S. 1438 sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) & Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) offers a framework for evaluating immigration policy that centers on a two-part "middleclass test." Part One requires that: immigration policy should bolster–not undermine–the critical contribution that immigrants make to our economy as workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers and consumers. Part Two holds that: immigration policy must strengthen the rights of immigrants in the workplace. To the extent that a proposed policy fulfills both parts of the test, we argue that it will help to strengthen and expand the American middle class, enhancing opportunities for all Americans to realize the American Dream. We assign legislation a letter grade based on how well it matches up to each of these objectives.

A complete explanation of the framework and rationale for each part of the test is fully laid out in "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: A Primer for Policymakers and Advocates," available at www.drummajorinstitute.org.

Description
The Comprehensive Enforcement & Immigration Reform Act would dramatically increase immigration enforcement, including hiring 10,000 new Border Patrol Agents, increasing the capacity of immigrant detention facilities, boosting numbers of inspectors and immigration judges and stiffening penalties for undocumented immigrants and their employers. The bill would also establish a temporary worker program. After advertising job openings to U.S. workers, employers could offer them to temporary visa holders. Immigrants who apply for the visas must show that they have a job waiting in the U.S., pay a fee and pass medical and security checks. Visa-holders could work in the U.S. for two years, after which they would have to return to their home countries for a year before having the opportunity to renew their visas for another two years. A separate program for undocumented immigrants currently working without authorization in the U.S. would make them eligible to remain and work for a maximum of five years under a new Deferred Mandatory Departure status, but they would be subject to escalating fines for refusing to depart the country immediately.

Middle-Class Test Part One
IMMIGRATION POLICY SHOULD BOLSTER–NOT UNDERMINE– THE CRITICAL CONTRIBUTION THAT IMMIGRANTS MAKE TO OUR ECONOMY AS WORKERS, ENTREPRENEURS, TAXPAYERS AND CONSUMERS.

Grade: C

The American middle class relies on the economic contributions of immigrants. The Comprehensive Enforcement & Immigration Reform Act would enable immigrants to continue contributing to the U.S. to some extent through its temporary worker visa programs, but the frequent shuttling back and forth that the bill requires would hinder immigrant workers from developing strong economic ties to the United States or advancing economically. The fact that the bill does not provide any mechanism for immigrants to attain permanent legal status also inhibits immigrants from creating lasting and evolving economic ties to the country, limiting the contributions they can make to the economy and to the middle-class well-being.

Middle-Class Test Part Two:
IMMIGRATION POLICY MUST STRENGTHEN THE RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS IN THE WORKPLACE.

Grade: D –

When immigrants lack rights in the workplace, labor standards are driven down, and all working people have less opportunity to enter or remain part of the middle class. This bill would do very little to strengthen workplace rights for immigrants and a great deal to undermine them. On the plus side, those immigrant workers who participate in the temporary visa program would have legal status in the country, and their working conditions would thus be more open to enforcement of U.S. wage and hour laws, workplace safety standards and other labor regulations. By moving workers and workplaces out of the shadows, immigrants' rights in the workplace could be enhanced to some degree.

However, this benefit is far outweighed by provisions that would put excessive power into the hands of employers, undermining the rights of immigrant workers and thus the strength of the American middle class. The two-year duration of the visas, coupled with the requirement that temporary workers return to their own countries for a year before returning to the U.S., dramatically reduces incentives for immigrants to improve their working conditions. Combined with the lack of opportunities for temporary workers to attain permanent status, it creates a program in which interchangeable workers shuttle in and out of the country with little opportunity to establish themselves economically or to advance in the workplace.

The effect is compounded by provisions that allow temporary workers to accept jobs only with employers authorized to participate in the program, limiting workers' options and giving them less leverage to negotiate better working conditions. This dependence on a limited number employers and the resulting vulnerability would be further exacerbated by provisions requiring temporary workers to leave the country if they are unemployed for 30 days. Finally, the bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security to require that temporary workers waive their rights to appeal their immigration status, perpetuating the fear and powerlessness that prevent immigrants from exercising workplace rights. For these reasons and others, the Comprehensive Enforcement & Immigration Reform Act would institutionalize a permanently subordinate position for immigrant workers, one that would be all the more iron-clad because of its legal standing. For the reasons discussed extensively in "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: A Primer for Policymakers and Advocates," this would have a negative impact on middle-class American workplace conditions and living standards.

Read Appendix II: A Legislative Analysis of The Secure America & Orderly Immigration ACT OF 2005
Read Appendix III: A Legislative Analysis of The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act