Immigration reform is more than a political term for Robin Jere – it’s his life.
“We don’t want to be a problem, we want to be a solution,” Jere said. “Yes, we did come illegally through the border, or on a plane or on a boat, but we are here, and we are part of the productivity of this country.”
For Peruvian Jere, 47, and many immigrant advocates, a proposed reform unveiled Thursday in Washington still leaves much to be desired.
One piece of the law changes the green-card system to a “point system” that would prioritize education and skills over family connections.
“If they put in a law that does not allow reunification of families or rights for workers, and if there is a law that doesn’t consider legalization for people, it does not benefit immigrants,” said Jere, who came to the United States seven years ago as a visitor and stayed.
Immigrants, he said, are not asking for handouts. He points to taxes paid, contributions to community, homeownership and children raised in the U.S. as evidence of incorporation into American society.
The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, which wants stronger border security and a moratorium on immigration, says the proposal won’t get very far.
“It’s almost laughable if it wasn’t so serious,” said Stan Weekes, director of CAIR.
The bureaucracy already is overwhelmed with paperwork. Offering legal status to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country would break the system, he said. In addition, Weekes doesn’t believe illegal immigrants will step forward and report themselves to the government, pay the fine or risk deportation.
“I don’t feel we’ll see any form of reform,” he said.
Weekes supports a 10-year moratorium on immigration, assigning Marines to the border and moving Border Patrol agents to interior U.S. cities, putting bounties on the heads of illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, and enforcing current laws.
For immigrant advocates, the proposed legislation is a positive sign the debate is moving forward. But the terms of the compromise are causing concern, said Julien Ross, coordinator of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which has nearly 80 community organizations as members throughout the state.
“We have some bottom lines in terms of the principals the coalition wants to see in a comprehensive reform,” he said.
Without family reunification, worker protections and a pathway to citizenship for workers, CIRC will not support the compromise, Ross said.
“We have deep concerns about the point system and the changes to the family-based immigration law,” Ross said.
