Jobs: In a dramatic shift, federation urges repeal of law that criminalized hiring undocumented immigrants. Prospects for legislation are unclear, but support from business groups is likely.
Claiming U.S. immigration policy is "broken and needs to be fixed," the AFL-CIO on Wednesday called for a new amnesty for millions of undocumented workers and the repeal of the 1986 law that criminalized hiring them.
The position, adopted unanimously by the federation's executive council at its winter meeting in New Orleans, represents a dramatic shift for the AFL-CIO, which backed the so-called employer sanctions law 15 years ago.
At the time, immigrants were viewed by many labor activists as competitors for jobs or potential strikebreakers. The demographics of the U.S. work force are very different now, with foreign-born workers dominating many industries and accounting for a large share of new union members.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 275,000 workers enter the country illegally every year, and that 6 million now live here--about the same number who lived in the United States in 1986, when the last amnesty law was passed as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
While the prospects for actual legislation are unclear, labor leaders noted that many new voters are immigrants and legislators are looking for ways to court them.
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/AFL-CIOAmnestyForIllegals.html
Claiming U.S. immigration policy is "broken and needs to be fixed," the AFL-CIO on Wednesday called for a new amnesty for millions of undocumented workers and the repeal of the 1986 law that criminalized hiring them.
The position, adopted unanimously by the federation's executive council at its winter meeting in New Orleans, represents a dramatic shift for the AFL-CIO, which backed the so-called employer sanctions law 15 years ago.
At the time, immigrants were viewed by many labor activists as competitors for jobs or potential strikebreakers. The demographics of the U.S. work force are very different now, with foreign-born workers dominating many industries and accounting for a large share of new union members.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 275,000 workers enter the country illegally every year, and that 6 million now live here--about the same number who lived in the United States in 1986, when the last amnesty law was passed as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
While the prospects for actual legislation are unclear, labor leaders noted that many new voters are immigrants and legislators are looking for ways to court them.
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/AFL-CIOAmnestyForIllegals.html
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