An analysis of the proposed immigrant legislation in the United States Congress.

Abstract

Immigration reform in the United States is causing battles in both Houses of the U.S. Congress. The proposal that came out of the House of Representatives in December 2005 is a more repressive reform proposal treating the immigrants without legal entry into the U.S. more as criminals than as undocumented workers. The reform proposal that passed the Senate in May 2006 is less harsh, and also provides routes to legalization for undocumented workers which the House of Representative version does not. The main problem with the proposal for reform that came from the Senate is that in reality, it would be very hard to put into effect. The Department of Homeland Security, which is the parent agency governing immigration matters, is not equipped to deal with the numbers of legalization applications that this proposal would generate. In addition, the last two provisions require that the undocumented workers leave the country, which would not be viable and certainly would not occur.