Reasoned Border Security Important—But It Won’t Fix Nation’s Immigration System

by Tula Connell, May 15, 2006

President Bush plans to announce deployment of the National Guard on the U.S.-Mexico border in a prime-time speech tonight.

But as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says, “Reasoned border security is important, but it will not fix our broken immigration system.”

Immigration reform must include the protection of rights and standards for all workers, including permanent relief to the millions of undocumented workers currently living and working in this country; it is long past time to put this struggling underground community above ground and recognize their enormous contributions.  To do otherwise guarantees a secondary class of workers easily subject to exploitation.

In short:

What immigrant workers need is a real path to citizenship and a method for addressing America’s future needs for outside labor in a way that guarantees immigrant workers—and thus all workers—full rights and a real voice on the job.

AFL-CIO Executive Council members approved a statement in March saying, “America deserves an immigration system that protects all workers within our borders—both native-born and foreign.”

Read the AFL-CIO Executive Council’s full statement: “Responsible Reform of Immigration Laws Must Protect Working Conditions for all Workers in the U.S.”

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)