|
National Immigrant
Solidarity Network
May 2004 Monthly Action Digest by: Lee Siu Hin - Coordinator Call to Action!
We want to use the opportunity of RNC mobilization to tell the Bush regime, the activist communities and the world that we demand No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights! We are Against Sweatshop Exploitation and Racism on our Communities!
We hope the Unity Conference can achieve the unity among different community activists to create a common campaign strategy on issues, such as, immigrant-labor issues, anti-sweatshop campaigns, and the fight against racism. If anything, we view the Unity Conference as a way to network with other community-based and grassroots organizers and to share information, skills, and potentially resources.
As the Unity Conference was initially called by the National Immigrant Solidarity Network, we would like to highlight the creation of this network and encourage dialogue regarding its structure, mission, and strategic campaigns.
We also hope the Unity Conference can be a new model for the anti-globalization
movements; we wish not only to react against government and corporate
policies, but we also want to create and harness our own power for a new
society; we are not only focused on international campaigns thousands
of miles away, but also on community-based campaigns in our own states,
cities, towns, and neighborhoods led by those that are most directly affected.
We also wish to unite immigrant, student, and labor organizations to meet
these goals as well as to demonstrate our united opposition to the Bush
Administration. Lee Siu Hin Actions! Attached and below is a sign-on letter in support
of the SOLVE Act of 2004, S. 2381/H.R. 4262, comprehensive immigration
reform legislation Please respond by Wednesday, May 26, to solve@aila.org
if your organization wants to sign onto this letter. Please also clarify
if you are signing on as a national or local organization. (If you are
signing on as a local organization, please note your address.) Please
also note that this letter is for organizations only, not individuals.
Judith Golub DATE Senator Edward Kennedy Representative Robert Menendez Representative Luis Gutierrez Dear Senator Kennedy, Representative Menendez, and Representative Gutierrez: The undersigned organizations write in support of S. 2381/H.R. 4262,
the SOLVE Act of 2004, Safe, Orderly Legal Visas Enhancement Act of 2004. Your measure, if enacted, will reunite families, reward work, respect
workers, reduce illegal immigration, and enhance our security. Your * An earned adjustment for people who work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to their communities; * New "break-the-mold" worker program; and * Family-backlog reduction. We look forward to working with you to pass this much-needed legislation. Sincerely, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations American Friends Service Committee American Immigration Lawyers Association Arab American Institute Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO Center for Community Change Church World Service Immigration & Refugee Program Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Laborers' International Union of North America League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium National Council of La Raza National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) National Immigration Forum National Immigration Law Center National Korean American Service & Education Consortium Organization of Chinese Americans People For the American Way Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART) Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE!) United Auto Workers United Farm Workers of America United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
EARNED ADJUSTMENT • Immigrants who have been here for five (5) or more years on date of introduction (May 4, 2004) and can demonstrate 2 years in aggregate of employment (including self-employment) in the U.S. and payment of taxes would be eligible for legalization. The principal applicant's spouse and unmarried children under 21 are also eligible. These applications will be adjudicated outside the caps/numerical limitations on visas • Grounds of inadmissibility related to undocumented status would be waived • Applicants shall undergo criminal background checks and medical examination, and register with the Selective Services. They shall also be able to travel and work with authorization while application is pending • Applicants shall demonstrate an understanding of English and civics, or be pursuing a course of study to achieve such understanding • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall not use the applicant's information for any purpose other than to make a determination on the application, unless they have committed fraud or are a national security threat (confidentiality) • Bill provides for administrative and judicial review for denials of an application • Applicants in the U.S. on the date of introduction (5/4/04) but here less than five years or without the requisite work history shall be eligible (after a thorough background check) for transitional status (TS) of 5 years. Qualifying TS immigrants shall be able to work with authorization and travel abroad. After 2 additional years of work in aggregate, they, too, shall be eligible for adjustment of status FAMILY REUNIFICATION AND BACKLOG REDUCTION • Immediate relatives will be exempted from counting towards the 480,000 ceiling on family-based immigrant visas and include immediate relatives of permanent residents • Per-country ceilings on visas: Immigrants waiting more than five years shall be allocated a visa outside the per-country limits • Unused family-based visas in any given year shall be "recaptured" and applied to future years without per-country limitations • The income test for the affidavit of support shall be reduced from 125% to 100% of the poverty level • The 3- and 10-year bars to re-entry shall be repealed Temporary Worker Program • Establishes worker visa programs (H-1D & H-2B) for workers in low-skilled positions (workers who qualify for other visas shall be excluded). 250,000 such visas shall be available for H-1D workers for a period of 2 years and renewable for 2 additional terms (6 years total). 100,000 such visas shall be available for H-2B workers for a period of 9 months and renewable for up to 40 months • Immediate family members may accompany the H-2B and H-1D visa
holder, but will only be eligible to work if they, too, qualify for an
H-2B or H-1D visa or other work visa • H-2B and H-1D programs shall include a path to permanent residency, wherein an employer could immediately petition for a worker upon initial employment or a worker could self-petition after 2 years of employment. These adjustment applications would be adjudicated outside the caps on visas • The Department of Labor must approve through a strengthened attestation process that U.S workers are not available and that the employment of foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. Foreign workers can only apply for a job offer from an employer who has complied with DOL obligations. DOL shall also have the authority to enforce compliance with terms of program through inspections and audits (as well as complaints) • H-2B and H-1D workers shall be able to pursue a private right of action against employers who fail to comply with the provisions and requirements of the worker program • H-2B and H-1D job positions shall pay the prevailing wage, as determined in the shop's collective bargaining agreement, or, in its absence, under the Davis Bacon or McNamara-O'Hara Service Acts. If the job is not covered by these wage determinations, the prevailing wage shall be the mean of the highest 66% of the wage data provided by DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Survey • Includes a Hoffman Plastics fix that would protect backpay, workman's compensation and other remedies that were undermined by the Supreme Court decision • A study of the H-2B and H-1D programs will be commissioned, to examine, among other issues, the appropriate labor market test to protect U.S workers and the appropriate wage calculation formula. The study will also evaluate the positive and negative impact of the programs, reassess the programs, and make recommendations to Congress
|