THE Immigration Reform Act of 2004, or S. 2010, introduced on Jan. 22, 2004 by the Senate’s top Democrat, Tom Daschle, addresses three components necessary for comprehensive immigration reform—family reunification through family backlog reduction; a new temporary worker program; and access to an earned adjustment for eligible people already living and working in the US. The bill, co-authored by Sen. Charles Hagel (R-Neb.), has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for mark-up. The IRA 2004 comes on the heels of President George Bush’s proposal of giving undocumented workers temporary legal status.

IRA 2004, however, goes one step further as it would tie work to the prospect of legal residency for millions of people living in the United States. The plan would also increase spending on border security and tackle backlogs of immigrant visas that keep families separated. For example, provisions included in the bill include: immediate relatives are no longer subtracted from the 480,000 cap on family-based immigration; the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents are reclassified as immediate relatives; grounds of inadmissibility are addressed; and derivative eligibility is expanded for all immediate relatives.

The IRA, as mentioned earlier, proposes to amend the definition of “immediate relatives” under the INA to include not only “parents, spouses and children” of United States citizens, but also parents, spouses and children of lawful permanent residents, or green card holders. As such, visas will always be available since the “immediate relatives” category has no numerical limitations. The senators also proposed that undocumented workers and their families living in the United States be given the chance to become “invested stakeholders” in the country by earning legal permanent residence through work.

However, under the proposal, they should meet the following requirements: physical presence for five years prior to the bill’s introduction; successful fulfillment of a past work requirement (working at least three of the five years preceding introduction) and a prospective work requirement (at least one year following enactment); payment of income taxes or entry into an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to pay all outstanding liabilities; and payment of a $1,000 fee for having lived in the country illegally. Under the proposal, undocumented immigrants must also pass national security and criminal background checks.

The bill also plans to increase spending on border security. However, Hagel and Daschle both say they are not offering amnesty for undocumented immigrants.

The bill, which includes a “Willing Worker” program, will amend the H-2B program, and create a new H-2C category for persons desiring “to perform labor or services” not covered in the H-1B, 2A, 2B, L or O visa categories for a US employer if qualified US workers cannot be identified.

The new H-2C program is a two-year program renewable for another two years. It will be capped at 250,000 annually, and sunsets five years after the regulations are issued.