Asian foreign born include: Philippines: 53,528; China: 53,479; Vietnam: 47,781; Korea: 47,011; and India: 31,840.

APIs: A Powerful Voice for Reform Voting Power In the United States Asian voters increased by 21.3%, from 2.8 million voters in 2004 to 3.4 million in In 2008, Asians in Washington State had higher voter registration rates (63.2 percent of citizens over 18) within our communities than Blacks (46.4) and Hispanics (57.0). Over 37 percent of eligible Asian voters are not yet registered to vote. In 2008, Asian registered voters in Washington turned out at 83 percent, casting 150,000 votes.

APIs: A Powerful Voice for Reform Economic Contributions Asians own 5.8 percent of all firms in Washington—about one percent higher than the business ownership of APIs nationwide. In 2002, Asians owned 26, 890 businesses across Washington, which generated $7 billion in sales and receipts and employed roughly 45,000 people across the state. Washington’s Asian buying power accounted for over $16 billion or about 6.6 percent of the state’s total consumer market ($246 billion). Nationally, Washington ranked seventh in size of Asian Consumer market. In 2008, total U.S. Asian buying power was estimated at 509 billion, more powerful than the GDP of all but 17 countries.