eugenic immigration deal

Statement and action alert on the Senate's compromise immigration bill
Posted by: "Priscilla Huang" phuang@napawf.org huangpris
Fri May 18, 2007 10:10 am (PST)

Dear NAPAWF members and allies,

Yesterday, the Senate reached a deal on a compromise immigration bill. Although the proposal offers a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the process could take up to 13 years and would require the head of household to return to his or her home country and pay over $5,000 in fines and fees. The plan would also establish a temporary-worker program, but fails to offer a path to permanent legal residency for these workers.

The Senate "compromise" also includes a plan to replace most family-based immigration categories with a merit-based system that would award points based on educational achievement, technical work experience and English fluency. The proposal would eliminate adult children and sibling categories, and place a cap on the number of visas available for citizens to bring in their parents. This is a significant departure from our current system where family reunification has been a core value of the United States' immigration system since 1965.

NAPAWF is concerned that the plan will have an adverse impact on Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant women. Historically, family sponsored immigration has been a significant source of the Asian and Pacific Islander community's growth. Immigrant women in particular enter the United States through family-based visas at disproportionately higher rates than men. Clearly, Asian and Pacific Islander women have a strong stake in this debate. NAPAWF strongly believes that comprehensive immigration reform must preserve, and not eliminate, the country's current family-based categories for immigration.

It's not too late to act! The Senate is expected to bring the bill to the floor for debate next week. Our friends at the Asian American Justice Center and Asian Law Caucus have made it easy for you to tell your senators to preserve our family-based immigration system. See the action alerts below:

Protect Asian American Families:
Call Your Senator Today!