On our seventy seventh program, David J. Hart and Andrea Olivos-Kah discuss the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy or “STRIVE Act” of 2007 which was unveiled yesterday. The STRIVE Act of 2007 is a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), which calls for securing the borders, strengthening interior enforcement, and a mandatory employment verification system before the other sections of the bill are implemented. Those other sections include: a new H-2C temporary worker visa for new workers, an increase in quotas for family-based and employment-based immigrants, a new “conditional nonimmigrant status” for undocumented workers who qualify, the DREAM Act of 2007, the AgJOBS Bill of 2007, an earned legalization program, and an U.S. citizenship program. We discuss the next steps towards obtaining a bipartisan bill for the President’s signature and the chances of achieving immigration reform before attention turns to the 2008 presidential race. 

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