Pathway to Citizenship: A Framework to Repair Immigration in the USA

Online, August 11, 2010 (Newswire.com) - PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP
a framework to repair immigration in the USA

It is currently estimated that there are nearly 14 million people of non-American national origin living in the United States in non-compliance with applicable immigration law and policy. The impact of such a large raw number of people upon our city, state and national resources is substantial. Equally undeniable, however, is the contribution of these people to the diversity, culture, experience and opportunity of the overwhelming majority of these people who desire to live, work and raise their families as responsible citizens of the United States. This framework is a plan that seeks to provide a reasonable and measurable process to facilitate the path to citizenship for those who, for whatever reason, are currently in non-compliance with USA immigration law and policy. It also seeks to establish a clearly defined and time-limited window for individuals who choose not to attain US citizenship to return or be returned to their country of origin.

This framework proposes the following major elements:
1. Establish a Voluntary Alien Registration Process
It is proposed that a Voluntary Alien Registration Process be established whereby, for a limited period of one year from the initial date of enactment of this plan, any alien in non-compliance with USA immigration law may self-identify without penalty or fear of reprisal. Such registration would automatically confer resident alien status and temporary visa for a specific and limited period of time (e.g. from six to eighteen months). This status will provide the new resident alien that period of time within which they could apply for and be assured of attaining US citizenship, or, be duly informed of the reasons for denial of citizenship. Among the factors to be considered for citizenship would be the individual's stated desire to become a US citizen submitting to the laws and responsibilities of the US and its several states; their employment status, educational background and objectives, extent of family and community connections within the US: and their desire to exercise the freedoms afforded every US citizen under our Constitution and laws.

2. Partner with Business and Education
In order to make the registration and citizenship process available to aliens in a non-threatening manner, it is proposed that the official US agencies within whom are vested the legal rights and responsibilities for the implementation of US immigration law and policy to become partners with the employers and educational institutions throughout the United States by making it possible for aliens to register at their places of employment or any college, junior college or post-secondary technical school. By enrolling in a partnership agreement with a designated US immigration agency, each partner employer and educational institution would be held harmless from prosecution or penalty for any aspect of past or current noncompliance with applicable immigration and related tax laws.

3. Establish a Migratory Farm Worker Immigration Exemption
The practice of employing migratory farm workers in many of the border states and second and third tier states removed from the US borders, particularly with Mexico and Canada, has been occurring for centuries, in many areas prior to the US borders having been first established. This practice is ingrained and endeared in the cultures of countries and families on all sides of the borders. It is reflected in literature, art and local lore. It is integral to the success and economic stability of workers and farm owners alike. There is a need for the establishment of a clearly defined and limited exemption to the broader immigration laws and policies of the US to ensure the continued viability and availability of both the workers to the farmers and the income from the farmers to the workers. It is in the best interest of the nations, the people and the value of farm generated food products that this issue be settled once and for all.

It is proposed also that the US immigration agencies partner with the US border Patrol and the US department of Agriculture to establish a two-prong approach to enable and facilitate the process of issuing a seasonable agricultural worker entry permit. The first prong would involve an identification and permit process with any and all US agricultural operations who would self- identify as a temporary season employer of migrant workers. Agricultural employers who would plan to hire migrant workers would file information with the USDA and obtain a temporary migrant worker employer permit, listing the approximate numbers of workers to be employed during designated seasonal periods, the wages estimated to be paid, and to the extend possible, the names of alien workers and any additional pertinent information. This process would authorized agricultural employers to provide a USDA approved agricultural migrant worker identification card to each worker. The process would include provisions for each agricultural employer to submit a list of all workers employed under their permit to the USDA on a seasonal reporting basis. The second prong of the approach would include the assignment of USDA workers to coordinate the US Border Patrol and immigration authorities to check agricultural worker permits at border crossings.

This proposed framework seeks to achieve a number of vital purposes for the United States including:
Specific start dates and expiration points, for control purposes,
Responsibility for key decisions regarding citizenship with those people seeking to remain in the United States,
Protection for the shared, vital interests of the United States, the individuals states and local communities,
Assurances for the enforcement of existing laws protecting US citizens and the structured process of immigration against anyone who chooses not to participate in the framework of this plan, and
Maintaining the dignity and respect for every person's individual freedoms and the capacity for exercising personal freedoms and responsibilities toward one another, to the customs and laws of the United States.