Adult Literacy

Senate Immigration Bill Introduced (Updated)

/ The Old Crank / 2 Comments

(Updated Below)

Here is the full text of the immigration reform bill introduced by the Senate “Gang of Eight” yesterday: S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.”

Pretty consistent with what I had been hearing:

  • Establishes “Office of Citizenship and New Americans” at USCIS.
  • Creates a “United States Citizenship Foundation” to fund the Office of Citizenship and New Americans,  the purpose of which is seems to include expanding citizenship instruction.
  • Seems to partially punt, though, on the adult English language instruction issue somewhat by creating a “Task Force on New Americans” to look at this issue, among others.

Seems to me that the big question is whether USCIS will coordinate with the existing adult ESL system or create something parallel… not clear from my quick skim. I’m eager to hear what others think after giving it a more thorough read. Take my comments above with a grain of salt — I may have missed something.

UPDATE (4:30 PM): Something I missed on the first go-round: In addition to the above, there is also another grant program allowed under Title II. Under Section 2106, up to $50 million from the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund can be used for grants, and the list of permissible uses of those grants includes civics and civics-based English as a second language instruction.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund would be set up as the depository of the funds collected via various existing and new fines/fees. It’s important to note that the  grant program coming out of the Trust would be allowable, but not mandatory, and there’s really no way to tell how realistic it is that as much as $50 million would be available for it, let alone how much might actually end up in the hands of programs that offer ESL instruction. A lot of activities under this legislation would be funded through the Trust.

A comprehensive analysis of the potential funding opportunities will take some time. It will also take some time to better understand how well/whether the provisions related to English language instruction leverage the existing federal funding for adult education.

Nonetheless, I still feel that there is something of a punt here on some of the integration pieces—to be sorted out and clarified via the “Task Force on New Americans.”

Again, though, this is a very preliminary look at a very long (844 page) bill.

Sorry also about the typos in the original post.

Outline of Senate Immigration Reform Bill

/ The Old Crank

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has posted a 17-page outline of the Senate Immigration reform bill, which apparently will be called the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.”

The outline does not provide much clarification regarding the English language requirement discussed in the principles statement released by the “Gang of Eight” Senators last January. In that document, they listed learning English and civics as one of the requirements that undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. would need to meet in order to earn the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent residency. The section in the bill outline on “Legalization and Legal Immigration” reaffirms this requirement (see second to last paragraph below) without providing any additional details:

Legalization and Legal Immigration

I. Adjustment of Status to Registered Provisional Immigrant Status

  • Individuals in unlawful status may apply to adjust their status to the legal status of Registered Provisional Immigrant Status.
  • Eligibility Criteria:
    • Residence in the United States prior to December 31, 2011 and maintenance of 
continuous physical presence since then.
    • Paid a $500 penalty fee (except for DREAM Act eligible students), and assessed taxes, per adult applicant in addition to all applicable fees required to pay for the cost of processing the application.
    • Ineligible if:
      • Convicted of an aggravated felony;
      • Convicted of a felony;
      • Convicted of 3 or more misdemeanors;
      • Convicted of an offense under foreign law;
      • Unlawfully Voted; and
      • Inadmissible for Criminal, National Security, Public Health, or other morality grounds.
  • Spouses and children of people in RPI status can be petitioned for as derivatives of the principal applicant (but must be in the United States at the time).
  • Immigrants in RPI status can work for any employer and travel outside of the United States
  • Individuals outside of the United States who were previously here before December 31, 2011 and were deported for non-criminal reasons can apply to re-enter the United States in RPI status if they are the spouse, of or parent of a child who is, United States citizen or lawful permanent resident; or are a childhood arrival who is eligible for the DREAM Act.
  • The Application period will be for 1 year with the possibility of extension by the Secretary for an additional 1 year.
  • Individuals with removal orders will be permitted to apply as will aliens currently in removal proceedings.
  • RPI status shall last for a 6-year term that is renewable if the immigrant does not commit any acts that would render the alien deportable. Another $500 penalty fee is applicable at this time.
  • The Secretary may collect a processing fee from individuals who register for RPI status in an amount that is sufficient to recover all of the costs of implementing the registration program.
  • An individual who has been granted RPI status is not eligible for any Federal means-tested public benefit (as such term is defined in section 403 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613)).
  • A noncitizen granted registered provisional immigrant status under this section shall be considered lawfully present in the United States for all purposes, while such noncitizen remains in such status, except that the noncitizen
    • is not entitled to the premium assistance tax credit authorized under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
    • shall be subject to the rules applicable to individuals not lawfully present that are set forth in section 1402(e) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071).
  • After 10 years, aliens in RPI status may adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status through the same Merit Based System everyone else must use to earn a green card (described below) if the following things have occurred:
    • The alien maintained continuous physical presence
    • They paid all taxes owed during the period that they are in status as an RPI
    • They worked in the United States regularly;
    • And demonstrated knowledge of Civics and English (my emphasis)
    • All people currently waiting for family and employment green cards as of the date of enactment have had their priority date become current.
    • A $1,000 penalty fee is rendered
  • People in DREAM Act Status and the Agricultural Program can get their green cards in 5 years and DREAM Act kids will be eligible for citizenship immediately after they get their green cards.

Source: American Immigration lawyers Association

Why Virginia Settling on the GED is Probably Good News for the Region

/ The Old Crank / 1 Comment

The Washington Post reported Friday that Virginia will continue to use the GED as their high school equivalency test. The Old Dominion joins Maryland and the District of Columbia in sticking with the GED (at least for now), and it seems to me this is good news for those seeking to attain a high-school equivalency credential in the DC/VA/MD region, where the population tends to move around, especially between Washington and the surrounding counties. Those preparing for the GED in the District, for example, won’t have to start over again with a different test if they move their residency to one of the surrounding counties—a fairly common occurrence. (Same goes for GED instructors.)

I still think that ultimately the GED backlash (at least threes states—Montana, New Hampshire, and New York, have already announced that they’re going with alternative exams, and more will likely follow) might have something of a silver lining if it encourages states to take a fresh look at how to better serve adults who are seeking to attain a high school credential. The GED was never actually the only way to this in most states anyway, just by far the most popular way. But as useful as it has been to have a de facto standard with the GED, there really ought to be multiple pathways to a high school credential, with options that accommodate the many different needs and circumstances of those seeking one. And those options ought to include opportunities to simultaneously attain industry credentials, trade skills, and/or enrollment in postsecondary education. (This is why I think the GED Testing Service’s efforts to continue to dominate the market  will ultimately fail—I think they’ve just pushed along a re-thinking process at the state level that was probably going to happen anyway.)

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Rising Political Figure in Pakistan Says Illiteracy Is a “National Emergency”

/ The Old Crank

According to Pakistan’s English-language newspaper The Nation, Imran Khan, the leader of a rising political party in Pakistan, plans to treat the country’s dismal literacy rates as “a national emergency” if his party comes to power.

Kahn is proposing “a twin track approach” that will expand primary education to universal access while simultaneously “tackl[ing] the adult illiteracy problem with all available resources.”

In a blog post published by The News Tribune, Kahn calls literacy “a fundamental human right” that is “essential to social and human development.” and explains why it is necessary to address both adult and children’s literacy in order to raise Pakistan’s overall literacy rate:

Tackling illiteracy starts with achieving universal primary education so that Pakistan’s 25 million children, who at present do not go to school, will have an opportunity for free, accessible, excellent primary education in a system that is uniform throughout the country.  Educational institutions will be devolved to the town level with management at district and sub-district levels.  Curriculums will be improved, teacher training radically increased and a new school building program will be initiated nationwide.

At the same time, I will create a special task force to pursue reaching full literacy in Pakistan by 2025, with a state sponsored mass literacy campaign for adults, making the best use of available resources. This will be an organised campaign using private and public sector resources, with major public media input and with programmes planned with relevance to poor and rural communities.

Kahn also outlines the economic case for improving his country’s literacy rate:

I have vowed to increase the education budget from 2.1% to 5% of the GDP. Illiteracy in Pakistan is costing an estimated $5.86 billion or 1.2% of GDP. The one-off investment in a successful literacy campaign will have diminishing costs and increasing returns over ten years, increasing the country’s GDP and lifting the country out of its current cycle of poverty, discord and violence.