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The proposed price of legal status might be too high for many illegal immigrants, local Hispanic leaders said Friday.

A proposal gaining traction in the Senate to provide an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States with a fast track to legal status requires applicants to pay a $5,000 fine and processing fee. Before being allowed to apply for citizenship, the proposal would force the head of the household to return to his or her home country within eight years.

Although many in the immigrant community are happy that some progress is being made, they are worried about the cost, said Juan Romero, a local Hispanic rights activist.

“If it gets too hard for people to get legalized, people aren’t going to be taking care of the situation and will continue to be illegals,” Romero said.

More details need to come out about the proposal, he said, but if the government is asking for $5,000 per person, it could translate into a huge debt for a family of five, even if it doesn’t have to be paid fully up front.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Diego Grisales, program Director at the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs. “They don’t have $5,000 to pay.”

Gloria Hernandez, director of Immigrants United for Freedom in Immokalee, has similar concerns.

Many of the undocumented workers in Immokalee are in agriculture and earn very little in seasonal jobs as laborers.

“They haven’t worked enough to save the $5,000,” Hernandez said.

“They aren’t professional people that make $20 or $30 an hour. We are talking about migrant farmworker families and construction workers,” she said.

Jean Volcy, owner of the Paralegal & Notary Multi Services Center in Immokalee, shares her concerns.

“It’s better than nothing,” he said of the plan. “But the fine, the penalty, is harsh.”

Most farmworkers make $6.15 an hour during season. Annually, they make $8,000 to $9,000, making it tough for them to even cover rent, Volcy said.

On top of that, sending the primary earner back to his or her home country to apply for citizenship will cost money and deprive the family of a needed source of income, Romero said.

“That is a long time to be away from family,” he said. “Who is going to take care of the family at home?”

Volcy said the requirement will take a toll on families. Children and spouses will be left behind.

“Not having your mother or father, it’s an awful thing,” he said. “It’s so hard. It’s not fair at all.”

Some of the farmworkers Romero surveyed said if they had $5,000, they would probably go back to their home countries. Others would rather go on as illegal immigrants with the possibility of getting caught than pay the money.

Families who are more established and have been in the United States for a few years will likely pay, he said.

If such a proposal were to pass, it would be a major boon for the economy, said Leonardo Garcia, executive director of the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“Let’s face it, the local economy and the national economy depends heavily on the work force that is undocumented,” Garcia said.

The state’s $50 billion tourism-based economy, including an estimated $2 billion in Southwest Florida, depends on unskilled labor to work in hotels and restaurants, he said. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce supports the proposed legislation, he said.

“I just look at it from a big picture,” Garcia said. “We need to have this reform. That way we can move on. Otherwise, I don’t think fighting brings unity in our country.”

Once immigrants are given a chance to succeed, they tend to do very well, said David Vargas, chairman of the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board of Lee County.

Immigrants want the same things Americans want, and if they are allowed to come out of the shadows they will be even more-productive members of society, Vargas said.

“What we have is a labor pool that is skilled, reliable and responsible, whose goal is to provide education and housing for their children,” Vargas said. “And they know the economic ladder for success is education.”

Acquiring legal status is very important for immigrants. Without it, getting a job or a driver license, buying a car or a house or even going to the doctor is a difficult task.

“A lot of our students are waiting to for some decision to be made,” said Grisales about the Literacy Council’s 1,400 students who take English classes.

The Senate proposal is far from law yet. The Senate has yet to vote on it, while the House, which has avoided the issue thus far, would have to take it up afterward. President Bush would also have to sign the bill, although he has been a supporter of immigration reform.

Romero’s Casa Mexico, an organization that seeks to help immigrants get established in Southwest Florida, will act as a local provider of information once any immigration reforms become law.

“A lot of people want to know,” Romero said. “We don’t know how long or how easy it is going to be.”

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Staff writer Laura Layden contributed to this report.