Proposed Republican Immigration Bill - Dead on Arrival?

Republican Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) are taking the first steps toward their vision of immigration reform with the proposed "ACHIEVE Act" that would grant permanent residency to undocumented immigrants who pursue higher education or the military. What the "ACHIEVE Act" would not do is a grant a path to citizenship, a key criteria of many seeking immigration reform. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has indicated their disapproval of the bill saying it would "not achieve the DREAM" and it would be essentially granting "second-class legal status." A Democratic Senator dubbed the bill "dead on arrival." Under the proposed legislation, to be eligible for benefits under the "ACHIEVE Act", an applicant must have lived in the US for the past 5 years, entered the US before turning 14, be no older than 28, and have no criminal record.

While this is an interesting move by the Congressional Republicans, it is evident that the bill will not muster enough support from the Democrats in order to be viable. At least this is a small step in the right direction (lest we forget the past four years) toward comprehensive immigration reform.

"ACHIEVE Act" aside, Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrivals is alive and well; however, many of those eligible have not elected to apply for this program (perhaps fearing a Romney win in the Presidential Elections would doom the program). When the new numbers for "DACA" come out, it will interesting to see whether there has been an uptick in applications post-November 6.

And if you would like to learn more about the Deferred Action program (and still commonly referred to as the "DREAM Act", please visit www.kpimmigrationlaw.com or call 949-440-3240.