Alliance for Fair Federal Immigration Reform of Minnesota

We AFFIRM the rights of immigrants, AFFIRM the contribution they make to the economy, and promote fair immigration policy and legislation.
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AFFIRM's Position on Current Legislation in the House and Senate
 
 
The Alliance for Fair Federal Immigration Reform of Minnesota (AFFIRM) is a broad coalition of immigrant groups, religious and labor organizations, lawyers and legal services, advocacy organizations, and businesses working together to advocate for fair immigration legislation and policy. AFFIRM evaluates any immigration reform proposals in light of our shared values and a set of immigration reform principles.

We do not just need change; we need WORKABLE reform. As the debate heats up in Congress, we must focus on the goals of reform, that is, to solve the problems in our present system in a humane, fair and workable way. Such reform must be guided by the following principles:
 
  • Path to U.S. Citizenship: All immigrants who live and work in the United States, paying taxes, and contributing to the good of this nation should have the opportunity to pursue permanent resident status and citizenship in the United States.

 

  • Family Reunification: Family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents should have the legal means to immediately re-unite with parents, spouses, and children in the United States and have access to education and employment opportunities.

 

  • Legalization of Future Migration Flows: Immigration laws should establish a mechanism to legalize future migration flows so that immigrants who fulfill the economic needs or who are pursuing family reunification could enter legally, with full respect to their rights as human beings and as workers, and with a path to permanent resident status and citizenship.

 

  • Protection of Human Rights, Dignity and Due Process: Human rights and due process protections must be guaranteed to all people, regardless of immigration status. Immigration enforcement practices should respect the dignity of all, and should not use racial profiling and other discriminatory practices.

 

  • Protection of Workers and Employers: Immigration law should provide employers with a mechanism to hire and retain valued employees, while guaranteeing employees a right to change employers and providing a path to apply for permanent resident status. Workers’ rights, including the right to unionize, shall be guaranteed to all workers. Immigration law should not place the burden and cost of enforcing immigration laws on employers.

 

 

While we are pleased that both the House and the Senate have taken up immigration reform, we believe the proposals themselves, particularly the so-called “grand-bargain” announced by the Senate, are so flawed as to be unworkable in their present form. In particular, we find the following provisions unacceptable and in deep conflict with long held values and principles:

 

  • We oppose any future worker program without a path to residency and the same labor rights as nonimmigrant workers, including full employment and civil rights protections such as the right to organize and the full protection of the NLRB.

 

  • We oppose the decimation of our current family-based preference system and believe a high priority must be given to reducing and resolving our current backlog by increased visas.

 

  • We oppose the creation of an untested merit-based quota system.

 

  • We oppose high fees, fines and touch-back provisions that unfairly and arbitrarily penalize and separate immigrant families.

 

  • We oppose enforcement-first proposals and instead seek workable immigration reform that includes securing our borders as one of many parts of the whole. The proposed trigger mechanisms are vague and unworkable and unduly weigh the reforms toward enforcement-first without clear timetables or guarantees for the implementation of the remainder of the reforms.

 



The Senate’s “Grand Bargain” seeks to trade a lengthy, uncertain path to citizenship for our current undocumented immigrant communities for policies that so completely violate our values so as to have future negative consequences far beyond the immigrant community. This is no “bargain,” and it is unacceptable. AFFIRM will support our leaders’ efforts when they choose to lead fairly, humanely, and with acknowledgement of the common human dignity all human beings share.