Immigrants Fight for FREEDOM

As of the 2000 U.S. Census there were seven million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Since then the number has undoubtedly grown and will continue to grow. These immigrants, predominantly from Mexico, are here to find a better life, but end up doing the jobs that most citizens are unwilling to do. They work mainly in agricultural industries or in low-paying jobs in the hotel and restaurant industry.

As of the 2000 U.S. Census there were seven million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Since then the number has undoubtedly grown and will continue to grow. These immigrants, predominantly from Mexico, are here to find a better life, but end up doing the jobs that most citizens are unwilling to do. They work mainly in agricultural industries or in low-paying jobs in the hotel and restaurant industry.

The rightwing sees immigrants themselves as a problem, and sees immigrants only as a body of workers to manipulate for the benefit of big business. Some forces on the right want to clamp down on all legal immigration and increase punishment for undocumented immigrants. Others have proposed expanding the already existing “guest worker�? program.

Progressives recognize that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants and that all residents of the U.S. contribute to our countries taxes, wealth and prosperity, even if they can’t enjoy its rewards. Labor, immigrant rights and civil rights advocates also have a number of proposals, including blanket amnesty, expansion of immigrant rights and something called the FREEDOM Act.

The Origins of the Guest Worker Program

A little historical perspective might be helpful. During World War II, the U.S. government set up two programs to accommodate the labor shortage caused by the war. One program was the bracero program, known now for its gross mistreatment of the workers who participated in it. The other, less-known program was the “guest worker�? program.

The bracero program was started in 1942 to import skilled agricultural workers from Mexico. The conditions of this bracero program are infamous, even today. Workers, called braceros, were usually contracted to work for one year for a specific employer. They were required to stay the full year and where not allowed to leave, even in the case of emergencies, without the written permission of their bosses. The living conditions were unsanitary and the pay was very low. Workers were overworked, and to add insult to injury, a portion of their pay was withheld and put in banks in the workers names in Mexico to encourage workers to return after their contract was over.

The bracero program was finally ended in 1964, but immigrant rights and Latino advocacy groups today are still fighting for the rights of braceros. Many of the braceros, upon returning to Mexico found that they couldn’t get the money they had earned. There is an active movement now fighting for the pay still due to these workers.

The guest worker program was instituted around the same time as the bracero program, but was intended to supply workers to the industrial sector. Employers requested workers and the government supplied these employers with workers recruited from Mexico. Workers were given temporary visas.

This program was never used as widely as the bracero program, partly because workers were not given a long enough visa to make it worthwhile for employers to train them. Unlike the bracero program, however, the guest worker program still exists today. The guest worker program was reorganized after the bracero program ended. Currently, the program splits guest workers into two categories: H2A agricultural workers and H2B non-agricultural workers. Today this program is mired in so much bureaucracy and paperwork that it is barely used.

The Guest Worker Program Today

This is where Congressional conservatives come in. There is a recent proposal to bring the guest worker program back to life. This new proposal has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as S 1461 and by Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in the House as HR 2899. These bills would cut back on the amount of paperwork and make it easier and faster for employers to get workers.

The major problem with this proposal is that it greatly limits the rights of immigrant workers. The workers would be contracted to a specific employer and their visa would be dependent not only on remaining employed, but on remaining employed by the same employer. This greatly discourages workers from organizing, or from complaining when their rights are violated, because they are afraid of being deported. The guest worker program is basically a form of indentured servitude that provides employers with a frightened, and therefore compliant, cheap workforce to exploit.

Blanket Amnesty

Many immigrant rights activists and trade unions have proposed blanket amnesty to address immigrants’ needs. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Il) introduced the USA Family Act (standing for Unity, Security, Accountability, and Family)(HR 440), which would grant residency to all undocumented immigrants who have been living in the U.S. at least five years.

The idea of a blanket amnesty is not a new idea. In 1986 Congress passed legislation that legalized a large portion of the undocumented population. The only problem was that the act was only a temporary fix. This type of legislation does nothing to address the immigrants who will enter the United States in the years to come. Plus, many immigrants who qualified for amnesty missed the deadline because of fear or lack of knowledge.

The FREEDOM Act

The FREEDOM Act is a proposal by the National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty for Immigrants. FREEDOM here stands for Family Reunification, Economic Expansion & Documented Organized Management. The FREEDOM Act would give amnesty to all the undocumented workers already living in the U.S. Anyone already here would be given a three-year temporary resident visa. At the end of the three years the immigrant could apply for permanent residency or reapply for the temporary visa. In order to keep the visa, the person would have to maintain employment (with no more than four months of unemployment), file taxes, and would be disqualified if they were convicted of any felonies or more than three misdemeanors.

What makes the FREEDOM Act different from general amnesty proposals is that it addresses future immigrants as well. Under the FREEDOM Act, parents, children and siblings of legal residents would also be able to apply for the temporary visa.

Although this only accounts for a portion of the future migration to the U.S., it is a protection that currently does not exist. The FREEDOM Act looks toward the future and helps reunite immigrant families.

The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, and yet the ultra right wants to use today’s immigrants as an easy, cheap and unprotected source of labor. The FREEDOM Act is a definite step in the right direction towards not only expanding the rights of undocumented workers already living in the U.S., but also making fundamental changes in the out-dated U.S. immigration policy. It’s time that all people working, living and studying in the U.S. had their basic human rights met.

For more information on the FREEDOM Act:

The Farm Labor Organizing Committee
www.floc.com

National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty of
Undocumented Immigrants
www.dignityandamnesty.org

Corina Marshall is a member of the YCL National Council and a student at Loyola University