The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) offers a framework for evaluating immigration policy. The framework centers on a two-part “middle-class 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” available at www.drummajorinstitute.org/immigration. 

Description

The Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act establishes two new categories of visas: Y visas for temporary workers and Z visas for currently undocumented workers. However, before these visas can become available, the Secretary of Homeland Security must certify that the certain border control conditions are met, including: hiring 18,000 new border enforcement personnel, increasing border infrastructure and technology, and requiring the Department of Homeland Security to develop a comprehensive plan for border surveillance and security. The bill would also increase criminal penalties for violations of immigration law, including document fraud, and for employers who knowingly hire unauthorized immigrant workers. An electronic employment verification system would be established to determine work authorization.

The bill aims to eliminate the current backlog in family-based immigration applications in eight years. After the backlog is eliminated, the number of visas for legal permanent residency that are available to family members of current immigrants would be decreased. The proposal also replaces the current employment-based green card system with one based on merit points, with points awarded for advanced education, employment in a high demand occupation, family relationships, and English proficiency.

Undocumented immigrants present in the U.S. before 2007 could apply for a new Z visa, and, after submitting an application, paying several thousand dollars in fees and penalties, and undergoing a one-day background check, receive probationary status that enables them to continue living and working in the U.S. without being deported. Once the security conditions described above are met, they could receive Z visas, which are good for four years and can be renewed indefinitely, as long as visa-holders demonstrate efforts to learn English and U.S. civics and remain employed. Z visa holders could qualify for legal permanent residence after the current backlog is eliminated if they pay an additional $4,000 penalty, satisfy the new merit requirements, and apply from a consular office in their country of origin.

The temporary worker program would issue 400,000 Y visas a year to temporary workers who would be admitted to work in the U.S. for two years. The workers would then have to return to their home countries for a year before renewing the visa to work for another two years. Two renewals would be permitted, with a year outside the country in between each one. Temporary workers would lose their status if they are unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days. To hire temporary workers, employers would first have to offer jobs to eligible U.S. workers and would be barred from hiring temporary workers in a county where unemployment for U.S. workers is above 7 percent. Temporary workers would undergo background checks and a medical exam and pay a $500 fee. Temporary workers could bring their families only if they pay an additional fee and can show proof of medical insurance for the family and wages above 150% above the poverty line for the household size. Temporary workers would have to be hired at the prevailing wage for the occupation, would be able to switch to other certified employers without losing their visas, and would have whistleblower protections. Temporary workers could not be treated as independent contractors or used as strikebreakers and would be afforded the same labor rights as U.S. citizens. There are no provisions for temporary workers to apply for permanent residency at any point.

The bill includes separate legalization procedures for minors who have lived in the United States for five years and special temporary visas for agricultural workers. It also calls for the hiring of at least 1,000 new Department of Labor investigators to enforce labor standards in areas and occupations with many temporary workers.

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: B-

The American middle class relies on the economic contributions of immigrants. The Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act does a relatively good job of bolstering this economic contribution when it comes to currently undocumented immigrants. Under this bill, undocumented immigrants already present in the U.S. can continue working and contributing to the economy through the Z visa program. Gaining permanent residence would enable immigrants to make a longer-term commitment and deepen their economic contribution further. However, the substantial fines and requirement that immigrants return to their country of origin in order to apply for legal permanent residence may prove to be a significant impediment for many immigrants.

The bill falls short when it comes to the temporary worker program and the change in criteria for permanent residency visas. The repeated, year-long interruptions in temporary workers’ work experience in the U.S. would hinder these workers from developing strong economic ties to the U.S. or advancing economically. The fact that the bill provides no mechanism for temporary workers to attain permanent legal status also inhibits them from creating lasting and evolving economic ties to the country, further limiting the contributions they can make to the economy and the well-being of the middle class. Finally, while the new “merit-based” system of eligibility for legal permanent residency is promoted as a benefit to the economy, it fails to recognize the economic strengths of the current system, including the significant social capital that the family linkages recognized by current immigration law offer to immigrant communities, enabling them to contribute more to the U.S. economy and the well-being of the American middle class.

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. By offering legal status to currently undocumented workers, allowing them to work openly and exercise full rights in the workplace, this bill represents an advance over the status quo. However, the provision that immigrants with a Z visa remain continuously employed full-time until they attain legal permanent residency – for many, a wait of more than a decade – would enable employers to wield excessive power over these workers. Since losing a job would mean losing legal status for themselves and their families, these immigrant workers would be especially vulnerable to exploitation, threatening to drive down wages and working conditions for the American middle class.

The temporary worker program presents its own serious threats to the middle-class Americans. While the prevailing wage requirement and labor protections are positive, they are dramatically undermined by the restrictive nature of this program. The two-year duration of the temporary worker visas, coupled with the requirement that temporary workers return to their own countries for a year before returning to the U.S., 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. DMI has argued that the nation’s middle class is always threatened by a policy that seeks to fill permanent jobs with temporary workers, as more and more jobs that once supported a middle-class standard of living instead become positions for temporary workers. For this reason, all temporary worker programs represent a threat to the middle class.  However, the restrictions in this program make it even worse than most recent proposals.

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 60 days. For these reasons and others, The Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and 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. Furthermore, the program’s many restrictions, particularly the inability of temporary workers to transition to permanent status, create an incentive for temporary workers whose legal status has expired to form a new undocumented workforce, perpetuating the problems with the status quo.

[1] Analysis based on the bill draft released for discussion on May 18