As reported by Bill Balek and ISSA.

The immigration reform debate is heating up in Congress. ISSA is carefully monitoring the deliberations and the impact of various immigration reform proposals might have on all segments of the cleaning industry including but not limited to cleaning service providers, distributors, and manufacturers members. We are especially mindful of the debate around a low skilled visa program and mandatory electronic verification for employees.

Last week, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a comprehensive immigration reform plan. The bipartisan group includes Democrats Chuck Schumer (NY), Dick Durbin (IL), Bob Menendez (NJ) and Michael Bennet (CO) and Republicans John McCain (AZ), Lindsey Graham (SC), Marco Rubio (FL), and Jeff Flake (AZ). The proposal includes:

• Creating a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, but not until increased border security measures are completed;
• Adding unmanned drones, surveillance equipment and more agents at and between ports of entry;
• Providing an expedited path to citizenship for individuals brought to the U.S. as children;
• Allowing additional lower-skilled immigrants to come to the country when the economy is creating jobs than when the economy is in recession;
• Awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math from American universities; and
• Creating a nonforgeable electronic system for requiring prospective workers to demonstrate legal status and identity.

Also last week, President Obama released his own framework for immigration reform that largely mirrors the Senate proposal. The proposal includes:

• Creating a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, with "provisional legal status" and a green card as intermediary steps, regardless of whether border security measures are completed;
• Improving infrastructure at ports of entry and using public-private partnerships to boost investment in technology for foreign visitor processing;
• Providing a path to citizenship for individuals brought to the U.S. as children and creating as expedited path to citizenship for individuals attending college or serving in the military;
• Creating a "startup visa" for job-creating entrepreneurs and expand visa opportunities for those who invest in the US;
• Awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math from American universities;
• Creating a fraud-resistant Social Security card and creating nonforgeable documents for those without Social Security cards; and
• Phasing in over five years mandatory electronic employment verification, with exemptions for some small businesses.