Could Bipartisan Immigration Bill Encourage Illegal Immigration?

By Peggy Sands

Last week, Feb. 8 Congress passed and President Trump signed a two year 4.4 trillion dollar budget after weeks of contention and two brief government shutdowns.  The budget only became law because Congressional leaders promised to debate this week how millions of illegal immigrants could be given legal status.

As of Thursday morning there were four Republican proposals (officially amendments to a shell bill HR2579– don't ask!) circulating around the Senate.  They range from more or less parroting the president's four pillars, to pushing broad immigration reform and legalizing the parents of DREAMERS.  All the Senate proposals would offer permanent legal status (the green card) leading to citizenship after five years to the DREAMERs.  Only one would offer it to their parents.

But many of the proposals could be seen as encouraging illegal immigration – especially by overstaying a temporary visa.  I have been covering immigration in the U.S. Congress – the lawmaking sausage factory – for over ten years.  A bill introduced last night by the Common Sense bipartisan coalition has some propositions that could be seen to welcome more illegal immigration.

The Common Sense coalition – a group of 8 Republicans, 7 Democrats and 1 Independent led by moderates Republican Susan Collins (Maine) and Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) probably is the most serious contender. That's because it is bipartisan and because that coalition was the force behind passage of the budget.  Their bill would legalize 1.8 million DREAMERS including the 700,000 DACA recipients, with an eventual at least five year pathway to citizenship. 

It would budget $25 billion for a wall during a ten year period – a kind of a trust fund arrangement that could be changed.  It offers a limited family reunification program: that is, DREAMERS who became citizens could not sponsor their parents for permanent or temporary visas, as other green card holders can.  And it doesn't end the annual 50,000-green cards diversity lottery visa program – although talk of replacing diversity qualifications for merit-based immigrants could still be on the table later.

But the most controversial provision is one that would give a broad new deferment from deportation for millions of foreign nationals who are currently living and working illegally in the country – especially those who came in initially legally. The legislation would require deferment from deportation for any one presently illegally in the country, who did not commit a serious felony and who came in BEFORE JUNE 30, 2018 (yes 2018!).. It's really an amnesty – a Congressional class action forgiveness - for millions.

DACA already is an open invitation for any foreign national who came into the country legally before the age of 16 (may be changed to 18) to overstay their visa.  They could come in on a temporary legal status of any kind – with their H1B temporary visa parents, as an exchange student or even as a tourist.

That includes the over one million foreign students currently studying in the United States under the F1 and J1 foreign student and scholar visas.  There is no limit to the number of foreign student visas that are given out. The time limits for degrees and for practical training afterwards have been extended by years and are not enforced anyway  While foreign students are very sympathetic potential immigrants, the foreign student visa is and always has been a temporary, non-immigration one.  It does not have to heed nationality, race, religion or creed caps established under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.  Many universities depend on foreign students who pay fill tuition.

While the number of unauthorized (aka "undocumented") immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico has decreased considerably, the total number of illegal immigrants is growing slowly because of millions of people who overstay their temporary non-immigration visas with impunity. Any broad deferment from deportation will only encourage that.

The new law would extend impunity to all who came in illegally supposedly as teens, and could encourage a surge before June 30

The bill is contentious.  But it would only need three more Republicans to pass.  Would the House pass it? Leader Paul Rand (WI) may be sympathetic.  Would the President sign it?  He says no, but who knows.

The whole immigration debate could be delayed however.  Since U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn NY ruled that the President could not end DACA as he did, the whole debate could be put off till the Supreme Court decides the constitutionality of DACA itself.

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