Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act 2009 (CIR ASAP)

Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009

Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP)

This summary highlights key provisions of the CIR ASAP Act and will be supplemented in the coming weeks as the IPC conducts deeper analysis of the proposals contained in the Act.

Title I. Border Security, Detention and Enforcement

Border Security: The bill contains provisions which seek to enhance border security and achieve effective immigration enforcement, including: Read more in Border Security, Detention and Enforcement

Improving Conditions of Detention: The bill contains numerous provisions which seek to improve detention conditions, and to protect U.S. citizens, LPRs, and vulnerable populations including: Read more in Border Security, Detention and Enforcement

Increasing protections during enforcement activities: The bill contains several provisions which seek to ensure due process and other protections during enforcement activities: Read more in Border Security, Detention and Enforcement

Title II. Employment Verification

Verifying employment authorization: The bill creates an employment verification system for employers to verify the work authorization of new hires. The new system is to be rolled out in phases, and will eventually apply to all employers and all new hires. The employment verification system: Read more in Employment Verification

Title III. Visa Reforms

Family and employment backlog reduction: The bill contains several measures designed to reduce long backlogs in family and employment immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing: Read more in Visa Reforms

Promotion of Family Unity: The bill includes various measures designed to keep U.S. families together: Read more in Visa Reforms

Preventing future illegal immigration: The bill creates the Prevent Unauthorized Migration Visa (PUM Visa) that seeks to provide for safe, humanitarian migration during the three-year transition period before the enactment of recommendations made by the new Labor Commission.

Title IV. Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants

Legalization: The bill creates a legalization program for qualified undocumented immigrants (and their spouses and children): Read more about Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants

Adjustment of Status to LPR: Qualified conditional nonimmigrants and their spouses and children will be able to apply for lawful permanent resident status (green card) and eventual citizenship. The bill: Read more about Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants

DREAM Act: Undocumented individuals who were brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 will apply for legal status through the same program outlined above.

Farmworkers: The AgJOBS Act of 2009 is included in the CIR ASAP Act, which allows unauthorized farmworkers to legalize their status and reforms the H2-A temporary agricultural worker visa program.

Title V. Strengthening America’s Workforce

Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets: The bill creates an independent federal Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets that: Read more about Strengthening America’s Workforce

Security and Prosperity Account: Many of the fees and fines generated by new programs within this bill will be deposited in a new Security and Prosperity Account.

American Worker Recruit and Match System: Establishes the American Worker Recruit and Match System (AWRMS), a searchable database tied into state workforce agency networks that allows employers to post job opportunities in fields that have traditionally relied on unauthorized labor. AWRMS will match employers with qualified individuals who post their profiles on the website.

Revisions to Temporary Worker Programs: The bill seeks to increases protections on foreign recruitment and makes other changes to existing temporary worker programs: Read more about Strengthening America’s Workforce

H-2B visa program: The bill establishes stricter requirements for recruitment of American workers and prohibits participation of employers who have conducted a mass lay-off in the past year and increases worker protections.

EB-5 Investor Visas: The bill: Read more about Strengthening America’s Workforce

Title VI. Integration of New Americans

Immigration Fees: Ensures that future fee increase requests receive closer scrutiny and makes citizenship more accessible and affordable.

Improving the Naturalization Process and Integration: Seeks to encourage citizenship among immigrant communities by: Read more about Integration of New Americans