Senate Passes Bill Reauthorizing Immigration Programs

A very interesting post from www.fairus.org about Senate immigration laws. This follows this post about Obama's executive order amnesty.  This follows this post about the Black Caucus hurting Black Americans with their immigration stand. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read this very interesting book HERE.

Senate Passes Bill Reauthorizing Immigration Programs


Before breaking for its annual August recess, the Senate quietly passed via unanimous consent legislation that would reauthorize four expiring immigration programs: E-Verify, the EB-5 immigrant visa, the Religious Worker immigrant visa, and the "Conrad 30" J-1 program. (See S. 3245 as amended) As introduced by Senate Judiciary Chair and Ranking Member Pat Leahy and Charles Grassley, S. 3245 would have permanently reauthorized all four programs.



As amended, however, the programs (which were set to expire at the end of this fiscal year) were extended for an additional three years. While true immigration reformers tend to be familiar with the electronic work authorization verification program known as E-Verify, few are familiar with the other programs reauthorized in the legislation.



The EB-5 immigrant visa program grants nearly 10,000 green cards each year to aliens who invest $500,000 to $1 million in a "new commercial enterprise" that will benefit the U.S. economy and create at least 10 jobs. (INA § 203(b)(5))  While supporters of the program claim this program benefits the U.S. economy, critics have pointed out that the program has in fact only limited effectiveness. For example, in 2005, the GAO found that after 12 years the EB-5 program had only led to $1 billion in investments (instead of the predicted $48 billion) and there was no reliable accounting of jobs created.  (See Selling America Short: The Failure of the EB-5 Visa Program, p.1)  Moreover, the program measures job creation by counting jobs created both "directly" and "indirectly," making it impossible to accurately calculate whether an investment under the EB-5 program actually creates jobs. (See 8 C.F.R. § 204.6(e)))



The Religious Worker immigrant visa program allows aliens who meet certain conditions to obtain green cards to work either as a minister or as a non-minister in a religious organization.  (INA § 101(a)(27)(C))  Approximately 10,000 employment-based visas are set aside each year for this program, of which 5,000 are set aside for non-minister immigrants.  (INA § 203(b)(4))  The Religious Worker immigrant visa program, however, has been criticized for not requiring organizations to establish need for such immigrant workers and rampant fraud in applications.  In 2005, the USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security found the program had a stunning 33 percent fraud rate. (OIG-09-79, July 2009, p.1) Yet some religious institutions insist that the program alleviates an "acute shortage of non‐minister religious workers in the United States." (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website)    While subsequent regulations have helped reduce the fraud, serious doubts remain as to whether the program truly meets a need among religious organizations.



The "Conrad 30" J-1 program allows aliens who are trained as doctors at U.S. universities to stay in the U.S. after their medical training under certain circumstances. (INA § 214(l); USCIS website) Generally, the J-1 program — which allows aliens to train as doctors in the U.S. — requires such doctors return home for at least two years before returning to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant or immigrant. (INA §212(e)) The Conrad 30 J-1 program, however, waives the home residency requirement for doctors who work in certain rural areas. The "30" designation refers to the number of J-1 doctors each state may sponsor for a waiver of the home residency requirement. As a result, not only does the Conrad 30 program displace U.S. doctors, but it also deprives developing countries of much-needed medical care providers (referred to as "brain drain") by waiving the requirement aliens return to their home country. (New York Times, Mar. 7, 2012)



The bill now goes to the House for its consideration after it returns from recess, September 10.