<
-
Among the proposals for immigration reform presented by President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of Senators last week, were a series of conditions the undocumented have to meet to obtain residency and eventually citizenship.
Photo: AFP
-
Both the president and the legislators insist that when the conditions, which they describe as "difficult but just," are met, those who arrived in this country illegally must go to the end of the line to see that there request for residency is processed.
Photo: AFP
-
Although defenders of the undocumented and their rights acknowledge that something must be done about the almost 11 million undocumented estimated to be in the country, they consider the proposed conditions are not warranted, impractical and an affront to the dignity of illegal aliens and go against the state purpose of bring them out of the shadows of society.
Photo: AFP
-
While supporters say that a great amount is being asked of undocumented to resolve their status, they say that more desirable immigrants have it much easier, creating two levels of immigrants, first and second class.
Photo: AFP
-
The creation of process to legalize undocumented illegals is expected to be among the most contentious issues debated in Congress this year.
Photo: AFP
-
The proposals by both the president, senators and even the House of Representatives are considered too onerous for many undocumented aliens, most of who are Hispanic.
Photo: AFP
-
Among the conditions imposed are that undocumented aliens pay a fine, be charged retroactive taxes, that they learn English, be properly assimilated into society, be without a criminal record. And after all that they will go to the end of the line in terms of having their applications processed.
Photo: AFP
-
For Katherine Vargas,spokesperson for the National Forum on Immigration, the conditions appeal to those who believe their must be strict regulations and adherance to the laws. "It's something symbolic to put conservatives at ease, especially, so that they believe citizenship is being controled", she told BBC. "For those violate the law, there should be some kind of punishment."
Photo: AFP
-
Vargas also said legislators are trying to avoid similar problems to those encountered in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan, when he offered amnesty to 3 million of the undocumented opending the door for a flood of immigration which now must be solved.
Photo: AFP
-
The spokesperson said that the proposal is an attempt to set parameters and that the details can be applied over time. Still, she said the most important thing is to not create too many obstacles or a process that takes too much time.
Photo: AFP
-
For his part, Jorge Mario Cabrera, of the Coalition for Los Angeles immigrants, told the BBC asking immigrants to go to the end of the line, implies the existence of a line, that he says does not exist.
Photo: AFP
-
"A line indicates that there is a process in place, which starts, continues and comes to an end. That's one of the myths of our system of immigration," he said. "What there is a backup."
Photo: AFP
-
Cabrera said that 63 percent undocumented immigrants have been in the country for 10 years and can wait another 10, 15 or 25 years to go to the back of the line.
Photo: AFP
-
According to the Census Bureau and the Pew Center, the undocumented represent all walks of life and are often fully integrated into American society and culture.
Photo: AFP
-
Almost half of all of the undocumented have children under 18 years old and 4.5 million of those children were born in the US.
Photo: AFP
-
Cabrera knocked a system that would have the undocumented forced out of the country while they waited for their applications to go through. "Our main argument is that they can't concetrate on the 'line' when the system is broken. The process has to be easier for everyone."
Photo: AFP
-
Cabrera said that although there is cries for the system to be the same for everyone, some already have it easier. "There are students, or people from favored countries or with some special skills who skip to the front of the line. That shows there is no consistency in the process."
Photo: AFP
-
The president verified as much when he said: "If you are a foreign student, or want to continue a job in the sciences or technology or a business owner who wants to continue in the US we should help you do it here."
Photo: AFP
-
Vargas criticized the different treatment. "A villager and a engineer come to the country for the same reasons. To better themselves."
Photo: AFP
-
Even so, she recognized that there have been gains in the debate since the times when the undocumented were treated as criminals. She said that the current political climate also had to be taken into account.
Photo: AFP
-
"We can't waste this moment and lose focus on the objective of legalizing millions of the undocumented aliens," she said.
Photo: AFP
1
21
Among the proposals for immigration reform presented by President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of Senators last week, were a series of conditions the undocumented have to meet to obtain residency and eventually citizenship.
Photo: AFP
