BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
AJR 37 (De Leon)
As Amended April 29, 2010
Hearing Date: June 10, 2010
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
KB:jd
SUBJECT
Immigration
DESCRIPTION
This measure, sponsored by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant
Rights of Los Angeles, would specify principles for repairing
the nation's immigration system and would urge Congress and the
President of the United States to take a comprehensive and
workable approach to improving the nation's immigration system
using those principles.
BACKGROUND
Based on March 2008 data collected by the United States Census
Bureau, an estimated 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants live
in the United States, making up four percent of the nation's
population, and 5.4 percent of the nation's workforce. (See A
Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, Pew
Hispanic Center, April 14, 2009.) In California, unauthorized
workers constitute roughly ten percent of the labor force, and
are especially likely to hold low-skilled jobs. A third of the
children of unauthorized immigrants and a fifth of adult
unauthorized immigrants live in poverty, which is nearly double
the poverty rate for children of U.S. born parents or for U.S.
born adults. (Id.)
For many years, comprehensive immigration reform has been at the
forefront of national debate. This measure would urge Congress
and the President of the United States to take a comprehensive
and workable approach to improving the nation's immigration
system.
(more)
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CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
This resolution declares that the United States of America was
founded by immigrants who came from around the world seeking a
better life.
This resolution finds that the current immigration system is
broken, separates families, reduces the effectiveness of
national security programs, contributes to labor abuses, and
creates long backlogs for families seeking naturalization. This
resolution further finds that the current immigration system
neglects the hard work and financial contributions immigrants
make to our country.
This resolution finds that about 11 million undocumented
immigrants are in the United States; that California has one of
the biggest populations of immigrants, both legal and
undocumented; that immigrants and their children constitute
nearly one-half of California's population and contribute to
local economies; and, that approximately 77 percent of
undocumented immigrants that reside in California live with
family members that are legal United States residents and
citizens.
This resolution finds that one in eleven workers in California
is an undocumented immigrant, and immigrants are a vibrant,
productive, and vital part of the state's growing economy,
diverse cultural fabric, and changing demographics. This
resolution further finds that immigrant worker populations in
California are concentrated in a variety of sectors, including
leisure and hospitality, construction, food and agriculture,
service, transportation, and textile sectors.
This resolution declares that the integration of immigrants and
the development of a comprehensive approach to solve our broken
immigration system is critical to ensure that our state
continues to have a strong economy. This resolution further
declares that fixing our broken immigration system would have a
positive impact on the economy because moving workers out of a
vulnerable underground status produces both short-term and
long-term economic gains.
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This resolution finds that recent data released by the
University of California, Los Angeles, indicates that legalizing
the status of undocumented immigrants working and living in the
United States would create roughly $1.5 trillion in additional
GDP growth over 10 years, and increase wages for all workers.
This resolution further finds that a study released by the
University of Southern California estimates that the immediate
and long-term effects of enacting comprehensive immigration
reform would result in a $16 billion boost to California's
economy.
This resolution declares that modernizing our antiquated and
dysfunctional immigration system will uphold our Nation's basic
values of fairness, equal opportunity, and respect for the law.
This resolution declares that a comprehensive approach to solve
our broken immigration system, one that works for all
communities and families in America, should include the
following elements: 1) a plan for providing legal status with a
path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who are working
and living in the United States, which should include the AgJOBS
Act of 2009 and DREAM Act of 2009; 2) improvement of the
economic situation of all workers in the United States; 3) the
reform of visa programs in order to keep families together,
protect workers' rights, and ensure that future immigration is
regulated and controlled rather than illegal and chaotic; 4) the
implementation of smart, effective enforcement measures targeted
at the worst violators of immigration and labor laws; 5)
prioritizing immigrant integration into our communities and
country; and, 6) respect for the due process rights of everyone
in the United States.
This resolution urges the President and the Congress of the
United States to take a comprehensive and workable approach to
solving our Nation's broken immigration system, using the
foregoing principles.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author states:
In 2009, President Obama voiced his commitment to pursue
comprehensive immigration reform and take action on the matter
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in 2010. Unfortunately, partisan gridlock in Washington is
threatening to stall major reforms including overhauling our
current antiquated and dysfunctional immigration system.
Congress needs to create a sensible path to citizenship for
the millions of undocumented immigrants and create flexible
legal limits on future immigration that will uphold our
nation's basic values of fairness, equal opportunity, and
respect for the law. Comprehensive immigration reform would
help lay the foundation for robust, just and widespread
economic growth.
In support of this measure, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant
Rights of Los Angeles writes:
It is imperative for California to voice its support for
comprehensive immigration reform because a significant number
of its residents are undocumented and businesses in this state
are being affected by the lack of a legal workforce.
Our current immigration system is in peril and directly
affecting the growth of business in the United States and
California. While Congress has attempted to reform our broken
immigration system, the only policies that continue to be
implemented, thus far are enforcement-only policies. As a
result, employers are trying to mitigate potential damages to
their companies by hiring lawyers, accountants and other
professionals. Furthermore, employers that in good faith have
verified the employment eligibility of their workers, but are
audited and found to have hired unauthorized workers are faced
with stiff penalties. A more punitive approach towards
law-abiding employers could result in a decrease in the
nation's G.D.P. In addition, worksite enforcement outside of
a reformed immigration system has led to undocumented workers
being fired through I-9 audits, affecting business owners and
workers alike, and sending a chilling effect to local
economies already hurting from the State's budget crisis and
double-digit unemployment. Lastly, the current punitive
approach towards employers in a long-run would result in a
reduction of 2.2 [percent] in the total number of jobs by 2019
? [California's immigrants] contribute not only to its
diversity and its economy but also to its legacy as a state
welcoming of immigrants. The immigration enforcement
practices of the past administration, pursued to this day by
the Obama Administration, continue to tear California families
apart. Unprecedented numbers of immigrants are locked up in a
network of detention centers in the state, and a greater
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number are deported on a daily basis.
2. Resolution specifies principles to be used for
immigration reform
Pursuant to the United States Constitution, which grants the
federal government the power to establish a uniform Rule of
Nationalization and regulate commerce with foreign nations, the
federal government possesses the exclusive power to regulate
immigration. (U.S. Const., art. I, section 8, clauses 3 and 4;
see also LULAC v. Wilson, (1995) 908 F. Supp. 755, 786-87.)
Because the federal government bears the exclusive
responsibility for immigration matters, the states "can neither
add to nor take from the conditions lawfully imposed by Congress
upon admission, naturalization and residence of aliens in the
United States or the several states." (Takahashi v. Fish & Game
Commission, (1948) 334 U.S. 410, 419.)
This resolution would specify certain principles and would urge
the Congress and President to use these principles in developing
a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. These
principles include a plan for providing legal status with a path
to citizenship to undocumented immigrants working and living in
the United States, which should include the AgJOBS Act of 2009
and the DREAM Act of 2009. The AgJOBS Act of 2009 (S. 1038) is
sponsored by Dianne Feinstein and would improve agricultural job
opportunities, benefits, and security for immigrants. This bill
is currently pending in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee.
The DREAM Act of 2009 (S. 729) is sponsored by Senator Richard
Durbin and would provide undocumented students who graduate from
U.S. high schools, are of good moral character, arrived in the
U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at
least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity
to earn conditional permanent residency. This bill is currently
pending in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
This resolution further outlines the additional following
principles as the framework that should be used in developing a
plan for comprehensive immigration reform: (1) improvement of
the economic situation of all workers in the U.S.; (2) the
reform of visa programs; (3) the implementation of smart,
effective enforcement measures targeted at the worst violators
of immigration laws; (4) prioritizing immigrant integration in
our communities; and (5) respect for the due process rights of
everyone in the United States.
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3. Suggested technical amendment
In order to correct a typographical error, committee staff
suggests the following amendment:
On page 3, line 24 strike "plan"
Support : Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment;
Anti-Defamation League; California Immigrant Policy Center;
California Landscape Contractors Association; California
Partnership; California Teachers Association; Contra Costa
Interfaith Supporting Community Organization; Council on
American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Chapter; East
Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy; Japanese American
Citizens League, Pacific Southwest Division; Jewish Community
Relations Council; Los Angeles Metropolitan Hispanic Chambers of
Commerce; National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference;
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium; PUEBLO
Action Fund; Service Employees International Union
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Related Pending Legislation :
AJR 15 (De Leon) would urge the Congress of the United States to
include the Reuniting Families Act and the United American
Families Act in comprehensive immigration reform. This
resolution is currently pending in the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
SJR 19 (Cedillo) would condemn specified policies and practices
of federal agencies regarding the enforcement of immigration
laws, and urges Congress and the President of the United States
to declare an immediate moratorium on those policies and
practices until a comprehensive reform of immigration laws is
enacted and implemented. This resolution is currently pending
in the Assembly.
SCR 108 (Harman) would exhort the Congress and President of the
United States to exhibit responsible leadership by enacting
comprehensive immigration reform; develop a fair, purposeful
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immigration reform solution that controls the country's borders
and the costs to state and local governments; preserve the
paramount importance of lawful immigration to our culture,
economy, and future; and balance the need for secure borders and
sound residency requirements with America's fundamental values.
This measure is currently pending in the Assembly.
Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote :
Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 6, Noes 2)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 44, Noes 25)
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