Agreement between Employers and Labour Unions paves the way for Congress tackling Immigration Reform

The continual efforts to move US immigration policies forward were apparently bolstered over the Easter weekend by an agreement made between employers and labour unions, which may create an easier path for Congress as it works to solve the issue over the coming month.

This agreement tackles the matter of visa allocation to low-skilled foreign workers, which has been a contentious issue throughout the immigration debate.

Charles Schumer, a Democrat Senator who is at the forefront of negotiations in Congress surrounding the new policy, reportedly told NBC on Sunday that between the key members of the Senate “every major policy issue has been resolved”.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio contests this statement however and warns that reports of reaching a final agreement among the group of eight were “premature”.

Regardless, the verbal settlement between the US representative for employers and the largest labour federation in the United States – the AFL-CIO, served as a breakthrough within a debate which has been spanning 30 years.

Labour unions in the USA have historically rejected the need for employers to hire unskilled labour from other countries, and there is currently no provision in place for this apart from seasonal agricultural labour. Yet it was noted by president of the pro-reform group at ImmigrationWorks USA that ‘our economy couldn’t function without them.’

The agreement put in place would identify labour shortages and set an annual cap on visas, creating implementing a new model to collect and analyse labour market data, as well as putting protection in place for workers. The process is still in its infancy, but if Congress approves, could start as early as April 2015.