\n
http:\/\/www.nypost.com\/postopinion\/opedcolumnists\/63899.htm<\/span><\/a> READ THE FINE PRINT IN THE SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL – THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS! http:\/\/www.nypost.com\/postopinion\/opedcolumnists\/63899.htm TIDAL WAVE By ROBERT RECTOR May 19, 2006 — THINK the immigration debate boils down to whether the 10 million illegal immigrants already here deserve amnesty? Think again. The leading reform proposal in the Senate is Sens. Chuck … Continue reading Tidal Wave- immigration<\/span>
\nREAD THE FINE PRINT IN THE SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL – THE DEVIL’S IN THE
\nDETAILS!<\/p>\n
\nTIDAL WAVE
\nBy ROBERT RECTOR
\n May 19, 2006
\n— THINK the immigration debate boils down to whether the 10 million illegal
\nimmigrants already here deserve amnesty? Think again. The leading reform
\nproposal in the Senate is Sens. Chuck Hagel and Mel Martinez’s Comprehensive
\nImmigration Reform Act (CIRA). If it becomes law, more than six times that
\nfigure will pour in – legally – over the next two decades.
\nThe original CIRA would’ve allowed as many as 100 million people to legally
\nimmigrate to the United States over the next 20 years. We’re talking about a
\nseismic shift of unprecedented proportions.
\n Facing
\ncriticism, the Senate has amended the bill – which now, if enacted, would
\n“only” allow around 66 million new immigrants. That still more than
\ndoubles the rate, from 1 million a year now to 2.5 million per year.
\n Current law
\nwould let 19 million legal immigrants enter the United States over the next 20
\nyears; CIRA would add an extra 47 million.
\n This flow of
\nnew immigrants would dwarf the Great Migration of the late 19th and early 20th
\ncenturies. In that period, foreign-born persons made up no more than 15 percent
\nof the U.S. population. In 1924, Congress passed a law greatly reducing future
\nimmigration. By 1970, foreign-born persons had fallen to 5 percent of the
\npopulation.
\n In the last
\nthree decades, immigration has increased sharply. The foreign-born now make up
\nabout 12 percent of the population. But if CIRA were enacted, and 66 million
\nnew immigrants entered over the next 20 years, foreign-born persons would make
\nup 22 percent of the U.S. population, far higher than at any point in U.S.
\nhistory.
\n Why such
\nexplosive growth? Consider how the new law would work. Under CIRA, immigrants
\ncould enter the country or attain lawful status within the country through
\neight channels. In each channel, immigrants would gain permanent residence and
\nthe right to become citizens:
\n Visas: About 950,000 persons now get
\npermanent-residence visas every year. Over 20 years, the inflow of immigrants
\nthrough this channel would be 19 million.
\n Amnesty: The bill would grant
\namnesty to roughly 10 million illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.
\n “Family chain” migration:
\nToday’s law limits the number of family-sponsored visas for secondary family
\nmembers, such as adult brothers and sisters, to 480,000 per year – minus the
\nnumber of visas given to immediate family members (spouses, minor children, and
\nparents of U.S. citizens). CIRA would eliminate the deductions for immediate
\nfamily members. The net increase in immigrants under this provision would be
\naround 254,000 a year, or 5 million over 20 years.
\n Green cards: CIRA would increase the
\nnumber of employment-based visas from 140,000 to 450,000 per year. For the
\nfirst time, it would also exempt the spouses and children of workers from the
\ncap. Total yearly immigration under this provision is likely to be 450,000
\nworkers plus 540,000 family members. The net increase above current law over 20
\nyears would be around 13.5 million persons.
\n Guest workers: The amended CIRA
\nwould let 200,000 people participate in the guest-worker program each year.
\nOver 20 years, that works out to a total inflow of 4 million.
\n Spouses\/children of guest workers:
\nGuest workers could bring their spouses and children to the United States as
\npermanent residents, adding another 4.8 million entrants over 20 years.
\n Spouses\/children of illegal
\nimmigrants given amnesty: Illegals who got amnesty could bring their spouses
\nand children into the country as legal permanent residents with the opportunity
\nfor full citizenship. The resulting number of spouses and children who’d enter
\nthe United States: at least 6 million.
\n Parents of naturalized citizens:
\nCIRA would greatly increase the number of naturalized citizens – who would have
\nan unlimited right to bring their parents into the country as legal permanent
\nresidents. The resulting number of parents who’d enter as permanent legal
\nresidents: around 3.5 million over 20 years.
\n In short,
\nCIRA would bring profound change. It would transform the United States
\nsocially, economically and politically. Within two decades, the character of
\nour country would differ dramatically from what exists today. Americans – and
\ntheir elected officials – need to ask: Is that what we want?
\nRobert Rector
\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"