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Immigration Reform: Creating Prosperity While Holding True to Our Values

June 25, 2013 By:
Marc R. Stanley
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majority of Americans agree that establishing a pathway to permanent legal status for undocumented workers is right and just. For Jews, the Torah commands that “You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen alike” (Lev. 24:22). According to a recent survey, more than 70 percent of American Jews believe that welcoming the stranger and pursuing justice are important political values. Additionally, a majority of American Jews believe that increased immigration strengthens American society


For the undocumented, achieving legal status will be no easy task under the current proposal. The framework for allowing undocumented immigrants to achieve citizenship is expected to be a lengthy 13 year process. No amnesty is involved. Current language indicates that immigrants must pay fines, prove they are employed, pass a criminal background check and hold English language skills. This bill will uphold the belief that the right to come to America is something that is earned. For 11 million people who could seek legal status, this newfound ability will allow us to respect their personhood and our values by endowing them with a way to become fully part of the American experience. 


Immigration reform will also assist potential immigrants holding technical skills that are in demand. Keeping bright and entrepreneurial graduate students in the country will generate rewards for the rest of the economy. To encourage science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduate students to stay in the country, the law is expected to allow students with employment opportunities to stay in the country.
This change reinforces our desire to remain the global leader in innovation and research and development. Major American companies find it increasingly hard to find candidates with the advanced technical knowledge they need. When they seek to recruit a potential immigrant, they find that there are not enough visasMicrosoft, which requests more H-1B visas than any other company, has urged Congress to increase the quota. Coupling the diploma program with an increase in the H-1B technology visa will allow American businesses to thrive and act as a growth engine for the economy.

Through the history of the Diaspora, Jews have had a unique understanding of the hardship of living in different countries without full civil rights. Rabbis teach that “you shall not wrong or oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong with words, and you shall not oppress financially.” 



Marc R. Stanley serves as the National Jewish Democratic Council Chair.

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