|
 |
|
|
|
Bush's Immigration Proposal Raises Questions By Gina Bernacchi Lack of detail has border charities worried about ability to serve President Bush's plan to allow some eight million illegal immigrants to obtain legal status as temporary workers has been met with mixed reaction from nonprofits. Some believe that Bush's proposal will start a much needed public discourse on immigration reform; others see the proposal as a political ploy that will only add more stress to an already over-stretched system. Nonprofits -- especially those serving the immigrant population -- want answers. Under Bush's proposal, workers in the United States illegally can join a temporary labor program, which would last for three years and could be renewed once, for a total of six years. The biggest question nonprofits have is, what, if any, services will be included in the final package. Under the current system, the major role nonprofits play within the immigrant population is providing legal assistance and social services, because immigrants are not eligible for public benefits. If Bush's proposal becomes legislation and then is passed into law, millions of people may be able to receive benefits, which would be both good and bad for nonprofits. “It's much worse right now the way it is,” said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Hispanic civil rights organization. “Legal permanent residents who are not citizens do not receive public benefits, like school lunches, food stamps, child care, etc. The bottom line is that nonprofits are left to pick up the pieces. Who wants to let someone starve or freeze to death? The immigrant population has created a tremendous amount of need. Nonprofits have to pay for these services out of their own pockets.” Because Bush's plan does not yet include details as to what benefits would or would not be covered, nonprofits are forced to take a wait-and-see attitude. “We hope that a comprehensive immigrant reform plan would be able to relieve some of the stress put on nonprofits by immigrant communities,” Wilkes said. “Bush's plan will relieve stress if immigrants are able to take advantage of some of these services; it will increase the stress if they are not. It will definitely increase the number of people nonprofits may need to serve, because the number of immigrants is going to go up for certain.” Under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, organizations called QDEs, or Qualified Designated Entities, were created to assist immigrants in applying for legal status. Nonprofits became QDEs to help immigrants fill out the paperwork required for legalization. If Bush's plan is passed, many nonprofits see themselves as becoming another QDE, serving as advocates for immigrants who want to become legal. According to the Rev. Robin Hoover, president of Humane Borders, a Tucson, Ariz.-based organization that advocates for immigration reform, Bush's plan will open the doors to millions of immigrants, but the burden of processing the paperwork necessary for legalization will fall on nonprofits. “The U.S. government provides very few services directly to migrants; nonprofits provide the bulk of those services,” he said. “The nonprofit sector has always been extremely connected to the immigrant population. We will have a new client base of eight million people -- eight million people or customers will be coming out of the shadows. The feds aren't going to (process the paperwork); they're going to rubberstamp it. Nonprofits are going to scramble to become advocates for migrants for legalization.” Most immigrants currently seek help from nonprofits when they are in a crisis situation. Nonprofits, especially faith-based organizations, provide them with services they would not otherwise receive because of their undocumented status. According to Carla Roberts, vice president of affiliates for the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), many immigrants don't feel comfortable soliciting the type of services that would facilitate their transition into society. For example, they don't learn to speak English or take advantage of housing services. Roberts said she believes that if Bush's plan reduces the need for some of these crisis services, it will increase the need for worker transition services. “If we could get to a place where we weren't directing the nonprofit's efforts to crisis management, it might be possible for our sector to develop more efficient and effective strategies to make lasting change in the conditions of the immigrant population,” she said. “Bush's plan doesn't go far enough in really addressing the situation we're in.” Michele Waslin, senior immigration policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights organization, agrees with Roberts. La Raza is in favor of legalizing people who are already living and working in the United States -- and not just as a guest worker. “Other proposals we are in favor of include a more comprehensive immigrant reform (plan) that really gets at the root causes of undocumented immigration and fixes those problems,” she said. “Legalizing people who are here today doesn't stop people who come tomorrow. We want a good temporary worker program that insures labor protection for U.S. as well as immigrant workers. We want people to be legal, to have a full voice in the legal system. (If Bush's plan were passed), we would continue to do what we do, but our community would be more empowered.” Although many nonprofits believe that Bush's plan, if passed, would increase the number of people entering the United States -- and thereby increasing the stress on social services organizations -- others believe that undocumented workers who are already here are not going to come forward and identify themselves. A nonprofit's role would change only in that it would then have more people to serve, legal or otherwise. The issues surrounding immigration reform are complex, and the various nonprofits that serve the immigrant population deal with different issues. For Sister Liliane Alam, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, an organization that supports immigrants seeking political asylum and helps victims of domestic violence, Bush's plan would have little, if any, impact on the work her organization does. “Bush's plan will not change a lot because immigrants will need someone to sponsor them for work,” she said. “Employers prefer to keep cheap labor, so they won't sponsor immigrants. From the immigrants' point of view, the government will know they are here, and after three years they will be deported -- but their children are American. People who have their home, work, families here are not going to apply for this program. Maybe newcomers will, but they have to prove that there's no American to fill the job first.” Bush's plan may be the largest immigration reform proposal since 1986, but there are still too many unanswered questions for nonprofits to assess the impact the plan may have on the sector. However, Hoover said he believes Bush's proposal will start a larger public discourse on immigration reform -- something he believes is absolutely necessary to improve national security, extend civil rights and allow politics to catch up with the economics of migration. “There are one million attempted crossings across the border every year,” he said. “Half a million people overstay their visas. We have no immigration control right now. If you allow politics to catch up, you will legalize the migration and you will also deal with the reality that many, many people choose to overstay their visas.” He said, a successful bill would include more features than what Bush is currently proposing. And, in the end, Congress may come up with something completely different. Ironing out a bill that is satisfactory to all parties involved could take years. In the meantime, nonprofits still face the same challenge they always have: servicing more demands than to which they can respond. Gina Bernacchi is a reporter with the Denver News Bureau. |