When Republican President George W. Bush proposed helping millions of undocumented aliens to temporarily work legally in the US, it was only a matter of time before the Democrats came out with their own proposal.
Ten days after Bush, in his Jan. 20 State of the Union address, unveiled his temporary worker program to "bring millions of hardworking men and women out from the shadows of American life," the Democrats went one step further and proposed they be granted permanent residency with the option of eventual US citizenship.
"The president wants to give a lot, but the Democrats want to give the jackpot," said Steve Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, an independent think tank devoted to research and policy analysis of the impact of immigration on the US.
In advertising terminology, immigrants see Bush’s proposal as "Immigration Lite," and the Democratic proposal as the real deal. Both sides are accusing each other of pandering to the electorate, particularly the 40 million-strong Hispanic-American community, one of the most important ethnic constituencies in the November elections.
Polls show widespread opposition to granting legal status to overstaying aliens and there is doubt if either party will press forward with a controversial plan that may haunt them in the polls.
This year’s session of Congress will be shorter than usual to allow legislators to campaign and neither party is likely to want to spend time on an issue deemed too divisive.
Filipino-American immigration lawyers at a recent town hall meeting said until both parties flesh out their proposals, it will be best for their undocumented kababayans — often referred to as TNTs or tago ng tago — to keep their heads down and wait for developments.
The Democratic plan unveiled by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proposes that illegal immigrants working in the US for an unspecified period of time be granted permanent legal residency and the option of citizenship.
Bush’s plan seeks to allow illegal aliens to work legally for at least three years in jobs no Americans want. When their employers no longer need them, the aliens will be required to return to their home countries.
A bipartisan bill submitted recently by Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, seeks to provide a way for the millions of illegal workers already in the US to legalize their status and become permanent residents.
If an undocumented worker has been in the US for five years or more, held a job for at least four years and paid federal taxes prior to the measure becoming law, he can apply for citizenship under the Hagel-Daschle bill provided he pays a $1,000 fine.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Manila announced that those whose immigrant visa applications were delayed last year due to the unavailability of visa numbers may now complete their applications.
According to Theodore Allegra, acting consul general, the immigration visa allocations released by the US State Department in recent months "have now caught up where we left off last July."
The US State Department announced last June that immigrant visa allocations will be limited for the rest of the fiscal year ending September 2003.
The embassy said the delay in visa issuance set back the processing of family-based immigrant visa applications by at least a year.
Allegra said those who wish to resume their applications must check if the documents they have are valid and updated. The embassy usually requires applicants to bring documents such as National Bureau of Investigation clearances, results of medical examinations, and affidavits of support and employment.
The embassy said that beginning next month it will process immigrant visa applications with the following priority dates: unmarried son or daughter of a US citizen, June 1, 1990; spouse or child or a legal permanent resident, March 1, 1991; unmarried son or daughter of a legal permanent resident, May 8, 1995; married son or daughter of a US citizen, Jan. 15, 1990; and sibling of a US citizen, Jan. 22, 1982.