TITLE
RESOLUTION ADDING TO AND EXPANDING ON THE ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM THAT THIS BOARD SUPPORTED IN R-1084-12; URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENACT LEGISLATION MODERNIZING THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM DURING THE 113TH CONGRESS BASED ON SPECIFIED PRINCIPLES; SUPPORTING THE AGREEMENT ON A FRAMEWORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM RECENTLY PROPOSED BY A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF UNITED STATES SENATORS

BODY

WHEREAS, on December 18, 2012, this Board adopted Resolution No. R-1084-12, the co-prime sponsors of which were Commissioners Dennis C. Moss and Jean Monestime, which urged President Barack Obama and the United States Congress to support and enact comprehensive immigration reform during the 113th Congress; and
WHEREAS, this Board in R-1084-12 supported the passage of comprehensive immigration reform during the 113th Congress that would include:
1. Strengthening border security,
2. Imposing penalties for employers that hire undocumented workers and
3. Providing a pathway for illegal immigrants already in the United States to gain citizenship; and
WHEREAS, this Board would like to add to and expand on the elements of comprehensive immigration reform that it supported in R-1084-12 by further supporting the immigration reform proposals being advanced by the Partnership for a New American Economy; and
WHEREAS, the Partnership for a New American Economy is a bipartisan group of mayors and other elected officials from across the country and business leaders from all sectors of the economy and all 50 states to raise awareness of the economic benefits of sensible immigration reform; and
WHEREAS, the Partnership for a New American Economy has offered five principles that they consider to be essential to a modern immigration system as the 113th Congress takes up the issue of immigration reform:
1. Attracting and retaining the world�s top innovators and entrepreneurs, including:
a. Granting visas to scientists, technology graduates, engineers, mathematicians, and other innovators, especially those who train at top universities in the United States;
b. Creating a �Startup Visa� for entrepreneurs who want to come to the United States, start businesses and hire United States workers, especially if they have investors in the United States to back their ideas;
c. Expanding the use of the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the EB-5 investor visa, to draw more foreign direct investment into the United States to spur business growth;
2. Recruiting talented workers needed to fill gaps in high- and low-skilled sectors of the economy by:
a. Removing rigid quotas for high- and low-skilled workers and replacing them with flexible visa allotments that respond to changes in workforce need;
b. Creating a viable guest worker program so that technology companies, farms, hotels, and other industries can more easily find temporary workers to fill specific employment needs;
c. Expanding the number of employment-based visas that are issued each year beyond the currently 7 percent of all green cards that are currently given each year for employment based reasons;
3. Bringing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants into the legal economy so they can pay taxes, attain better education, and contribute more to US economic growth by:
a. Providing a path to work legally, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy for undocumented workers in the country;
4. Developing a state-of-the-art system to ensure immigration laws are enforced and obeyed by:
a. Monitoring who is in our country after they cross the border or land at port of entry, as well as who leaves the United States;
b. Ensuring that workplaces obey the laws and only hire legal workers;
5. Ensuring that the immigration system is easy to understand, easy to navigate and easy to implement by ensuring that:
a. Tourist and employment visa applicants interact with no more than one agency to obtain a visa;
b. Employers who have successfully hired foreign workers in the past be provided a fast track to processing rather than having to prove their eligibility each and every time;
c. Visa applications are processed quickly and without undue expense; and

WHEREAS, this Board would like to add to and expand on the elements of comprehensive immigration reform that it supported in R-1084-12 by incorporating into its 2013 federal legislative package the immigration proposals of the Partnership for a New American Economy set forth above; and
WHEREAS, in addition, since the time this Board passed R-1084-12, a group of bipartisan Senators have reached agreement on a framework for comprehensive immigration reform that largely matches the principles being advanced by the Partnership for a New American Economy; and
WHEREAS, these Senators consist of Senators Charles Schumer (D � New York), John McCain (R � Arizona), Dick Durbin (D � Illinois), Lindsey Graham (R � South Carolina), Bob Menendez (D � New Jersey), Marco Rubio (R � Florida), Michael Bennet (D � Colorado) and Jeff Flake (R � Arizona); and
WHEREAS, this framework consists of the following four proposals:
1. Creating a tough but fair path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States that is contingent upon securing our borders and tracking whether legal immigrants have left the country when required;

2. Reforming our legal immigration system to better recognize the importance of characteristics that will help build the American economy and strengthen American families;

3. Creating an effective employment verification system that will prevent identity theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers;

4. Establishing an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation�s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers; and

WHEREAS, this Board would like to support the framework for immigration reform this group of bipartisan Senators has proposed; and
WHEREAS, this Board also would like to indicate its support for immigration reform proposals that facilitate family reunification and end the separation of families,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Adds to and expands on the elements of comprehensive immigration reform this Board supported in R-1084-12 and urges the United States Congress to enact legislation modernizing the immigration system during the 113th Congress that incorporates the following reforms as more fully set forth in the whereas clauses above:
1. Attracting and retaining the world�s top innovators and entrepreneurs;
2. Recruiting talented workers needed to fill gaps in high- and low-skilled sectors of the economy;
3. Bringing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants into the legal economy so they can pay taxes, attain better education and contribute more to US economic growth;
4. Developing a state-of-the-art system to ensure immigration laws are enforced and obeyed; and
5. Ensuring that the immigration system is easy to understand, easy to navigate and easy to implement.

Section 2. Supports the framework for comprehensive immigration reform being proposed by a bipartisan group of United State Senators as set forth in the whereas clauses above.
Section 3.� Supports immigration reform proposals that facilitate family reunification and end the separation of families.
Section 4. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to Senator Charles Schumer, Senator John McCain, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Jeff Flake, the Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Section 5. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the action set forth in Sections 1 and 2 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2013 and 2014 Federal Legislative Packages.