| IN a clear effort to pass an immigration
reform bill, President George W. Bush announced on Tuesday,
May 16, 2006, a plan to send 6,000 National Guard troops to
control the flow of illegal immigrants at the border with
Mexico.
Bush stressed that he also wanted a guest-worker program,
granting legal status to certain aliens. He vowed to veto
any legislation that provided only for border security and
enforcement, without including a comprehensive solution to
the problem of illegal immigration. “An immigration reform
bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this
problem must be addressed together — or none of them will be
solved at all,” Bush said.
Following the Bush announcement, the Senate resumed
deliberations on a Senate bill that would provide a path for
legalization for illegal immigrants and establish a
temporary guest worker program, while strengthening the
country’s borders.
The Senate indicated that it does not intend to pass a
“general amnesty,” because it excluded from the proposed
guest-worker program those illegal immigrants convicted of a
felony or three misdemeanors.
The Senate’s proposed law differs from the proposal by
the House of Representatives, which only focused on
enforcement. The House bill did not contain any provision
for a legalization or guest worker program.
Analysts have also predicted that Bush’s comprehensive
plan would face rough sailing when the Senate and the House
meet in an expected conference committee meeting to
reconcile the Senate and House bills.
It must be emphasized that these are only proposals,
which we are all watching closely. Until a final bill (or
proposed law) is passed by both the House and Senate, and
signed into law by the President, there is nothing to apply
for yet.
People should continue to read the news on the current
debate on immigration reform, and write to their senators
and congressmen, to make their stand on the issue known.
They should also be wary of immigration consultants who make
it appear that an amnesty program is already in effect. We
will continue to monitor developments and inform you of
developments on these proposals.
| (Editor’s note:
Michael J. Gurfinkel
has been an attorney for over 25 years, and is an active
member of the State Bar of California and New York, as
well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and
the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar
Association. He has always excelled in school:
valedictorian in high school; cum laude at UCLA; and law
degree honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School,
which is one of the top law schools in California. Website:
www.gurfinkel.com
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