최영수변호사 의견 인용
Science Students May Get US Green Cards
By Jane Han / Korea Times Correspondent
SATURDAY/SUNDAY, MARCH 27-28, 2010
NEW YORK — Two senators
proposed an immigration overhaul
last week, part of which
would award green cards to highly-
skilled immigrants — a ray of
hope for many foreigners, including
Koreans, who want to work
and live in the U.S. But will the
blueprint become law?
Just after the plan was unveiled
last Friday, U.S. President Barack
Obama expressed support, saying,
“A critical next step will be to
translate the framework into a
legislative proposal.”
The bipartisan framework,
sponsored by Democratic Senator
Charles Schumer and Republican
Senator Lindsey Graham,
calls for a legal, permanent residence
status for immigrants who
receive a doctorate or master’s
degree in science, technology,
engineering or math from a U.S.
university.
“It makes no sense to educate
the world’s future inventors and
entrepreneurs and then force
them to leave when they are able
to contribute to our economy,” the
Senators wrote on The Washington
Post’s Web site, where they
first made the plan public.
“Ensuring economic prosperity
requires attracting the world’s
best and brightest.”
If Schumer and Graham’s plan
goes ahead as it is, a large number
of Koreans studying in the
U.S. are expected to take advantage
of the offer. But so far, many
experts are skeptical of such
reforms that would give a direct
path to green cards for highlyskilled
immigrants.
“The idea is good,” said Raymond
Kim, a lawyer at Kim & Min
Law Firm, a Los Angeles-based
practice, “but that’s about it.”
“Some people welcome the
thought of talented foreigners
playing important roles in the
fields of sciences,” he said, “but
there are also those who are all
against it.”
Groups like the Federation of
American Immigration Reform
and the Center for Immigration
Studies oppose the reform, arguing
that a flood of immigrants would
further hurt the U.S. economy.
Historically, many blueprints
with similar goals have failed to
make it far in the long and tough
legislative journey due to fierce
opposition, said Kim, an experienced
immigration lawyer.
“Even if it somehow passes the
Senate, the chance of passing the
House is slim to none,” he
added.
The proposal will have a better
shot at becoming a bill if it is
handled separately, apart from
Obama’s comprehensive immigration
reform package, says
Choi Young-soo, a New Yorkbased
immigration lawyer.
“It’s tough to get anything
through when you’re working
with such a big overhaul with so
many contentious bits and
pieces,” he said.
Schumar and Graham’s immigration
plan is based on four pillars:
ending illegal employment
with biometric Social Security
cards; ramping up border and
interior enforcement; creating a
process for admitting temporary
workers; and implementing a
tough but fair path toward legalization
for people already in the
U.S.
Besides dealing with the
“heavy package,” Choi said fairness
can also be a problem.
“Why only people who studied
science? What if someone studied
social welfare? That’s good too
isn’t it?” he said, adding that the
reform could end up backfiring
with side effects.
Foreign students, for example,
may choose to study sciences just
for the easy green card.
Despite the tricky details of the
blueprint, some say the important
thing is to get lawmakers to
open the debate.
“The issue is not the proposal,”
said Saul Soloranzo, executive
director of the Central American
Resource Center, a nonprofit
providing help to immigrants,
according to Truthout.
“The issue is to get a proposal
approved. Congress does not
work with blueprints, they work
with bills.”
So when will the immigration
reform get its time in Congress?
Immigrant advocates are raising
their voices throughout the
country, but the freshly-passed
healthcare reform bill is expected
to hold back immigration
talks.
“The first casualty of the
Democratic health care bill will
be immigration reform,” Graham
said in a statement.
He said health care will “pretty
much kill any chance of immigration
reform passing the Senate
this year” since the White
House’s working relationship
with the Republicans is too
harmed to move on to another
sticky issue.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
