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IMMIGRATION REFORM
IMMIGRATION TRENDS
About one in every three
U.S. residents was part of a group other than non-Hispanic
whites, according to national estimates released by the U.S.
Census Bureau. In 2005, the nation's minority population
totaled 98 million, or 33 percent, of the country's total
population of 296.4 million. Hispanics continue to be the
largest minority group at 42.7 million. With a 3.3 percent
increase in population from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005,
they are the fastest-growing group. Racial or ethnic
minorities make up nearly half of the cohort of children under
age 5. Of that number 70 percent are of Hispanic origin.
According to the
Congressional Research Service (CRS), the following
observations can be observed about U.S. immigration policy:
Current U.S. policy on
permanent immigration is based on four principles: the
reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with
special skills, the protection of refugees, and the diversity
of admissions by country of origin. The number of persons
granted lawful permanent residence in the United States
increased by more than 200,000 persons between 2003 and 2004,
from 706,000 to 946,000. The leading regions of origin of
legal immigrants were North America and Asia. These regions
accounted for 36% and 35%, respectively, of all legal
immigrants in 2004. The leading source countries (of birth)
for legal immigrants in 2004 were Mexico (18.5%), followed by
India (7.4%), the Philippines (6.1%), China (5.4%), Vietnam
(3.3%), and the Dominican Republic (3.2%). The primary
destination states in 2004, as in every year since 1971, were
California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and
Illinois.
Sixty-five percent of
all persons legally immigrating to the United States in 2004
lived in these six states. Data on immigrant's intended
metropolitan area are not available for FY2004. However, 10
metropolitan areas were the intended residence of 41% of all
legal immigrants in 2003. The leading destinations were New
York, NY; Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA; Chicago, IL; and the
Washington, DC-MD-VA metro area.
Illegal aliens,
deportable aliens, or undocumented workers, are persons
residing in the United States in violation of U.S. immigration
laws. It is estimated that there are more than 11 million
unauthorized foreigners currently living in the United States,
and the resident unauthorized alien population is estimated to
increase by 500,000 people per year. United States Border
Patrol apprehensions increased steadily through the late
1990s, reaching a peak of 1.68 million in 2000. From 2000 to
2003, apprehension levels declined steadily, reaching a low of
931,557 in 2003. Each apprehension, even of the same person,
is counted separately.
GUEST WORKER PROGRAM
The term guest worker
has typically been applied to foreign, temporary, low-skilled
laborers, often working in agriculture, construction or other
seasonal employment. According to CRS, in the past, guest
worker programs have been established in the United States to
address worker shortages during times of war. During World
War I, for example, tens of thousands of Mexican workers
performed mainly agricultural labor as part of a temporary
worker program. The Bracero program, which began during World
War II and lasted until 1964, brought several million Mexican
agricultural workers into the United States. At its peak in
the late 1950s, the Bracero program employed more than 400,000
Mexican workers annually.
The Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, as originally enacted,
authorized a temporary foreign worker program known as the H-2
program. It covered both agricultural and nonagricultural
workers who were coming temporarily to the United States to
perform temporary services (other than services of an
exceptional nature requiring distinguished merit and ability)
or labor. Aliens who are admitted to the United States for a
temporary period of time and for a specific purpose are known
as nonimmigrants. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
(IRCA) amended the INA to subdivide the H-2 program into the
current H-2A and H-2B programs and to detail the admissions
process for H-2A workers. The H-2A and H-2B visas are
subcategories of the larger "H" nonimmigrant visa category for
temporary workers.
The United States
currently has two main programs for importing temporary,
low-skilled workers. Agricultural workers enter through the
H-2A program and other temporary workers enter through the
H-2B program.
STATUS
President Bush made
immigration reform one of his top priorities. He put a
significant portion of his waning political capital behind his
effort to fixt the immigration system. His first attempt to
do was approved by the Senate in 2006, but he was unable to
find a suitable compromise with House Republicans.
With the election of a
new Democrat majority in both chambers of Congress, it
appeared as if immigration reform would be the one initiative
that President Bush would be able to accomplish, as it had
strong bipartisan support. On May 9, 2007, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid introduced S. 1348, the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform Act, as a placeholder bill while his fellow
Senators worked to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
Nearly two weeks later, on May 21, 2007, an agreement was
reached, and Senator Ted Kennedy introduced a substitute
amendment that now serves as the basic text of the
legislation.
On June 7, 2007, the
Senate failed to invoke cloture on S. 1348 by a vote of
34-61. The bill was then reintroduced on June 18, 2007 as S.
1639, after a group of Senators reached an agreement on the
number of amendments to the bill that would be voted on. On
June 26, an effort to invoke cloture passed by a vote of
64-35, allowing the amendments to be considered. However, two
days later, the final vote on cloture failed (which would have
allowed a final vote on passage), by a vote of 46-53.
OUTLOOK
We do not expect
immigration reform to be a frontburner issue
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