Amnesty for Who? -- Proposed Immigration Bill Leaves Many Skeptical ("Restrictions must be removed")

New American Media ^ | Jun 03, 2007 | Final Call, News Analysis, Charlene Muhammad

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In their statement regarding the proposed legislation, Chicago-based La Familia Latina Unida/Sin Fronteras, headed by Emma Lozano said that the bill was a “long time coming,” and recognizes that this nation needs the labor of those who are here without documents. However, the bill “It falls short in recognizing the dignity of the individual and the sanctity of the family: Values it proclaims as the foundation of the republic; It falls short in recognizing its own responsibility for the system of undocumented labor it has operated and benefited from for decades.”

Ms. Lozano’s organization also addressed the issue of whether the bill really does grant amnesty to the undocumented worker, or if this is just another method of exposing those who are in this country “illegally,” and heaping upon them unjust fines and actions. “Is it an amnesty? It is not an amnesty for the undocumented who will be subjected to probationary restrictions, arbitrary rules of exclusion, excessive fines and long waiting periods.

“It is an amnesty for the businesses who knowingly employed millions of undocumented workers, for the banks which loaned them money, for the I.R.S. and the Social Security Administration that knowingly took their taxes and for the millions of citizens who knowingly participated in the system in which these workers produced the wealth and benefits they enjoyed.

“The probationary period is too long, the fines are too high, and restrictions against those whose only violations of the law are related to work or to entry without inspection must be removed.”

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