At the end of last week, the US Senate approved by a majority vote a draft of a new immigration law. 62 senators voted for the bill, which on the one hand provides for strengthening the fight against illegal immigrants, and on the other hand gives the opportunity to legalize the stay in the United States of those foreigners who have illegally lived in the United States for more than five years. 36 members of the Senate voted against, reports the Associated Press.
According to statistics, of the more than 6 million Mexicans who illegally cross the American border every year, only 1 million can be deported. The new law provides for the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border. It will be a three-row concrete fence stretching 600 km and 800 km of barriers for motor vehicles. Currently, the US National Guard is guarding the border, and in some places a metal mesh has been installed. According to the bill, additional units will be brought in to guard the border.
As for those who have already crossed the US border, they will be divided into three categories. Those who arrived in the US less than two years ago will be deported to their home countries. Those who have lived in the country from 2 to 5 years will be required to obtain a temporary work permit. And immigrants who have worked in the United States for more than 5 years will be able to apply for US citizenship.
However, the bill approved by the Senate is not final. It still has to be reconciled with a much stricter version proposed by the House of Representatives. The second version is aimed exclusively at strengthening the border and deporting all illegal immigrants from the US. It provides for criminal liability for foreigners living in the US without documents.
If this provision of the bill is approved, 11-12 million people who do not have legal status in the US, but who work and pay taxes totaling about $7 billion a year, would automatically become criminals. This project caused mass strikes and street protests by immigrants in early May. About 1.5 million people took part in the actions, showing that immigrants have become a large economic force in the US, if not a political one. According to the organizers' plan, the newcomers were supposed to skip work, schools and colleges, cinemas, theaters, shops, and restaurants. Florida suffered the most from the boycott: most of the construction workers and nannies looking after children, as well as nurses in state hospitals, are migrants from Latin American countries, primarily Mexico. Houston also faced serious problems. Many offices and enterprises in the city, whose Spanish-speaking residents make up 37% of the population, did not open at all. According to observers, it was these actions that forced the Senate to block the most stringent provisions of the new bill, in particular the introduction of criminal liability.
Opponents of the "soft" version call it a "general amnesty". However, even if the bill is eventually passed in its current form, it will seriously hurt illegal immigrants. Even those who have lived in the US for more than five years will have to pay at least $3,250 in fines and back taxes, as well as pass an English language test. In addition, the police will check each of them for criminal connections and previously committed criminal offenses.