More than 11 million undocumented immigrants, many from Latin America, living in the United States celebrated a small victory in immigration reform when a bipartisan group of eight senators presented a comprehensive bill April 16.
If the bill that the “Gang of Eight” proposed passes Congress and makes it to the president’s desk, undocumented immigrants who had arrived to the United States before Dec. 31, 2011 may achieve provisional residential status. The hope for citizenship may entail a long waiting period – up to 13 years for some.
But DREAMers have reasons to stay hopeful, and under the provisions of the bill, undocumented-immigrant students would be able to receive green cards in five years. This expedited path, which President Barack Obama called for during his rally for reform in Las Vegas in late January, would recognize registered provisional immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least five years and were younger than 16-years-old when they arrived to the country.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the “gang,” said if the bill passes through the Senate with a comfortable margin of votes, it has a better possibility of passing in the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
“I think everyone realizes… that no one is going to get everything they want,” Schumer said. “But if we meet in the middle, we can do a lot of good for America and for our economy. Things are moving in a very, very good way.
“We have a lot of broad support that was not there in 2007.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called the bill “a product of compromise,” but warned that there are still more compromises to come.
“This is the beginning of a process, not the end,” McCain said. “We will have hearings, we will have amendments, we will have floor debates, but I am confident that at the end of the day we will have a bill to the president’s desk.”
Getting an immigration bill to the president’s desk failed in 2007, when it was voted down 34-61 in the Senate. Despite the precedent of immigration policy fiascos — the last one being the failure of the DREAM Act in 2010 — McCain said he thinks the American people and their representatives are more supportive of reform than ever.
“The attitude of the American people has changed since 2007,” McCain said. “The overwhelming majority of Americans are willing to give these people who have been living in our country illegally, some of them for many, many years, the opportunity to have a path to citizenship and have a legal residence.”
There is more Hispanic representation on Capitol Hill now than there ever has been in U.S. history. Congress hosts 28 Latino representatives, and there are three Hispanic senators, two of whom — Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) — are in the Gang of Eight.
That change in attitude that McCain alluded to can be attributed to a rise in Hispanic and immigrant activism since the DREAM Act, and two weeks ago, North Carolinian Latinos traveled to Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their support for reform. Fifty-five people from Raleigh and Durham joined the 100,000- person crowd of the “Multitudinaria Marcha.”
Though DREAMers may soon enjoy expedited citizenship, the bill will require the majority of undocumented immigrants to wait a minimum of 13 years: 10 years to apply for legal permanent residence and three years for naturalization.
While revealing the legislation to Congress, the Gang of Eight stated that the bill is “tough but fair,” and would require undocumented immigrants — besides DREAMers — to go to the “back of the line.” These stipulations, according to Schumer, don’t entail amnesty, but rather “common sense reform.”
“You have to register, go to the back of the line, learn English, work, stay clear of the law, admit wrongdoing and pay a significant fine. That’s not amnesty in anyone’s book, except those who would be opposed to any immigration bill,” Schumer said.
As for now, North Carolinian Latinos are staying hopeful that their voices are being heard in Washington. But Jesús Ramos, a participant of the Multitudinaria Marcha, said Latinos must continue advocating.
“It is very exciting to be part of this demonstration and to make our voice heard because we cannot continue waiting for immigration reform,” Ramos said in an interview with Qué Pasa.
But even if reform passes, Ramos may have a lot of more waiting ahead.
Acerca de 100.000 participantes de la reforma de inmigración se manifiestan frente Capitol Hill el 10 de abril en la "Marcha multitudinaria." Más o menos 50 de Carolina del Norte asistieron al evento con la organización hispana sin fines de lucro El Pueblo, con sede en Raleigh. El congresista Luis Gutiérrez y otros defensores de los hispanos hablaron en el evento, que se produjo una semana antes del "Grupo de los Ocho" la legislación para la reforma anunciada inmigración integral. El proyecto de ley, que se está debatiendo en el Senado, tiene un largo camino por delante, y los inmigrantes indocumentados que se beneficia la ley tienen mucha espera por delante, también.
