Q&A: Immigration Issues at a Glance

Hundreds of thousands people took to the streets across the nation Monday and called for the first broad changes in U.S. immigration policy in more than two decades. It is an issue that has divided the country and threatened to play a major part in upcoming elections.
Here are some of the main questions and issues swirling around the debate.

Who called the demonstrations?

The protests, officially called the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice, are backed by immigrant rights groups, Latino advocacy organizations, some labor unions and religious institutions, including the Roman Catholic Church.

What do the protestors want?

In general they want to prevent the House bill from becoming law and want some action from the Senate, which went into a two-week recess last week after failing to reach an agreement.
After days of negotiation, Senate leaders of both parties reached a compromise on some key points but were unable to win passage when conservative Republicans wanted some amendments. The dispute then shut down the process for the holiday break.
The compromise was a recognition that none of the bills pending in the Senate could be passed.

What does the compromise call for?

It establishes three groups of undocumented immigrants, depending on the amount of time they have been in the United States.

Those here longer than five years would not be required to return home. They would also have a chance to become citizens if they meet a series of requirements and pay a fine. There are more than 7 million people in this category.

What about those who are here between two and five years?

They have to return to their home country briefly, then can re-enter as temporary workers. Once they have the proper papers, they could begin the process of seeking citizenship.

What of those in the U.S. less than two years?

They would be required to leave the country. They would have to take their place in line with other workers in their home country waiting for permission to enter. They would receive no assurances that they will be given permission to return.

About 40%, or 4.4 million people, have been in the U.S. five years or less.

What is to prevent them from sneaking back across the border if they are denied permission to return?

The parties have also agreed in principle to step up border enforcement, though there are conflicting ideas on how much tougher to get. The Senate bill could more than double the number of Border Patrol agents to 25,300 by 2011.

Early on, another Senate bill called for tougher penalties on employers who hire illegal workers, but it's unclear which version, if any, will become law.

Why is this being called a compromise?

The bill tries to balance the concerns of the different players.

Democrats and President Bush received a guest worker program, which had been opposed by conservative Republicans. But, Democrats fall short of creating a program for all undocumented workers.

Moderate Republicans received a modified program that supplies foreign labor needed by businesses, particularly in agriculture, construction and tourism.

Conservative Republicans get to limit the number of undocumented workers who will be allowed to stay in the United States, but if the bill passes, there will be a guest worker program that they strongly oppose.

Doesn't a compromise mean that everyone is happy?

No.

Senate conservatives immediately attacked the compromise as too lenient and were strong enough to prevent passage of the compromise last week.

Democrats have 44 votes, so if they all hold together, only seven Republicans would be needed for passage. It is backed by such prominent Republicans as Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.

So this will likely become law?

It is too soon to know. The compromise may not be able to get to the floor for parliamentary reasons. If it gets to the floor, it may be amended into something else. There will be clearer signals if the bill is dead or alive when the Senate returns from its recess.

Even if some form of the compromise passes the Senate, the House has passed a tougher immigration bill without a guest worker program. Speaker Dennis Hastert has said his house is willing to compromise, but conservatives there have taken a tougher line against a guest worker program and against leagalizing any of the undocumented workers in the U.S.

Why is this important?

Congress is considering the first major overhaul of immigration policy in two decades. It is an issue that has inflamed passions on all sides as economic, political and social forces have clashed, creating new political alliances and separating friends.

How did we get here?

President Bush launched the current debate, announcing at the beginning of his first term in 2001 that he wanted to create a guest worker program.

What is a guest worker program?

It is any program that allows foreign workers to legally live and work in the United States. It could apply to those workers already in the U.S. or to those who want to enter. It can also include provisions for foreign workers to eventually become citizens.

Why has it taken five years for something to happen?

The discussion about immigration issues was disrupted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The attacks also shifted the focus from how to deal with foreign workers in the United States to questions about national security and safe borders.

There is lots of talk about illegal immigrants. Who is illegal?

In general, anyone who enters the United States without a valid document or someone who entered legally but violated their visa by, for example, staying longer than allowed.

Currently, it is a civil violation and the immigrant can be deported.

How do people get in?

It can involve getting past authorities and crossing the border by yourself. Or it can be organized, for example, criminal elements smuggling immigrants into the U.S. The criminal smugglers are known in Spanish as coyotes. In Chinese, they are known as snakeheads. In either case, the service they provide can be perilous. Immigrants have died of thirst and exposure crossing deserts or have been killed by harsh voyages in overcrowded ships from Asia.

How many unauthorized migrants are there?

The 2000 census estimated there were 8.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States and the rate of growth is believed to be 500,000 a year. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are currently about 11.5 million to 12 million unauthorized migrants now living in the United States.

Who are they?

Most of the unauthorized migrants come from Mexico, about 6.2 million, or 56% of the unauthorized population in 2005, according to Pew. About 2.5 million, or 22%, are from the rest of Latin America.

Slightly less than half are adult males, about 5.4 million. There are 3.9 million adult females, 35%, and 1.8 million children, or 16% of the total.

As of 2005, there were 6.6 million families where either the head of the family or the spouse was an unauthorized migrant. Nearly two-thirds of the children living in unauthorized families are U.S. citizens by birth, an estimated 3.1 million children in 2005.

Why do they come?

Many say they come for better lives and for better paying jobs.

Aren't they stealing jobs that could go to Americans?

Critics contend they do, but immigration rights advocates argue that the jobs that are being taken are at the lower end of the wage scale and are in areas where the work is poorly paid or so hazardous that there are labor shortages.

For example, unauthorized workers are 24% of all those in farming occupations, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction and 12% in food preparation industries, according to Pew.

What if all illegal immigrants were sent home?

The shockwaves would rattle the national economy. Nearly 1 of every 20 people working in the United States is an unauthorized migrant; about 7.2 million workers out of a labor force of 148 million, according to Pew. They pay taxes as well as buy goods and services.

Who's on whose side?

Because of the economic impact, many businessmen, often backers of the GOP, are in favor of keeping the workers, but want a stable work force instead of trying to find and train new workers. Some unions, generally more sympathetic to Democrats, also want a stable work force, which they can then organize and for whom they can try to win better wages and benefits.

So some businesses and some labor unions are on the same side? And some Democrats are on the same side as Bush and other Republicans, but they are opposed by other Republicans?

In general, yes.

Remember there are several broad questions that serve as wedges:

• What to do about workers currently in the U.S.?

• What to do about those who want to come to the U.S.?

• What can be done to protect the borders and improve national security?

The issues have divided the Republicans, with many of the more conservative legislators opposing what they call an amnesty for workers already here, and favoring more enforcement on the borders. They also oppose a guest worker plan, proposed by the president.

What has the Republican-controlled House done?

In December, the House, run by conservative Republicans, passed a bill that would make being in the United States a felony - with harsher penalties than a civil violation. The bill requires employers to verify that their workers are legally in the United States or face civil and criminal penalties. In addition, it establishes mandatory sentences for smuggling illegal immigrants.

The proposal does not include a guest worker program for those in the United States.

It does call for tighter borders and requires the construction of two-layer fences along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the United States.

What happens next?

The Senate will debate the issue and try to pass a bill. It will likely be different than the House's. If the Senate does pass a bill, it will go to a conference committee and the two chambers will have to approve the compromise before sending it on to Bush.