Some are welcome, some are not

SANDUSKY — When more than 100 Corso's workers were arrested and accused of being undocumented aliens, many people said they should have entered the country legally.But according to immigration attorney David Leopold, under the current law it's difficult for working-class families to get into the country."When someone says they should've come to the country legally, it sounds good on paper, but they won't be able to get in until we change our system," Leopold said. "They say they should've waited in line, but I want them to show me where that line is and who's waiting in it — It doesn't exist."Ever since 1965, the Immigration and Naturalization Act has governed lawful immigration. To be a legal immigrant a person needs either a visa or a green card.A visa is a temporary pass which allows a person to stay in the country for a specific period of time. While a green card allows a person to enter the U.S. and remain as permeant resident indefinitely.The law limits the annual worldwide number of permanent immigrants allowed into the country to 675,000, excluding certain exceptions for close family members and refugees.It accepts immigrants into the country based on the reunification of families, people with skills valuable to the economy, protecting refugees and promoting diversity.Family-based ImmigrationFamily-based immigration accounts for the largest percentage of annual immigration. It's broken into two types:• Immediate relative: A person can try to gain admittance into the country through the sponsorship of an immediate family member (spouse, child over the age of 21 or parent) who is a citizen.• Family preference system: Adult children and siblings of citizens and the spouses and unmarried children of long-term permeant residents.The person (citizens or long-term residents) petitioning for the prospective immigrant must meet income requirements in both types.Employment-based ImmigrationEmployment immigration hopes to bring people into the country who can contribute a valuable skill to the economy or society.There are more than 20 different visas for temporary migrant workers in the U.S. Their legal status within the country expires when their employment ends.The government limits the number of permanent employment-based immigrants to the country to 140,000 per year and gives preference based on the following skills in this order:1. People with "extraordinary ability" in a field, limit 40,0002. Professionals with advanced degrees, limit 40,0003. Skilled workers with experience and professionals with degrees, limit 40,0004. "Special immigrants" (religious workers, employees of U.S. foreign service, etc.), limit 10,0005. People who will invest in job-creation, limit 10,000"You have to have either a family or an employment tie to the country to immigrate," Leopold said. "If they don't then there's no other way to immigrate besides the lottery."The Diversity Lottery"The lottery is the number of visas set aside each year for countries that aren't represented highly in immigration," Leopold said.Each year 55,000 visas are reserved for people from countries with less than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the prior five years. To be eligible the person must have a high school degree and work experience in job that requires at least two-years of training.A computer-generated random lottery chooses, but it tends to favor immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe because of the region basis of the lottery, according to the American Immigration Coucil.Immigration and the Economy"We have an outdated system that doesn't meet the needs the country economically," Leopold said. "Whether you're looking at the right or the left they're all saying immigration reform would strengthen the country."A 2013 report from economist George Borjas estimated the presence of immigrant workers, both legal and illegal, made the economy approximately 11 percent larger each year. Another study from 2015 said immigration has little to no effect on wage decreases and job loss for Americans. The Pew Research Center recently found immigrants were needed to replace the jobs left by the aging baby boomer generation.The Ohio Landscape Association says landscaping companies, like Corso's Flower and Garden Center, were facing a shortage of workers caused by the limit on seasonal immigrants."The system was written in the 60s for a country in the 60s and it needs to be updated," Leopold said. "(The law) is hurting families. And it hurts the economy when they can't find people to work in nurseries or in construction."A new bill in the U.S. House of Resentives seeks to find a compromise on immigration reform. It would offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children.But it also provides billions of dollars for a border wall and imposes new limits on legal immigration, the New York Times reports. The bill is up for a vote next week.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterInvestigators conduct a search warrant at Corso's Flower and Garden Center on U.S. 250 in Perkins Township on Tuesday, June 5, 2018.