CA Lawmakers Call For Immigration Reform

Two California Assembly members, a Fresno Republican and a Coachella Democrat, have joined together to create legislation aimed at granting worker permits for undocumented immigrants who have been living for years in California.

Linda Halderman (R-Fresno) and V. Manuel Perez (D-Coachella) are co-authors of AB 1544, a measure that would not only create a permit process for undocumented workers and their families, but also allow businesses to hire these workers in the agricultural and service industries.

In a Sacramento Bee op-ed piece, Halderman and Perez said they crafted the legislation “to offer an alternative to the business-hostile, anti-worker rhetoric we have listened to for too long.”

Some of the details in the proposal require the state Employment Development Department to certify that there are not enough legal California residents willing to fill open jobs in the agricultural and service industries before issuing permits to work. Permits then could be issued to undocumented workers who have worked at least 863 hours, or earned at least $7,500 in California during a 24-month period ending Dec. 31, 2008.

Participants, also, must undergo a background check and be proficient in, or learning, the English language.

No legislative hearing date has yet been held on AB 1544.