Pawlenty shows a softer stance on immigration

01/13/2006

Seven initiatives encourage legal methods

BY BILL SALISBURY
Pioneer Press

Taking a carrot-and-stick approach to the immigration issue, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday showed his kinder, gentler side, offering to help legal immigrants land jobs, learn English and become citizens.

This comes after Pawlenty’s proposal last week for a crackdown on illegal immigration sparked controversy among many immigrant communities. Thursday’s announcement — which included seven initiatives to promote legal immigration — drew both praise and skepticism from members of immigrant groups.

“We want to continue to … encourage legal immigration that is good for Minnesota and good for America,” the Republican governor said.

But the immigration system must be legal, orderly and above ground, he said.

To encourage more foreigners to move to Minnesota legally, he proposed measures to attract more physicians, high-tech workers and overseas investors and help for immigrants already here to start businesses.

“One of the great benefits of immigration is the incredible in-migration of talent, energy, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “So we benefit mightily as a state and as a nation when people with those kinds of skills and background come to our country. We want to encourage more of that.”

The initiatives marked a change in tone for the governor. Since December, when he issued a controversial report on the costs — but not the benefits — of illegal immigration, he has focused on the problems caused by immigrants.
That prompted angry reactions from some immigrant groups, who said he was stirring a backlash against legal newcomers as well as lawbreakers. Democrats accused the governor of using illegal immigration as a “wedge issue” to stir up passions in his conservative political base as he seeks re-election this year.

Pawlenty consistently has said that he wants to encourage legal immigration and discourage illegal immigration. Thursday was the first time he offered policy initiatives on the encouraging side of that equation.

After the news conference, some Latino leaders said Pawlenty had taken an important step in the right direction.

“We have to give the governor a lot of credit for starting a conversation about the need for thoughtful immigration reform in Minnesota and the nation,” said Jesse Bethke Gomez, president of CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio). He said the governor’s initiatives were a step toward using immigration to address looming economic issues.
He doesn’t believe Pawlenty’s proposals were politically motivated. “This isn’t a Democratic or Republican issue; it’s an American issue,” he said.

Rick Aguilar, a St. Paul businessman, Metropolitan Council member and Republican activist, said, “We’re hoping that with this initiative and the support of the governor that more Latinos will become legal and will be able to benefit and live a great life here in Minnesota.”

But a Latina leader who was not invited to the news conference said Pawlenty’s proposals would benefit only a small fraction of immigrants in the state.

“It’s good that the governor is trying to do something positive to create legal paths of immigration,” said Alison Quito Ziegler, interim director of the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network. “But the governor’s proposal doesn’t fully address the breadth of immigrants in Minnesota, the majority of whom are working in agriculture and the meatpacking industry.”

Pawlenty proposed seven steps to help immigrants who “play by the rules” that would cost the state about $5 million a year. He would:

• Provide a tax credit of $300 per family to encourage immigrants to become citizens. The credit, for families earning less than $30,000 a year, would offset the costs of English language classes and citizenship application fees. It would cost $1.7 million and benefit about 15,000 families annually.

• Offer “financial literacy” to immigrants by providing basic information on financial and business institutions through a partnership with the Itasca Project, a coalition of CEOs of the state’s largest corporations and public officials. The service would inform immigrants about such topics as income tax credits, home ownership opportunities and business start-up suggestions.

• Push the federal government to grant more visas to graduates of U.S. colleges and universities and green cards for immigrants with high-technology skills. Pawlenty said he would go to Washington next month to lobby key members of Congress on this issue.

• Invite foreign business investment in Minnesota by offering “immigrant investor visas.” They would allow foreign investors to reside and do business in the state if they invest at least $500,000 in new or existing businesses, create at least 10 new jobs for U.S. workers or maintain the current level of employment at a struggling business. The investment would have to be in a “regional center” designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

• Establish a $3 million grant program for employers who provide English language instruction to their employees.

• Expand the number of foreign physicians working in underserved areas, especially in rural Minnesota. Last year, the state used 21 of the 30 waivers available to the state for foreign medical doctors.

• Increase immunizations for immigrants, especially for hepatitis B and tuberculosis, at an annual cost of $500,000.