Planos para una eventual reforma migratoria. Casa Blanca

7/30/2019 Planos para una eventual reforma migratoria. Casa Blanca.

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M AY 2 0 11

BUILDING A 21 S CEN URY IMMIGRA ION SYS EM


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able o Contents

I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

II. Building on Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Dedicating Unprecedented Resources to Secure the Border. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Making Interior and Worksite En orcement Smarter and More E ective . . . . . . . . . . 7

Improving Our Legal Immigration System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

III. The Economic Imperative or Immigration Re orm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Immigrants are Job Creators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Immigrants are Tax Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

IV. Responsibility o the Federal Government to Secure our Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

V. Accountability or Businesses that Break the Law by Undermining American Workersand Exploiting Undocumented Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

VI . Strengthening Our Economic Competitiveness by Creating a Legal ImmigrationSystem that Re ects Our Values and Meets Our Diverse Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

VII. Responsibility rom People who are Living in the United States Illegally . . . . . . . . . 27

VIII. Call to Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29


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Building a 21 st Century Immigration System 1

I. Introduction

We are the rst nation to be ounded or the sake o an ideathe ideathat each o us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. Tats why centuries o pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to comehereTe uture is ours to win. But to get there, we cannot stand still.

President Obama, January 25, 2011

Nearly every American amily has their own immigration story. Generations o immigrants braved hard-ship and great risk to reach our shores in search o a better li e or themselves and their amilies. Theirnames and actions may not have made it into history books, but they were essential to building thiscountry. Indeed, this constant ow o immigrants has helped make America what it is today. The countrythey built is a nation o immigrants and a nation o laws, a legacy that shapes the Administrations vision

or a 21st century immigration system.

The United States reaps numerous and signi cant economic rewards because we remain a magnet or

the best, brightest, and most hardworking rom across the globe. Many travel here in the hopes o beinga part o an American culture o entrepreneurship and ingenuity, and by doing so strengthen and enrichthat culture and in turn create jobs or American workers. From U.S. Steel to Google, Inc., immigrantshave long helped America lead the world.


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2 Building a 21 st Century Immigration System

Immigrants also proudly and honorably de ended the nation in our armed orces rom the RevolutionaryWar to our current con licts. Today, there are more than 114,000 oreign-born active-duty servicemembers, representing nearly 8 percent o all military personnel. People like Perla Ramos, who cameto America in those rst terrible days a ter 9/11 and joined the U.S. Navy, are helping to write the nextchapter o our history. It was during that same period o national mourning that we set a goal o rebuild-ing the Pentagon in less than a year. Thousands o workers, many Hispanic immigrants who escapedcivil stri e in their home countries, worked to show the world, I you knock America down, we will getright back up. They rebuilt the Pentagon ahead o our ambitious schedule.

In his State o the Union Address, the President laid out his vision or winning the uture. To secureprosperity or all Americans, we must out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest o the world,and xing our broken immigration system plays an important part in our plan. As we work to rebuildthe economy, our ability to thrive depends, in part, on restoring responsibility and accountability to ourimmigration system.

The President takes seriously his responsibility to en orce our immigration laws. Over the last twoyears, the Obama Administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to secure our borders, taken

important steps to make our interior and worksite en orcement smarter and more e ective, and madeimprovements to the legal immigration system. But we cannot solve the problems with our brokenimmigration system through en orcement alone.


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Over the years, many have attempted to con ront this challenge, but passions are great and disagree-ments run deep. The President knows that this work will not be easy, but the American people demandand deserve a solution. They deserve a 21 st century immigration system that meets our economic andnational security imperatives and that upholds Americas proud tradition as a nation o laws and a nationo immigrants. They need Democrats, Republicans and Independents to come together to accomplishthis critical task.

Today, President Obama reiterated his deep commitment to xing the broken immigration system andoutlined his vision or a 21 st century immigration policy:

Responsibility by the ederal government to secure our borders: Today, our borders aremore secure than at any time in the past several decades and the Administration continues tore ne and strengthen its strategy. En orcement resources should be ocused on preventingthose who would do our nation harm rom entering our country.

Accountability or businesses that break the law by undermining American workers andexploiting undocumented workers: Employers who deliberately hire and exploit undocu-mented workers must be held accountable. At the same time, we must give employers whowant to play by the rules a reliable way to veri y that their employees are here legally.

Strengthening our economic competiveness by creating a legal immigration systemthat re ects our values and diverse needs: Our immigration laws should continue to reuni y

amilies and encourage individuals we train in our world-class institutions to stay and developnew technologies and industries in the United States rather than abroad. The law should stoppunishing innocent young people whose parents brought them here illegally and give thoseyoung men and women a chance to stay in this country i they serve in the military or pursuehigher education. A smart 21 st century system should also provide armers a legal way to hire

the workers they rely on year a ter year, and it should improve procedures or employers whoseek to hire oreign workers or jobs i U.S. workers are not available.

Responsibility rom people who are living in the United States illegally: Those people livinghere illegally must also be held accountable or their actions and get on the right side o the lawby registering and undergoing national security and criminal background checks, paying taxesand a penalty, and learning English be ore they can get in line to become eligible or citizenship.Being a citizen o this country comes not only with rights but also with undamental responsibili-ties. We can create a pathway or legal status that is air and re ects our values.

What ollows is an update on the progress we have made in securing our borders, en orcing our laws, andimproving our immigration system, a summary o the economic bene ts o our proposed immigrationre orms, and an outline o the challenges we must tackle and the solutions we must implement i weare to build a 21 st century immigration system.


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II. Building on Progress

Over the last two years, the Obama Administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to securethe border, taken important steps to make the en orcement o our interior and worksite immigrationlaws smarter and more e ective, and made improvements to the legal immigration system. Our e orts

have been enormously success ul, but we need comprehensive re orm that demands responsibilityand accountability rom the government, businesses, and immigrants themselves. We cannot solvethis problem through en orcement alone; in act, many important improvements to our immigrationsystem can only be accomplished through legislative action.

Dedicating Unprecedented Resources to Secure the Border The Obama Administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to securing our borders, which isimportant or the sa ety and security o our nation as well as legitimate trade and tourism.

Putting more boots on the ground: Today, the Border Patrol is better sta ed than at any

time in its 87-year history, having doubled the number o agents rom approximately 10,000 in2004 to more than 20,700 in 2010.

Increasing investigative resources: Immigration and Customs En orcement (ICE), theDepartment o Homeland Securitys (DHS) investigative arm, has increased the number o

ederal agents deployed on the Southwest border. Currently a quarter o all ICE personnel are inthe Southwest border regionthe most ever. These additional personnel are working alongsidethe Department o Justice (DOJ) to identi y, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations, to
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acilitate cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law en orcement authorities on investigationsand en orcement operations, and to track and prevent cartel violence.

Stepping up surveillance: For the rst time, DHS unmanned aerial capabilities now coverthe Southwest border all the way rom Cali ornia to Texas providing critical aerial surveillance

assistance to personnel on the ground. DHS has also completed 649 miles o encing out o nearly 652 miles planned, including 299 miles o vehicle barriers and 350 miles o pedestrian

ence, with the remaining 3 miles scheduled to be completed.

Working with Mexico: The Administration is working with the Government o Mexico to disruptthe transnational criminal organizations that trafc illicit drugs, weapons, and bulk cash, andthe interdiction o illicit weapons. These unparalleled e orts have yielded real results. Over thepast two and a hal years, DHS seized 75 percent more currency, 31 percent more drugs, and64 percent more weapons along the Southwest border compared to two and a hal years o the previous administration.

Working with Canada: The Administration is working with Canada to enhance joint lawen orcement e orts and bolster cross-border security operations. Through the ShipriderAgreement the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP, and ICE are able tocross-train, share resources and personnel, and utilize each others vessels in the waters o bothcountries. These organizations and other ederal partners have also continued to collaboratethrough Integrated Border En orcement Teams, which work to identi y, investigate, and interdictindividuals and organizations that may pose a threat to national security or are engaged inorganized criminal activity along the Northern border.

Improvements to the Northern Border: Over the past two years, we have invested in addi-tional Border Patrol agents, technology, and in rastructure. More than 2,200 Border Patrol

agents man the Northern border, a 700 percent increase since 9/11. Nearly 3,800 CBP Ofcersmanage the ow o people and goods across Northern ports o entry and crossings. We aremodernizing more than 35 land ports o entry to meet our security and operational needs. Wehave also deployed new technology, including thermal camera systems, mobile surveillancesystems, and remote video surveillance systems.

Promoting economic prosperity along the border: The Obama Administration has madegreat strides in ensuring that legal trade and travel ows across our borders as quickly as possibleby updating in rastructure, reducing wait times, and increasing security. The Administration hasexpanded the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) trusted shipper programto speed up trade while and ensuring national security. These e orts have proven e ective: in

FY 10 U.S. exports o goods to Mexico totaled $163.3 billion, an increase o 27 percent over FY 09.


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Increasing community outreach: CBP is implementing a national Border Community LiaisonProgram in each o the 20 Border Patrol Sectors and the Border Patrol Academy. These liaisonswill ocus primarily on outreach with community groups and will help law en orcement under-stand the views and concerns o individuals living in border towns.

Fewer people attempt to illegally cross our borders: Apprehensions o illegal aliens decreased

rom nearly 724,000 in FY 08 to approximately 463,000 in FY 10, a 36 percent reduction, indicat-ing ewer people are attempting to illegally cross the border. We must continue our e orts tosecure the border and protect communities in the Southwest so that these trends continue.

Making Interior and Worksite En orcement Smarter and More Efective The Obama Administration has taken critical steps to make interior and worksite en orcement smarter,more e ective, and more consistent with our countrys best values by prioritizing the removal o immi-grants convicted o crimes and penalizing employers who abuse or exploit workers.

Setting immigration en orcement priorities: Under the Obama Administration, ICE has

developed or the rst time since its establishment priorities or immigration en orcement inthe interior. In August 2010, ICE issued clear guidance on its civil en orcement priorities, whichre ect a ocus on the removal o individuals who pose a danger to national security or publicsa ety, with a particular ocus on convicted criminals, as well as the removal o recent borderviolators, those who have been previously deported, and ugitives. As a result, the deportationo aliens with criminal records increased by more than 70 percent in 2010 as compared to 2008.
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Creating a more humane detention system: DHS has also invested in implementingcritical re orms to the detention system that enhance security and efciency while prioritizingthe health and sa ety o detainees. A concrete example is the Online Detainee Locator System ,a public, Internet-based tool designed to assist amily members, attorneys, and other interestedparties in locating individuals in DHS custody.

Victims o crimes: DHS is working to ensure that victims o trafcking and other crimes haveaccess to immigration relie in the orm o T and U visas. These visas are available to victims whoaid ederal, state, and local law en orcement ofcials in criminal investigations. In FY 10, DHSapproved 796 T visas or trafcking victims and their amily membersthe highest number todate and a 36 percent increase over the prior scal year. In FY 10, the 10,000 statutory cap onU visas was reached or the rst time- in part because o DHSs work actively promoting aware-ness and appropriate use o these visas. The Department o Labor will also be using the U visaprogram or immigrants who assist in their investigations o abusive employers.

New worksite en orcement strategy: In April 2009, DHS launched a new worksite en orce-ment strategy designed to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and who

are involved in related crimes such as trafcking, smuggling, harboring, document raud, andmoney laundering. DHS has implemented this strategy through robust use o audits o employ-ment veri cation records, civil nes and debarment, and by promoting compliance tools. SinceJanuary 2009, ICE has audited more than 4,600 employers suspected o hiring illegal labor,debarred 317 companies and individuals, and imposed approximately $61 million in nancialsanctionsmore than the total amount o audits and debarments than during the entire previ-ous administration.
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Making compliance clearer: The Obama Administration has taken steps to make the employ-ment eligibility program clearer and make it simpler or employers to comply with the law.For example, the Administration has made it quicker and easier or employers to con rm adocuments authenticity by issuing nal guidance on which documents employers can acceptto veri y employment eligibility. DHS has also issued a new handbook that walks employersthrough the I-9 employment veri cation system and provides clear guidance to ensure theycomply with the law and protect their employees civil rights.

Piloting programs or workers to correct their records: The Administration has piloted anew voluntary, ree, ast, and secure E-Veri y Sel Check Programwhich allows individuals inthe United States to access their employment eligibility status and make corrections to theirrecords, i necessary, be ore applying or jobs.

Proactively protecting workers and their civil rights: DHS has produced training videos tohelp in orm employees o their rights and responsibilities and established a hotline or employ-ees to le complaints about E-Veri y misuse or discrimination, which is accessible in 34 lan-

guages. In addition, to address potential concerns, DHS has entered into a new agreement withDOJ to streamline the process or addressing potential cases o discrimination and misuse o the E-Veri y program.

Improving Our Legal Immigration System Better serving legal immigrants, employers, and others: United States Citizenship and

Immigration Service (USCIS) has improved its responsiveness to the individuals and amilies whorely on it or in ormation and services. In 2009, USCIS launched an updated website that includesa new Spanish version and an online tool that allows individuals, or the rst time ever, to get

updates on their citizenship and other applications online or via text message. USCIS has alsomade progress in improving processing times and clearing backlogs o pending applications.In addition, USCIS has partnered with DOJ to ully eliminate the backlog or the FBI NationalName Check Program.

Citizenship or military amilies: Since January 2009, USCIS has also worked with theArmed Forces to naturalize over 20,000 military personnel. DHS is working to ensure that themilitary community has accurate and up-to-date in ormation about immigration services andbene ts, and USCIS has established a military assistance team to carry out this goal.

Reducing barriers or high-skilled immigrants: Within DHS, USCIS has already beguninitial steps to reduce barriers or high-skilled immigrants by identi ying and reducingundue immigration barriers aced by oreign-born entrepreneurs. USCIS has committed toimproving reviews o visa applications or sel - unded entrepreneurs using the EB-5 visa. USCIShas also proposed changes to the H-1B program that could save U.S. businesses more than $23million over the next 10 years by establishing an advance registration process or U.S. employersseeking to le H-1B petitions or oreign workers in specialty occupations.
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Providing new tools to prepare applicants or citizenship: USCIS launched a newCitizenship Resource Center that centralizes citizenship resources or immigrants, educators,and organizations to help users better understand the naturalization process. In 2010, USCISlaunched quarterly public engagements in multiple languages, ocusing on speci c immigra-tion and citizenship topics and including live question-and-answer sessions with USCIS ofcials.

Supporting eforts to integrate immigrants: The President has devoted critical unding tosupport citizenship preparation and integration programs in communities throughout thecountry. In 2010, USCIS awarded close to $8 million in new grant unding to organizations in 27states, and expects to award grant unding to additional communities in 2011.

Improving customer service: USCIS has improved customer service by implementing a newSecure Mail Initiative to improve their delivery o immigration documents in a sa e, secure,and timely manner. This allows customers to stay up-to-date on the delivery status o theirdocuments and allows USCIS to con rm that these essential documents were delivered to theproper address.

Improving the immigration courts: DOJ has taken signi icant steps to improve theimmigration adjudication system . For example, DOJ has invested in increasing the number o immigration judges and support sta to manage the increasing caseload. DOJ also improvedtraining and mentoring programs to ensure judges are ready to hear cases airly and promptly.Furthermore, DOJ has expanded the Legal Orientation Program to more locations in order toprovide more assistance to immigrants in removal proceedings. Finally, DOJ, together withother agencies, is exploring ways to improve the quality o legal representation or immigrants

acing removal rom the United States, by both taking steps against unscrupulous persons whoseek to de raud immigrants and expanding the capacity o legitimate organizations to ll thedemand or legal services.

Helping re ugees: The Obama Administration is committed to maintaining a robust re ugeeadmissions programa longstanding and important component o Americas overall e ortto support vulnerable people around the world. The Administration has moved to address theunique challenges and barriers that re ugees ace by:

Improving re ugee health by increasing medical screening, providing new mental healthresources, updating the manual or re ugees with disabilities, and ensuring that re ugeesare eligible or coverage under the A ordable Care Act,

Conducting comprehensive on-going reviews o the United States Re ugee Admissions,Re ugee Social Service, and Targeted Assistance Formula Grant Programs in order to betterserve re ugees and the communities in which they resettle; and

Meeting regularly with stakeholders and service providers to understand re ugee needs andsupporting ederal grant programs that help local organizations serve re ugee communities.
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III. Te Economic Imperative or Immigration Re orm

According to recent estimates, immigrants now comprise more than 12 percent o the American population .

Like every generation that came be ore them, todays immigrants bring an entrepreneurial spirit andhave unique and important skills that can provide signi cant bene ts to the U.S. economy.

Immigrants are Job CreatorsImmigrants are entrepreneurial and create jobs in the United States. Immigrants started 25 percent o the highest-growth companies between 1990 and 2005, and these companies directly employ anestimated 220,000 people inside the United States. These immigrant- ounded companies include Intel,Google, Yahoo, and eBay, which have all helped drive American leadership in the computer and Internetrevolutions and have stimulated business and job creation throughout our economy. These immigrantsgive the U.S. work orce an important competitive advantage.

Research shows that immigrants are more likely than U.S. born workers to start new businesses andare among the most proli c inventors in the American economy, generating ideas that lead to newproducts and more jobs in many sectors including pharmaceuticals and in ormation technology. It isin our national interest to encourage people with great ideas to create new businesses, industries, andquality jobs in the United States.
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Immigrants are nearly 30 percent more likely to start a business than are non-immigrants, and theyrepresent 16.7 percent o all new business owners in the United States. Immigrant business ownersmake signi cant contributions to business income. According to the latest estimates by the SmallBusiness Administration, immigrant business owners generate $67 billion o the $577 billion in U.S.business income. In addition, immigrants contributions through job creation span di erent sectorso the economy. In act, immigrants own a large share- more than one- th- o businesses in our arts,entertainments, and recreation industries. They also make signi cant contributions to our transporta-tion, wholesale trade, and retail trade industries.

ADuke University study estimated that rom 1998 to 2006, the share o patent applications rom oreignborn nationals residing in the U.S. rose rom 7.3 percent to 24.2 percent. Recent research highlights thatin the 1990s alone, skilled immigrants helped boost GDP per capita by between 1.4 percent and 2.4percent. Currently, immigrants represent 24 percent o U.S. scientists and 47 percent o U.S. engineerswith bachelor or doctorate degrees. These workers are already making important contributions to theeconomy. Moreover, oreign-born students studying in our universities have the potential to make

signi cant contributions to our uture economic growth i they could stay and work in the U.S. a ter theygraduate. Exporting this talent to other countries is not in our economic interest.

Immigrants are Tax ContributorsImmigrants help address other scal challenges by paying their air share o taxes. Studies consistentlysuggest that immigrants contribute more in tax revenue than they use in services.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Ofce (CBO) estimated that last years DREAM Act, whichwould help keep educated young people in the U.S. who were brought here by their parentsas children, grew up in our country, and who know no other home, would reduce the de cit by

$1.4 billion over the next 10 years, because o increased tax revenues. A 2007 cost estimate by the CBO ound that a path to legalization or unauthorized immigrants

would increase ederal revenues by $48 billion but would only incur $23 billion in increasedcosts rom public services, producing a surplus o $25 billion or government co ers.

In 2006, the CBOestimated that immigration re orm would cause more money to be collected innew revenues than would be spent on social programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,and ood stamps. The increase in tax revenues would outweigh the costs in social spending bymore than $12 billion dollars over a 10-year period. The positive e ects would likely continuepast the 10 year budget window, making $12 billion a lower-bound estimate o the totallong-term gain rom immigration. Under the high investment assumption, CBO estimates thatenacting the bill would increase GDP by 0.4 percent, on average, rom 2007 through 2011, andby 1.3 percent rom 2012 through 2016. Under the low investment assumption, CBO estimatesthat enacting the bill would increase GDP by 0.3 percent, on average, rom 2007 through 2011,and by 0.8 percent rom 2012 through 2016.
http://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://today.duke.edu/2007/01/engineerstudy.htmlhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/2001_2_bpea_papers/2001b_bpea_burda.pdfhttp://ndn.org/sites/default/files/blog_files/CBO%20estimate%20of%203992.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2010/09_immigration_greenstone_looney/09_immigration.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2010/09_immigration_greenstone_looney/09_immigration.pdfhttp://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/72xx/doc7208/s2611.pdfhttp://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/72xx/doc7208/s2611.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2010/09_immigration_greenstone_looney/09_immigration.pdfhttp://ndn.org/sites/default/files/blog_files/CBO%20estimate%20of%203992.pdfhttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/2001_2_bpea_papers/2001b_bpea_burda.pdfhttp://today.duke.edu/2007/01/engineerstudy.htmlhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdfhttp://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs334tot.pdf


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The new immigrant population is, on average, younger than the native born population. Thus, oreign-born workers increase the number o workers per retiree in the U.S., helping counter the scal e ectso an aging population.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that undocumented immigrants paid

almost $50 billion in ederal taxes between 1996-2003 . These taxes include payroll and Social Security(about $8.5 billion per year), property (directly, or as part o rental payments), and sales taxes. Nonetheless,about 40 percent o undocumented immigrants currently work o the books and consequently paylower taxes. Getting these undocumented workers on the books will increase both the taxes paid bythese workers and the taxes paid by their employers.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back1007.htmlhttp://www.immigration.procon.org/sourcefiles/hearingstaxillegals.pdfhttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Testimony-04-30-2009.pdfhttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Testimony-04-30-2009.pdfhttp://www.immigration.procon.org/sourcefiles/hearingstaxillegals.pdfhttp://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back1007.html


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IV. Responsibility o the Federal Government to Secure our Borders

Te southern border is more secure today than at any time in the past20 years. Tat doesnt mean we dont have more work to do. We have todo that work. But our borders are just too vast or us to be able to solvethe problem only with ences and border patrols. Tat wont work.

President Obama, July 1, 2010

The Challenge

Our borders are vast and expansive. As a result, we ace signi cant challenges in developing and main-taining the in rastructure, technology, and manpower necessary to secure them. In the last two years,the Obama Administration has made historic deployments o manpower, technology and in rastructureto help secure our Southwest border. These e ortsalong with the heroic work o our Border Patrol,CBP, ICE, and other ederal agentsare paying o and yielding important results.

Statistics also show that border communities are among the sa est cities in America . Crime rates in bordercommunities including Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have either remained
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at or allen in the past decade, even as drug-related violence has dramatically increased in Mexico. Inaddition, according to FBI Crime Index Statistics, the top our big cities in America with the lowest rateso violent crime are all in border statesSan Diego, Phoenix, El Paso, and Austin.

But despite our progress in combating transnational criminal organizations, we still have much work to

do to prevent these sophisticated criminal enterprises rom smuggling drugs, guns, cash, and peopleacross our borders. Every day we are able to prevent some but not all o their e orts. Every year thereare still hundreds who perish rom heat and lack o water or who su er abuse at the hands o humantrafcking organizations.

Our borders are critical ocal points and vibrant centers o international commerce and trade. FromSan Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX, the hundreds o billions o dollars o commerce crossing through theSouthwest border region each year support hundreds o thousands o good jobs at the border andthroughout the country. During 2010, U.S. exports o goods to Mexico totaled $163.3 billion, an increaseo 27 percent over 2009. Those exports are tied directly to American jobs.

El Paso provides an example o the economic opportunities that exist in the Southwest border region asa result o increased security. El Paso now has one o the lowest crime rates among big American cities,and the value o U.S. merchandise exports passing through its ports amounted to $29.2 billion during201048 percent higher than the previous year. We are seeing similar increases in trade in other placesacross the border, including at major ports near San Diego and Nogales.

We must have a true border security strategy. Its what we owe cities like El Paso. Its what we oweborder communities who nd themselves on the ront lines o this challenge. And its what we owe theAmerican people.

Principles or Moving ForwardWe must continue to maintain and enhance in rastructure, technology, and resources that increaseborder sa ety and security. Providing orderly entry at our borders will enhance our ability to apprehendillegal border crossers and dismantle drug trafcking and human smuggling operations.

Law en orcement must also have the tools it needs to continue e ectively identi ying and removingindividuals who pose a threat to public sa ety or national security. Prosecuting those who engage inimmigration raud and swi tly identi ying and removing visa overstayers and immigration violators willencourage law ul compliance with the new rules.

New ideas must be incorporated and should include tough but air procedures to crack down on illegalborder crossers, trafckers, smugglers and criminals, employers who hire illegal workers, and those who

overstay their visas. Removing obsolete provisions in the criminal law that have served as barriers toprosecution and restructuring penalties and sanctions will allow or maximum deterrent e ect.


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We must maintain strong partnerships and cooperation with our partners in Mexico in order to work together to secure both sides o the border and reduce crime and illegal activity. This means buildingborder en orcement teams that include ederalU.S. and Mexicanstate, local, and tribal en orcementagents working together on both sides o the border to crack down on smuggling and illegal trade.

We must also reduce the incentives or people to cross the border illegally by increasing interior andworkplace en orcement. In addition, re orming our legal immigration system to work more efcientlywill allow people more avenues to enter the U.S. legally.

Proposals or ChangeIn order to meet our responsibility to secure our borders, the President supports:

Continuing to invest in technological assets along the border, including unmanned aerialvehicles and surveillance technology programs;

Cracking down on misuse o passports and visas to commit raud, and signi cantly expandingcriminal penalties associated with such o enses;

Increasing existing penalties and sanctions, with particular emphasis paid to immigration-related criminal prosecution e orts;

Continuing to support border relie grants to help und state, local, and tribal agencies grapplingwith border issues;

Mandating increased civil rights and civil liberties training or Border Patrol ofcers;

Modi ying immigration processes so that DHS can quickly remove individuals who are willingto voluntarily leave the country; and

Addressing critical detention issues, including expanding the use o alternatives to detentionprograms.


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V. Accountability or Businesses that Break the Law by Undermining American Workers

and Exploiting Undocumented Workers

We cannot continue just to look the other way as a signi cant portiono our economy operates outside the law. It breeds abuse and badpractices. It punishes employers who act responsibly and undercuts American workers.

President Obama, July 1, 2010

The ChallengeCreating an e ective electronic employer veri cation system that ensures that only individuals who arelegally authorized to work are hired or jobs in the United States is a critical part o building a 21 st centuryimmigration system. An e ective system will allow us to hold businesses accountable or having a legalwork orce and ultimately decrease the job magnet that attracts most illegal immigration.


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The vast majority o employers want to comply with our immigration laws; however, many nd the exist-ing I-9 employment veri cation process con using and difcult to navigate. Today, our immigration lawsrequire employers to si t through a maze o documents and assess whether those documents are valid.Furthermore, the I-9 employment veri cation process has spawned a ourishing market o raudulentdocuments. In act, it is estimated that about three-quarters o unauthorized workers rely on raudulentdocuments to obtain employment.

The E-Veri y program, a voluntary internet-based system that compares employee in ormation withederal records to veri y a workers identity and eligibility, helps to prevent raud when in ormation on

these documents cannot be matched against ederal databases. Despite dramatic improvements inthe systems accuracy, E-Veri y sometimes incorrectly identi es authorized workers as ineligible to work and ails to detect raud since it cannot con rm whether the name and social security number actuallybelong to the hired worker.

Some unscrupulous employers capitalize on this uncertainty. They go through the motions o compli-ance without intending to obey the rules. It is difcult to hold them accountable because under thelaw they are not liable i their employees use realistic-looking alse documents. When we are able to

bring them to justice, many are willing to pay the small nes or violating the law, and some even actorit into their cost o business.

The uncertainty has also led some employers to discriminate against workers who they believe maybe illegal immigrants by either not hiring them or requiring them to go above and beyond legal work authorization requirements. At best, these businesses are trying to avoid trouble; but some employersmay use this con usion to deliberately discriminate against individuals. At a time when workers are
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struggling to make ends meet, this hurts those immigrants who are legally able to work and Americancitizens who get caught up in these unlaw ul practices. Immigrants are mothers and athers, sons anddaughters. They are our grand athers and were our ounding athers. They deserve the ull measure o dignity and respect owed to all workers. Allowing bad actors to exploit them also undermines Americanworkers and those businesses that are trying to play by the rules.

Employers should not have to si t through dozens o documents; they need a reliable way to veri y theiremployees are here legally. Workers who are seeking job opportunities should not have to worry about

acing discrimination during the hiring process. Most importantly, unscrupulous employers should notbe permitted to break the law and must be held accountable.

Principles or Moving ForwardSuccess ul immigration re orm demands that only individuals who are legally authorized to work behired or jobs in the United States. E ective worksite en orcement measures must result in swi t actionagainst those who hire illegal labor and exploit workers, including more stringent penalties or thosewho violate the law.

Employers must be equipped with reliable tools, such as mandatory electronic employment veri ca-tion that builds o o the existing E-Veri y system with improved raud detection to ensure that theiremployees are eligible to work in the United States. Such a system will trans orm hiring practices orthe 7.7 million employers across the country. The E-Veri y program has grown signi cantly in the pastseveral years, but is currently only used by 11 percent o American businesses.

The program should be phased-in to give smaller businesses the opportunity to invest in the equip-ment and training they need to participate. This approach will also give legal workers the opportunityto correct their records. Most importantly, this change must be accompanied by a legalization program

that allows unauthorized workers to get right with the law by registering and obtaining proper docu-mentation i they meet rigorous criteria such as undergoing background checks, including submitting

ngerprints to be checked against criminal and national security databases.

Just as employers need certainty, legal workers need a clearer process or quickly addressing errors thatresult in their work authorization not being con rmed. Finally, a 21 st century employment veri cationsystem must vigilantly work to protect against discriminatory hiring practices.

Proposals or ChangeIn order to hold businesses accountable that break the law by undermining American workers and

exploiting undocumented workers, the President supports:

Phasing in mandatory use o the E-Veri y system over a multi-year period in conjunction with aprogram that requires the undocumented population to get right with the law. Employers withmore than 1000 employees would be required to join the system rst, with additional phasesthat add more employers in succeeding years. Some small businesses could be exempt romusing E-Veri y system;


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Establishing a standardized process or efciently reviewing cases when the E-Veri y systemis unable to con rm a workers authorization status, giving employees prompt notice o theproblem and adequate time to correct their records. During this time, a worker would be allowedto continue working until ederal agencies have con rmed their work eligibility or until they gothrough the entire administrative appeals process in cases were ederal agencies have initiallystated the worker is unable to work. These workers would have to the right to seek judicialreview o their case;

Revising and expanding anti-discrimination provisions o immigration law and providing morecomprehensive anti-retaliation protections;

Increasing civil penalties or employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers, violate anti-discrimination provisions, and engage in retaliation against employees;

Providing a sa e harbor or employers who employ undocumented workers, i the E-Veri ysystem inaccurately con rmed their work authorization;

Improving administration and coordination between the Social Security Administration (SSA)and DHS, the two ederal agencies managing the E-Veri y system;

Providing clearer criminal provisions and more comprehensive penalties or raudulent use oracquisition o a Social Security card;

Continuing to improve Social Security cards to make them raud or wear-resistant. SSA wouldneed sufcient resources and time to prepare or a multi-year phased-in approach given theadditional work caused by expansion o the program. Additionally, any changes should not bepaid or by drawing rom SSA trust or bene t unds; and

Piloting the development o a biometric identi er that could be potentially used or employ-

ment veri cation in the uture.


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VI . Strengthening Our EconomicCompetitiveness by Creating a Legal

Immigration System that Refects Our Valuesand Meets Our Diverse Needs

We need an immigration policy that worksa policy that meets theneeds o amilies and businesses while honoring our tradition as a nationo immigrants and a nation o laws. We need it or the sake o oureconomy, we need it or our security, and we need it or our uture.

President Obama, September 15, 2010

The Challenge Throughout our history the United States has been enriched by a steady stream o hardworking andtalented people rom all over the world. These generations o immigrants with unique and importantskills have helped make America the engine o the global economy. Yet our existing policies provide


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limited avenues or talented and industrious individuals to work and reside in the U.S. For example, eachyear, we provide approximately 400,000 visas to oreign-born students seeking to enroll in U.S. collegesand universities, but then orce them to leave the country to compete against us when they graduate.In addition, it is difcult or talented entrepreneurs who wish to start companies and create jobs in theU.S. to enter and remain in the country.

Moreover, every year, some 65,000 high school students many who are star students and leadersin their communitiesare unable to go to college or join the military because they do not have legalstatus. It makes no sense to punish innocent young people or the actions o their parents by expellingthem rom our country. Many were brought here as young children and only discovered the truth abouttheir legal status as adults. They grew up as Americans. They pledge allegiance to our ag. I they aretrying to serve in our military or earn a degree, they are contributing to our uture. We should welcometheir contributions.

Today, there are very limited employment visas available to oreign workers needed in some vocationswhere there are not U.S. workers available. With so ew legal channels, the current employment visa

system virtually guarantees an illegal ow o undocumented workers. Both American and immigrantworkers su er rom this broken system. For example, too many o our nations armers are not sure theywill have enough armworkers to harvest their next crop. I American agriculture lost access to adequate

arm labor, it could cost the industry as much as $9 billion each year. Given the increasing uncertainty o their work orce, some American producers are closing their arms and opening up operations abroad.Farmers and other employers need a system that will reward them or playing by the rules, not punishthem or it. Family unity has always been a undamental cornerstone o Americas immigration policy,yet current immigration laws undermine this cherished value. Because o outdated amily-basedimmigration policies, American citizens and legal permanent residents must wait years to be reunitedwith their closest amily members. The gaps in our amily-based immigration visa system are clear and

apparent; they hamper the successes o immigrant amilies. Our laws must respect amilies ollowingthe rules instead o splitting them apart. Crucial re orms are needed to reuni y amilies, streamline ourprocesses and reduce the unnecessary paperwork, backlogs, and lack o transparency that hobble ourcurrent system.

There are also limited means or success ul oreign high-skilled workers to stay permanently and ullyintegrate into the U.S. as legal permanent residents, and eventually citizens. Recent research highlightsthat in the 1990s alone, skilled immigrants helped boost GDP by between 1.4 percent and 2.4 percent.We should allow these workers to stay and contribute to our economy.

Principles or Moving ForwardWe must make changes to our legal immigration system to meet our diverse needs. We should beencouraging top oreign talent in priority elds to stay in the U.S. a ter their post-graduate study atAmerican universities by allowing select graduate students to obtain a green card so they can contributeto the American economy, and become Americans over time, rather than compete against us. We mustalso stop punishing innocent young people or the actions o their parents by denying them the chanceto contribute their talents to build the country where they have grown up. The DREAM Act gives some o
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our nations best and brightest students a chance to earn their legal status i they meet certain require-ments, such as pursuing higher education or serving in the military. It should become the law o the land.

We should make it easier or the best and the brightest to come to the United States to start companiesand create jobs by providing a visa or immigrant entrepreneurs. These oreign-born entrepreneurs

would be eligible or a visa i a quali ed U.S. investor invests in their start-up company and eligible or apermanent green card i their company creates jobs and generates additional investment or revenue.Further, by addressing the backlogs in the employment based immigration system and re ormingcountry caps, we can better enable immigrants to contribute to our uture growth and competitiveness.Other critical re orms include targeted administrative actions to streamline access to visas or companiesand expanding opportunities or entrepreneurs and talented workers.

Our other employment visa programs must also be re ormed so they will contribute to the vitality o oureconomy. We must design a better system that provides legal channels or U.S. employers to hire needed

oreign workers. At the same time, this system must protect the wages and working conditions o U.S.workers. Employers must be required to pay oreign workers air wages and abide by our labor, health,

and sa ety laws, and only use them when U.S. workers are not available. Both native-born and oreignworkers deserve to compete on a level playing eld so that they do not undermine local economiesand American workers. All workers deserve the right to work with dignity under the ull protection o our labor laws.

One case in point is the agricultural sector. We need to re orm our current agriculture worker program bypassing and implementing the AgJOBS Act, which would provide arms a legal way to hire the workersthey rely on and a path or those workers to earn legal status.

And nally, we must re orm our amily-based immigration system to reunite amilies in a timely andhumane manner that is consistent with our treasured values.

Proposals or Change To strengthen our economic competitiveness and create a legal immigration system that meets ourdiverse needs, the President supports:

Encouraging oreign students to stay in the U.S. and contribute to our economy by stapling agreen card to the diplomas o science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), PhDsand select STEM Masters Degrees students so that they will stay, contribute to the Americaneconomy, and become Americans over time;

Passing targeted legislation, like the DREAM Act, that will allow the best and brightest young

people who were brought to the U.S. as minors through no ault o their own and who knowno other home, to earn a legal status a ter a rigorous and lengthy process that includes servingin the U.S. armed orces or pursuing a higher education or at least two years;

Creating a Start-Up Visa that would allow oreign entrepreneurs who receive nancing rom U.S.investors to come to the U.S. to start their businesses, and remain permanently i their companiescreate jobs or American workers and generate revenue;


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Making re orms to the existing employment- and amily-based immigration system, includingexempting immediate relatives o U.S. citizens rom annual caps placed on legal immigration,and changing the categories and per country caps put in place to ensure success ul high-skilledimmigrants are able to remain in the U.S. permanently and U.S. citizens and legal permanentresidents are able to reunite with their amilies more quickly;

Making changes to the H-2A temporary agriculture worker program that care ully balances theneeds o businesses and worker rights, which are encompassed in the AgJOBS bill;

Strengthening the H-1B visa program to ll the need or high-skilled workers when Americanemployees are not available, increase worker protections, and improve en orcement mecha-nisms, among other changes; and

Establishing a new, small, and targeted temporary worker program or lower skilled, non-seasonal, non-agricultural workers to be hired when no American worker is available. Employerswill have to go through a rigorous process to demonstrate their needs and workers would bea orded important labor protections, portability, and the ability to seek permanent residence. The program would need to have an initial annual limit.


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VII. Responsibility rom People who areLiving in the United States Illegally

People who are in America illegally have a responsibilityto pay theirback taxes and admit responsibility or breaking the law, pay a penalty,learn English, pass criminal background checks, and get right with thelawor ace removalbe ore they can get in line and eventually earntheir citizenship.

President Obama, April 23, 2010

The ChallengeOur national security and economic prosperity depend on knowing who resides in our country andcreating opportunities or them to join the legal economy. I millions o people lack legal status, all ourother en orcement e orts will be undermined.

Today, there are an estimated 10.8 million people living in the U.S. with no legal status. The overwhelm-ing majority o these men and women are simply seeking a better li e or themselves and their children.
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They work hard, they save, and they stay out o trouble. But because they live in the shadows, theyrevulnerable to unscrupulous businesses that pay them less than the minimum wage or violate workersa ety rules. This puts companies who ollow those rulesand American workers who rightly demandthe minimum wage or overtime payat an un air disadvantage.

These vulnerable immigrants are also more susceptible to crime, and o ten ail to report crimes com-mitted against them or others or ear that coming orward will lead to their deportation. This makesit harder or law en orcement ofcials to catch and punish violent criminals and keep neighborhoodssa e. Moreover, about 40 percent o undocumented immigrants currently work o the books and conse-quently pay lower taxes. Billions o dollars in tax revenue are lost each year because many undocumentedworkers are paid under the table.

Principles or Moving ForwardFixing our broken immigration system requires that we hold those living here illegally responsible or theiractions. They must be required to register and undergo national security and criminal background checks. They must also pay their taxes, pay a ne, and ully integrate into the United States by learning English.

They must get right with the law be ore they can get in line and earn their citizenshipnot just becauseit is air, not just because it will make clear to those who might wish to come to America they must doso inside the bounds o the law, but because this is how we demonstrate what being an Americanmeans. Being a citizen o this country comes not only with rights but also with certain undamentalresponsibilities. We can create a pathway or legal status that is air, re ective o our values, and works.

Proposals or ChangeIn order to hold accountable people who are living in the United States illegally, the President sup-ports the establishment o a legalization program that includes the ollowing:

Requiring illegal immigrants to register and submit to rigorous security check and veri cation o eligibility, including submitting their ngerprints or criminal and national security backgroundchecks;

Individuals convicted o crimes or otherwise deemed to be national security threats would notbe eligible to continue in the process;

Individuals will be required to pay a registration ee and a series o nes;

In order to move orward, individuals will have to learn English and basic American civics and

demonstrate that they paid any back taxes; A ter eight years, individuals will be allowed to become legal permanent residents, and could

eventually become citizens ve years a ter this;

Applicants currently waiting outside the country to become legal permanent residents, as islegally required, would be eligible to receive their visas be ore individuals in the legalizationprogram could apply or permanent residence. That is, illegal immigrants who complete all therequirements o the legalization program will have to go to the back o the line.


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VIII. Call to ActionOur task then is to make our national laws actually workto shapea system that refects our values as a nation o laws and a nation o immigrants. And that means being honest about the problem, and gettingpast the alse debates that divide the country rather than bring it together.

Winning the uture demands that our economy be built on an immigration system that works or our21 st century economic and security needs. We need meaning ul immigration re orm that demandsresponsibility and accountability rom the government, businesses, and immigrants themselves.

The President has reiterated his deep commitment to building a 21 st century immigration system. He has

called on Democrats and Republicans to come together and pass the re orms necessary or our nationalsecurity and our global competiveness. He has announced that the Administration will be meetingwith diverse leaders across the country to talk about the importance o this issue i we are going to outeducate, out innovate and out build the rest o the world. But the Administrations voice is not enough.

The President called on all Americans to work together to oster a constructive national conversationon immigration re orm that builds a bipartisan consensus and leads to legislative re orm. Today, theAdministration launched this call to action and announced a series o events that will be taking placearound the country that bring together Administration ofcials and leaders rom business, aith, labor,law en orcement, and immigrant communities:

May 11: Business, labor, law en orcement, and aith leaders join Senior Administration ofcialsor a con erence call to recap the Presidents speech and next steps.

May 12: Business leaders join U.S. Chie Technology Ofcer Aneesh Chopra and Administrationofcials in Omaha, Nebraska or a roundtable community conversation.

May 12: Steve Case, Founder and ormer CEO o AOL and chair o the Startup AmericaPartnership joins Senior Administration ofcials in a community conversation in Silicon Valley.

May 19: Asian American and Paci c Islander (AAPI) leaders join Secretary Solis on a nationalcon erence call.

May 31: The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber o Commerce hosts a roundtable with Secretary

o Labor Hilda Solis in Albuquerque, New Mexico.We encourage you, as community leaders, business leaders, aith leaders, and law en orcemento icials, to take action and join this conversation. Elevate the debate and share your story aboutwhy we need to ix the broken immigration system or the 21 st century economy. Please visit:www.whitehouse.gov/immigrationaction to learn more.
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Documents

Planos para una eventual reforma migratoria. Casa Blanca