Rogers resident Leonel Salazar, born in Mexico, works legally in the United States but just barely.
Salazar said for about 20 years he’s paid attorneys thousands of dollars annually to help him stay as a temporary worker.
“I have to pay for the right to work,” he said.
He’s among hundreds of thousands of immigrants in Arkansas and millions in the United States keeping an eye on an 844-page piece of federal legislation filed in the Senate to reform the country’s immigration system.
The proposed legislation addresses changes to border security, stronger requirements for employers to verify residency status of potential applicants, changes to visa systems and a process to legalize people living in the country illegally.
Arkansas has between 136,000 and 146,000 immigrants, according to a report published earlier this year by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark, said Thursday the system must be fixed.
“The American people deserve thoughtful consideration on any proposals before important decisions are made that will affect future citizens,” Boozman said. “With a bill that is several hundred pages long, that will require more time.”
Salazar, a 38-year-old construction worker, said he could be running out of time.
He was nearly deported this year because he’s been convicted of several misdemeanors, he said. He’s paying attorneys to get those convictions in other states expunged, he said.
He hopes for quick passage of the immigration bill. His children and sisters are citizens, he said. His mother is a permanent resident, he said.
“Between now and when and if anything passes, people are still subject to deportation,” said Elizabeth Young, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Arkansas. “It’s not going to stop anything right now.”
One way to stop deportation is by filing a petition available to individuals who have U.S. citizen relatives and who can also show extreme hardship, Young said. However, she said a judge rarely grants those petitions.
Salazar is authorized to work in the country because his parents immigrated to Texas in 1987 when he was 11.
At 18, he was placed on what he was told would be a 15-year waiting list for permanent residency. He would have waited about two years for the same residency status had his mom applied a few years earlier, he said.
He’s still waiting.
Now, he said he’s waiting for a visa and must renew what’s essentially a work permit, known as an I-817.
“It’s set up for people who are waiting for a visa that they applied for a long time ago,” Young said.
The Senate bill would change the number of visas family members can request, reducing the backlog and putting applicants in a quicker line, Young said. Salazar would receive his visa a lot quicker, she said.
“We are a nation of immigrants and must remain welcoming to those who want to achieve the American Dream,” said Boozman, of Rogers. “However, it is vital that we enforce the law and ensure the safety and security of our nation.”
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., declined to comment about the legislation until he’s had more time to study the bill, his press secretary said.
The Rockefeller report shows 42 percent of Arkansas’ immigrant population are in the country illegally.
The Senate bill provides a 10-year path to permanent residency for illegal immigrants followed by another three years toward citizenship. An illegal immigrant who qualifies would be classified as a “registered provisional immigrant,” according to the bill.
The general requirements to achieve provisional status include an applicant have no felony convictions, or no more than three misdemeanors, according to an analysis of the bill by the Migration Policy Institute, an independent think tank in Washington.
At A Glance w/logo
Immigration Reform
Eight U.S. senators filed an 844-page bill this month for comprehensive immigration reform. Components related to the U.S. border with Mexico include:
• A requirement for the Department of Homeland Security to develop a southern border strategy to achieve and maintain “effective control” of illegal immigration in high-risk areas with $3 billion for implementation,
• A southern border fencing strategy to identify where fencing, infrastructure and technology should be deployed with $1.5 billion for implementation,
• Provides the National Guard to set up bases for the use of unmanned aircraft 24 hours per day, more “forward operating bases,” strengthen helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft fleet and increase patrols on horseback.
Source: Migration Policy Institute
The applicant must have been in the country before 2012 and must show no taxes owed to the government. Provisional immigrants would need to renew after six years and show they earn more than the poverty level. The bill gives exceptions to people older than 60 or younger than 21, according to the institute.
“The idea that we should reward people who are violating the law with a shortcut to citizenship is not the right policy,” Boozman said. “I will not support any provision that allows amnesty.”
Mireya Reith is the executive director of the Arkansas United Community Coalition, an immigrant advocacy group. She was recognized at the White House by the president this year as a promising advocate for immigration reform.
“This bill is not perfect,” Reith said. “It’s a tough bill, but we are optimistic we are closer than ever to making history with a new road map to citizenship for 11 million new Americans.”