Newswise — Earlier this month, Congress failed to pass an immigration reform bill before adjourning for a two-week recess. The bill, which allows illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for more than five years to work for six years under a guest worker program and apply for legal permanent residency without having to leave the country, gained only 38 votes in the Senate, far short of the 60 needed to advance. The vote fell nearly along party lines, with Democrats in favor of advancing the bill and Republicans opposed.
Dr. John Booth, University of North Texas professor of political science, calls immigration reform "incredibly difficult" for Congress "because of all the cross-cutting pressures it arouses, dividing normal allies from one another."
Under the proposed legislation, illegal immigrants who have been in the United States two years to five years would have to go to border entry points sometime in the next three years, but could immediately return as temporary workers, while those here less than two years would have to leave and wait in line for visas to return.
The bill also includes provisions requiring employers to verify they've hired legal workers and calls for a "virtual" fence of surveillance cameras, sensors and other technology to monitor the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border
"The Republicans are split among nativist and pro-national security elements who want to exclude people, pro-business factions who like immigrants " legal or not - because the immigrants lower labor costs, and those who seek new Hispanic constituents," Booth says. "Democrats split between pro-labor factions who say open immigration lowers working class wages, and those who believe certain reforms will discriminate Hispanics as a traditional Democratic constituency."
At the same time, he says, Hispanics in the U.S. disagree about whether stricter immigration enforcement "might encourage persecution of Hispanics, and whether immigrants' low-wage competition for U.S. Hispanic workers might be keeping them poor."
"Try to build a working coalition for any particular reform out of that," Booth says.
Booth specializes in Latin American politics and has taught courses on U.S. and Mexico political systems, public policy in Texas and political participation. He is fluent in Spanish, having lived in Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica.
UNT has three other experts to comment on the proposed immigration reform, including demonstrations against immigration reform.
Dr. Rudy Rodriguez is the director of UNT's bilingual education program and a professor in the UNT Department of Teacher Education and Administration. He believes students and other groups involved in the protest movements are learning some valuable lessons.
"Foremost is that in this country, whether you are a legal or illegal resident, you can disagree with government and publicly protest if necessary without fear of reprisal or persecution," he says. "The other important lesson is that demonstrations and massive protest can potentially affect policy. The more lenient position being taken by many members of the Senate with regard to immigration — including support for a guest worker program — is, I believe, influenced by the nationwide marches and political demonstrations."
Rodriguez says Congress needs "to find a just solution that is humane and serves the economic interests of the country and immigrant groups."
"Moreover, I don't think we can have an effective policy unless at the same time we build in provisions that call for active and genuine negotiations between the United States and Mexico in particular. Mexican President Vicente Fox recently issued an invitation expressing his willingness to enter into negotiations with the U.S. on issues associated with illegal crossings, drug trafficking and border security. This is an important gesture on the part of the Mexican president that is worthy of serious consideration by the policy makers in Washington," he says.
Dr. Roberto Calderon, UNT associate professor of history, directs UNT's Mexican-American Studies minor for the Department of History. A leader in the League of United Latin American Citizens and faculty advisor to UNT's LULAC chapter, he participated in the protest march in Dallas on Sunday, April 8.
Dr. David Molina, UNT associate professor of economics and director of the Center for Inter-American Studies Research, can comment on the economic impact of the immigration debate, particularly "No Work Day" on May 1.
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