Well, I finally relented to the hordes of illegal-immigrant workers, writing in, demanding - no, threatening that I write something on the immigration legislation floating around out there...or else!

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Lawmakers expect fight over immigration bill

4/27/05
By DICKIE CRONKITE
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Gallegly opposes; Capps to be co-sponsor



RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

A farmworker picks strawberries in Santa Maria. A 2000 Department of Health and Human Services study estimated that there are 730,000 farmworkers in California, 31,000 of them in Santa Barbara County.


WASHINGTON -- Santa Barbara's lawmakers disagree sharply on a bill that would pave the way for thousands of undocumented California farmworkers to become permanent U.S. residents.

The AgJOBS bill, as it's referred to in Washington, would give temporary legal-resident status to undocumented farmworkers who could prove they've worked at least 100 days in the 18-month period leading up to Dec. 31, 2004.

Once they receive temporary status, the workers could qualify for a green card indicating permanent residency provided they work at least 360 additional days within six years of the law's passage. They then would have the chance to apply for citizenship.

Estimates of the number of farmworkers in California vary. A 2000 Department of Health and Human Services study put the total at 730,000. Of those, 31,000 were in Santa Barbara County, the study found.

Marc Grossman, spokesman for the United Farm Workers, said well over half of California farmworkers are undocumented immigrants.

"Let's call it what it is -- an amnesty bill," said Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley. "You don't fix something by legalizing something that was illegal."

But Mr. Grossman stressed that undocumented workers would only qualify after passing a background check and logging an extensive number of work days. He prefers to call it a "hard-earned legalization bill."

Mr. Gallegly said he believes undocumented workers should be sent home, where they could apply to be guest workers from their native country. Given the large number of illegal immigrants, Mr. Gallegly said he supports a one- or two-year grace period before enforcement would kick in.

The congressman said a major problem is that undocumented workers don't believe immigration laws are currently enforced within the United States.

"There's tremendous talk about broken borders and that the border is our problem," Mr. Gallegly said "The principal problem is in the interior."

Rep. Lois Capps, Mr. Gallegly's Democratic colleague from the neighboring 23rd District, disagrees with that approach. She said passing the bill is "important to our local economy and also enhances homeland security."

Mrs. Capps pledged to work with farmworker organizations, unions and her colleagues to see the measure passed. She has co-sponsored the bill in the past and said she will again this year.

AgJOBS was most recently sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. It was defeated last week, but the vote was close; 53 senators voted in favor while 45 voted against, indicating growing support. The measure, offered as an amendment to an appropriations bill, needed 60 votes to pass.

Democrats are optimistic that the bill will eventually pass the Senate. They say several Republicans senators support it but were uncomfortable voting for the amendment because it was attached to an emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan military operations.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, a staunch supporter of AgJOBS, called the 53 senate votes "a very good sign."

Ms. Boxer, D-Calif., said she believes the key to solving the nation's immigration problems is to take an industry-by-industry approach. "I've always put forward AgJOBS as the role model for the solution," she said last week.

"You take an industry . . . and come up with a plan that makes sense (and) will not open up the floodgate of new illegal immigration," she said, "but rather will set the rules so you know who's here, who's hardworking."

While Ms. Boxer sees AgJOBS as the model approach for immigration, her California counterpart, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, sees things differently. Ms. Feinstein voted against the measure last week.

Ms. Feinstein has called AgJOBS -- in its current form, at least -- a magnet for illegal immigration.

She proposes stricter criteria, increasing the time needed for temporary status from 100 days to three years before December 2004. She also suggests increasing the measure's 360-day period needed for permanent status to five years.

Mr. Grossman maintains this isn't a good idea. He said most people falling under Ms. Feinstein's proposed criteria wouldn't be working in agriculture anymore. "The problem is that (migrant workers) are transitory, the benefits are few and the conditions are harsh."

AgJOBS differs fundamentally from President Bush's proposed temporary worker program.

The Bush plan would give undocumented immigrants legal status to work in the United States for three years. At that point, they could apply for an additional three years. After the second three years, however, these workers would have to leave the country permanently.

Ms. Boxer called Mr. Bush's proposal "exploitive."

"If you know for three years you've got to swallow your pride if somebody harasses you, or even isn't paying you right . . . you're going to toe the line," Ms. Boxer said. "Because, good Lord, you want to stay here another three years."

As for these workers voluntarily leaving after six years, she said, "I just don't see it."


Dickie Cronkite writes from Washington, D.C., for Medill News Service. E-mail him at ******@newspress.com