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Esperanza’s Statement of Principles:

A Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation

Esperanza is the largest Hispanic faith-based organization in the country. With a national network of over 12,000 Hispanic churches and community non-profits, ranging from Roman Catholic to Pentecostal in 42 states representing 27 countries of origin, Esperanza is one of the leading voices for Hispanics in America. Genuinely politically independent, the framework below is the result of months of recent in-depth policy conversations with Democrats and Republicans, liberal, moderate and conservative as well as detailed involvement in recent legislative battles.

 SECURITY

Border Security

No one wants the border secured more than the Hispanic community. New legislation should include objective, quantifiable items to determine the security of our border.  

 Enforce Immigration Laws in a Consistent, Rational Manner

Enforcement is essential to ensure the success of the new system. Enforcement must prioritize public safety by targeting drug traffickers, violent criminals, gang members, and individuals who pose a genuine threat to our nation’s security. 

 Federal Responsibility

Enforcement must be the sole responsibility of the federal government, NOT state and local law enforcement. Enlisting state and local law enforcement would end hundreds of extremely successful community policing programs that depend on community volunteer participation, thereby greatly diminishing the health and safety of some of our county’s poorest communities where energy should be focused on strengthening, not severing, relations with local law enforcement.

 Worksite Enforcement / Worker Protections

Worksite enforcement should be strengthened to prevent the employment of undocumented immigrants and protect all workers from exploitation.  Employers must be able to easily verify immigration status of potential workers and to recruit new workers from temporary worker applications.

WORKFORCE

 Central to immigration reform is a workable, realistic system that allows the free flow of labor to meet current workforce requirements. Rather than putting band-aids on the badly broken, dysfunctional current visa system, Esperanza strongly encourages Congress to create new visa categories for temporary workers and for legal residency for those currently undocumented. Esperanza also encourages Congress to streamline the 81 current visa categories. 

 Temporary Worker Program

Create a temporary worker program based on how the visa will be used: one for those wishing to come for a few months each year, returning home after each work period; and a second for those wishing to come for a few years then return home. Use industry workforce estimates to determine visa numbers.  

Temporary means temporary: temporary workers must honor the terms of their visas and return home at the designated times. 

 Point System

If a point system for permanent residency is enacted, temporary workers should received credit for work performed as a temporary worker when applying for permanent residency.   With an economy hungry for high and low-skilled workers, the point system must be structured to meet both high and low-skilled workforce demands. Esperanza supports a commission to regulate the future flow of employment-based immigration so that workers' rights are protected and honest businesses are able to grow. Flexibility must be a central feature of any point system so it can adapt quickly as workforce needs change rather than lag behind current demand. 

LEGAL RESIDENCY FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED

 Approximately half of the undocumented workers in our country today entered legally and are caught up in the nightmare that is our current system. Millions more entered illegally and want to get right with the law. All undocumented immigrants must register, pass a criminal background check, pay unpaid back taxes, learn English and remit fines for illegal entry and overstay.  

 Amnesty

Esperanza does not support nor request amnesty for the undocumented. To avoid future accusations of amnesty, when the undocumented come forward to register, while background checks and other requirements are processed, they should receive a probational/provisional visa. Once requirements are met, they will receive a legal residence visa valid for a specified number of years, renewable indefinitely.

 A Higher Standard

In recognition of the need to get right with the law, previously undocumented immigrants with new legal residency visas will be held to a higher standard than previous green card holders. For example, those committing violent crimes, once convicted and sentences served, will be deported. 

 Back of the Line

Once a legal residency visa is attained, the applications of those wishing to apply for green cards cannot be processed until the current green card application backlog is cleared or resolved.

ASSIMILATION

 “Our national immigration tradition began with the Jamestown colonists in 1607. Through an unfailing commitment to faith and concern for one another, the colonists banded together to work toward a better future. They planted the seeds of tolerance that have inspired millions to come to our shores in search of the American dream.”¹ Today’s immigrants share the colonists search for the American dream, their desire for a new life, safe homes, strong communities and happy families – to become part of the American fabric of life while enriching the American experience with their own. ¹ Rep. Eric Cantor: remarks @ 2009 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast

Role for the Hispanic Church

To facilitate and encourage the undocumented to register and complete their legal residency visa process, Esperanza offers Hispanic churches across the country as sites where processing and education will take place. The undocumented will more readily come forward at churches than downtown federal buildings. Once inside, the FBI, Treasury, CIS will handle their specific processes. The Hispanic Church is also the logical vehicle to provide expanded English and citizenship classes.

         FAMILY UNIFICATION

 Clear the Backlog

Strong families are the backbone of American society. Hundreds of thousands have waited patiently for years to unite with their families. Before new legal resident greencard applications are processed, applications from those outside of the country filed before 2006 must be processed.

 New Visa Categories

Esperanza encourages Congress to create new family visa categories with a new, singular set of rules, regulations and requirements. For decades, new rules and regulations have been patched onto previous rules and regulations making our current family visa requirements a convoluted, intricate, distorted mess trapping the innocent in this embodiment of unintended consequences. 

 Chain Migration

To resolve this inflammatory issue, Esperanza supports indefinite visitor visas for parents of the undocumented once their legal residency visa is secured. Adult children living outside the country would also qualify for visitor visas but theirs would be limited to a specified period of time during which, if they wish to remain in the country, they will need to apply for and secure one of the worker visas. Adult undocumented children living in the country will apply for their own legal residency visa.

STATE COMPENSATION

 In recognition of the increased burden on state and local services, based on undocumented registration, Esperanza supports compensating state and local governments for a designated period of time for increased education and emergency room care use.