Proposed Immigration Bills: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Before our discussion below of recently proposed immigration bills, it is worth reviewing the process of how a bill (a proposed new law) becomes law. The fact of the matter is that, for better or for worse, our country’s founders made it very difficult to change the law (with few exceptions). Bills hit Congress all the time, but in reality only 4% of those bills become law[1] and those bills that do become law are usually substantially different from the original draft. Bills have to be introduced, sent to committees and subcommittees, debated, amended, voted on in the House of Representatives, win a majority of votes to go to Senate, repeat the whole process over again and, if approved by both houses, they must be signed into law by the president (if vetoed, 2/3 of both houses are needed to override the veto).
Since Trump took office, immigrant communities and those who have a close relationship with these communities must temper both our fear and our hope when it comes to new proposed immigration laws. In light of this reality, let’s turn to the bills gaining the most attention in the immigration debate, but let us remember that each of these bills still have a long road ahead of them to become actual law.
The Unlikely Bad News: The RAISE Act
The infamous RAISE Act (Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act) would highly favor immigration for young professionals between the ages of 26-30, holding doctorates, Nobel Prizes or Olympic medals [2]. Of course, less impressive individuals could also gain entrance depending on their capacity to gain 30 points in the proposed point-based merit system based on: the possession of university degrees, fluency in English, placement in the higher income brackets, etc. Investment too, over $1.35 million, would gain favor in a visa application. Family visas apart from immediate family of US citizens, asylum and refugee visas and other categories lacking “merit” would substantially suffer. The green card lottery promoting diversity immigration would be slashed and total legal immigration would be cut by a projected 41% on the first year [3]. Though the bill has the support of President Trump, it hasn’t gained much traction in either house, nor is it in the least bit impressive in the eyes of our leading economists (or really anyone with a general understanding of economics).
The Unlikely Good News: the DREAM Act of 2017
The DREAM ACT of 2017 is a bill with bi-partisan sponsorship that would pave a path towards citizenship for those undocumented immigrants who arrived as children. It would expand the scope of the DACA criteria, making those who entered before their 18th birthday eligible and providing a “hardship waiver” to those falling outside the general eligibility but facing extraordinary challenges. The process would still be long, requiring its beneficiaries to hold Conditional Permanency Residency Status for eight years, and then applying for Legal Permanent Residency, but it would provide a track for many who are currently unprotected [4]. Remember, DACA is simply “deferred action” in regards to potential deportation (though it does grant the ability to work, go to school and even join the military). Also remember that DACA is an executive order, and that means it can disappear if the president decides to make it disappear.
The Real Concern: DACA
This is the exception to the “laws are difficult to change” statement mentioned above because DACA was created with an executive order, which is unilateral action by our President. As such, it can also disappear with unilateral action from Trump. The possibility that nearly 800,000 young people protected under DACA could lose protection with the stroke of a pen is a real reason for concern. Though Trump initially showed a degree of sympathy for “DREAMERS”, Texas has recently threatened to file a lawsuit if the Trump administration does not phase DACA out by September 5th[5]. In light of this, the Trump administration has not clarified whether or not DACA will continue.
Regardless of DACA’s fate, the current political climate threatening the fate of millions of immigrants has also created a force of passionate advocates who will continue to fight for the basic rights of immigrants.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/01/16/almost-none-of-the-bills-introduced-into-congress-ever-becomes-a-law/?utm_term=.c8b85452a
[2] http://time.com/4885453/donald-trump-legal-immigration-bill/
[3] https://medium.com/@UNITEDWEDREAM/lawmakers-just-introduced-a-dream-act-bill-what-does-it-means-for-you-4aa09e193b6f
[4] https://medium.com/@UNITEDWEDREAM/lawmakers-just-introduced-a-dream-act-bill-what-does-it-means-for-you-4aa09e193b6f
[5] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/14/daca-faces-challenges-trump-courts/
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