Remarking on CIR

As I’ve mentioned a few times in recent posts, the conventional wisdom in Washington is that the best chance for the ENRSA is for the ENSRA to be written into the forthcoming CIR and then CIR to be passed.  

 

 

Whether ENSRA eventually written into the CIR is an open question at this time and likely will not be decided until CIR looks like it will eventually be passed.  At this point, the best that we can do is monitor the progress of  CIR.  Recently several high ranking politicians, including the President, have ventured their guesses on the likelihood of CIR.

 

 

On Wednesday Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is the Chair of Immigration Subcommittee and has always taken a leading role in immigration matters spoke to the 6th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference Migration Policy Institute.  In all, Schumer announced seven principles that he said would form the basis for the legislation he intends to introduce by the fall:

 

1.  Illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.

2.  Operational control of our borders--through significant additional increases in infrastructure, technology, and border personnel--must be achieved within a year of enactment of legislation.

3.  A biometric-based employer verification system—with tough enforcement and auditing—is necessary to significantly diminish the job magnet that attracts illegal aliens to the United States and to provide certainty and simplicity for employers.

4.  All illegal aliens present in the United States on the date of enactment of our bill must quickly register their presence with the United States Government—and submit to a rigorous process of converting to legal status and earning a path to citizenship—or face imminent deportation.

5.  Family reunification is a cornerstone value of our immigration system.  By dramatically reducing illegal immigration, we can create more room for both family immigration and employment-based immigration.

6.  We must encourage the world’s best and brightest individuals to come to the United States and create the new technologies and businesses that will employ countless American workers, but must discourage businesses from using our immigration laws as a means to obtain temporary and less-expensive foreign labor to replace capable American workers; and finally

7.  We must create a system that converts the current flow of unskilled illegal immigrants into the United States into a more manageable and controlled flow of legal immigrants who can be absorbed by our economy.

President Obama also held a meeting with leading Congress and Senatorial leaders.  The President’s remarks tended to focus on an enhanced website by USCIS, although he reiterated that his office is “fully behind an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.  I have asked my Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano, to lead up a group that is going to be working with a leadership group from both the House and the Senate to start systematically working through these issues from the congressional leaders and those with the relevant jurisdiction.  What we've heard is through a process of regular order, they would like to work through these issues both in the House and in the Senate.” 

 

-Chris Musillo

Comments

[DogSoldier]

Thank you for the update. Being a facet of CIR is not the reason that visa retrogression is not being fixed. Visa Retrogression is not being fixed because a number of people want visa retrogression in place. To name a few, American nurses are happy with visa retrogression and so are hospitals. There exists today an unprecedented xenophobic backlash amongst American nurses and in hospital administrations against the immigration of the foreign educated nurse. Also many in our government are happy with visa retrogression because they are still smarting over our bases having been closed in the Philippines; and, they are unhappy with the diplomatic stance of India towards America.

[Analytic]

Politicians do not care about the people. They want to make the common people happy by saying that they are protecting their jobs when there is indeed a shortage for Nurses and Therapists.
Some people might argue that it is very difficult to find a Nurse job or a therapist job in New York city or for that matter a major city. Obviously that will be the case. Everybody wants to work in big cities for big money, but there are thousands vacancies out these city areas. No these people who argue do not want to take up those jobs to serve the people who live outside the cities and are opposing the 2536. This is complete double standards.
How long will prospective and well qualified nurses/therapists wait. CIR will take a long time and it's imperative that it's attached to the Health Care Bill by July/August; otherwise it will be another never ending process and the sad part is that the common people do not even realize that they are being affected by this negatively and it's affecting quality Health Care.

Thanks for the time.

[Kavitha]

It looks like that the CIR will not be passed until 2011 (the bill will not be taken up in 2010 due to election, as many says).

Is there no chance for ENSRA to be attached to some other important bill like healthcare reform if the politicians are aware that there is no chance for CIR this year.

[analytical]

Hi chris
Do you have any idea when will health care reform bill be introduced? Is there any chances of attaching our long waited ENSRA bill?
Thanks

[Analytic]

Hi Chris,
Thanks a ton for all your updates. Couple of questions though:
1. Estimate when the CIR will be introduced? Approx. time duration for it to reach the President if approved.
2. Chances of ENSRA being successfully voted when part of CIR?

It will be of great help if you can throw some light on these.

Thanks

[analytic]

I don't agree when you say that nursing problem as been temporarily solved. Did you grow new nurses in 3 months..if yes, they better not take care of patients.

[abc123]

Hi Chris, Irrespective of CIR, How do you feel is the support for our bill? Especially in these recessionary times where we keep hearing that the nursing shortage have been temporarily solved. Will ENSRA still be considered as an emergency solution by the legislators? Compared to 2008, are our chances brighter?