Menendez: "It's a lousy deal"

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) describes his stance on the Senate's immigration compromise in today's Miami Herald. In his editorial, he discusses his plan to amend the bill so it reflects the values in which he and many others believe; but, more importantly, he provides a realistic criticism of the bill:

The foremost of these is the bedrock principle of family -- more specifically, the ability of American citizens or permanent residents to petition for their families to be reunified here. The deal struck changes the fundamental values of our immigration policy by making an advanced degree or skill in a highly technical profession the most important criteria for a visa. This nation has been built by immigrants who came to achieve success, but the deal tilts toward immigrants whose success stories are already written.

Family reunification will be deemphasized under this deal, serving to tear families apart. From a moral perspective, this undermines the family values that lawmakers so often talk about. Practically speaking, a breakdown of family structure often leads to a breakdown of social stability. I took it to heart when President Bush said that ''family values don't end at the Rio Grande.'' But this agreement, like his proposal before it, belies those words.

Under the deal, the unskilled workers who form a cornerstone of our economy by taking jobs most Americans would not are relegated to a truly temporary, Bracero-style worker program with no chance for permanent residency. Reality is that, without a light at the end of the tunnel, many who enter this program will go underground to stay in America, creating yet another class of undocumented workers.

Then there is the proposed pathway to permanent residency for the 12 million undocumented workers in this deal. One has to ask if it is truly a pathway or an unrealistic obstacle course.

The path includes years of waiting, up to $19,000 in fines and fees per family of four and ''touchback'' provisions requiring heads of households to return to their home countries before applying for reentry. Certainly fines and penalties are necessary, but if they are made prohibitive, millions of undocumented workers may choose to maintain their current status. We would prefer to know who is here to pursue the American Dream and who is here to destroy it.