 CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR AN AMNESTY
In a surprising change of policy, the Clinton administration has announced that it supports legislation recently introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) that would amend a little known provision of immigration law, in effect giving amnesty to many long-term undocumented immigrants. The registry is a mechanism by which these people can become permanent residents. Long term residents with good moral character (and who are not subject to the J-1 visa home residency requirement) are often eligible. It has been part of immigration law since 1929, but the date has not been changed since 1986, when the date for qualifying for the registry became 1972. Rep. Jackson-Lee's bill would change the date to 1986. A similar bill has been introduced by Nevada Democrat Harry Reid in the Senate. The Reid bill, S. 2407, would create a rolling 14 year registry that would advance each year by a year.
One of the most important benefits of changing the date provision to 1986 would be to eliminate the need for the ongoing lawsuits over benefits under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Because of INS misinterpretations of the law and administrative errors, many people were denied the opportunity to legalize their status. This led to many lawsuits, some of which have been in the courts for almost 15 years. Amendment of the registry provision would mean these suits could be dropped.
Vice President Al Gore, the likely presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, has released a statement supporting the bill. Of course, many see this as a calculated political move by Gore and the Democratic Party to court Hispanic votes. Many Hispanics whose status was legalized in 1986 have since obtained citizenship and are eligible to vote. Others also see it as a way to rectify the INS errors that led the lawsuits over the 1986 law without admitting fault in the administration of the law.
Other groups have also come out in support of the proposal, groups that do not usually agree on immigration policy - business and labor unions. Businesses are feeling the pinch of a strong labor market and are having difficulty finding people to fill low skill jobs. Unions support the measure because as long as workers are undocumented they are hesitant to join unions. So for the first time since 1986 businesses and unions are working together on ways to encourage Congress to look favorably on an amnesty plan.
As things stand now, while there is support for an amnesty, there is probably not enough support to pass such a plan. However, the administration has said that it might attempt to attach the measure to one of the H-1B bills currently before Congress.
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