Senate Passes Immigration Bill Overhaul

May 25,2006

By DAVID ESPO

My Way News


Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., talks with reporters on
Capitol Hill Thursday, May 25, 2006, after the Senate voted 62-36
to overhaul the nation's immigratikon laws. Left to right are Frist,
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Legislation to secure U.S. borders and offer millions of illegal immigrants access to the American dream cleared the Senate on Thursday, a rare election-year reach across party lines and a triumph for President Bush.

The 62-36 vote cleared the way for arduous summertime compromise talks with the House on its version that focuses on border enforcement - with no guarantee of success.
"Why not say to those undocumented workers who are working the jobs that the rest of us refuse, come out from the shadows," said Arizona Republican John McCain, a key architect of the bill.

The legislation includes money to better secure the borders, provide a new guest worker program and give an eventual shot at citizenship to many of the estimated 11 million to 12 million immigrants in the country illegally.

The bill "strengthens our security and reflects our humanity," said Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., McCain's partner in Senate compromise. "It is intended to keep out those who would harm us and welcome those who contribute to our country."

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and the Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, both sided with supporters, a reflection of the bipartisan backing for a bill that was months in the drafting and survived several near-death experiences.

Conservative critics attacked the legislation to the end after trying unsuccessfully to pull it apart with amendments.

"This bill will not secure our borders," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of the most persistent critics.

"This is amnesty," added David Vitter, R-La., who tried last week to strip out provisions relating to citizenship.

Not so, said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in a rebuttal to weeks of debate. "They have to pay a fine. They have to undergo a criminal background check. They have to pay back taxes, they have to learn English and they have to go to the back of the line," he said, referring to illegal immigrants who would apply for citizenship.

Still, Sessions, Vitter, John Cornyn of Texas and others echoed a view widely held among House Republicans, many of whom have vigorously denounced the Senate bill as well as Bush's call for a "comprehensive approach" to the issue.

That portended difficult compromise talks in the shadow of midterm elections, at a time when Bush's poll ratings are low, congressional Republicans are concerned and Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances in November.

For now, supporters of the Senate bill said they intended to savor their victory. Peppered with questions about the compromise talks ahead, Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said, "I'm going to celebrate here."

The House bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is generally limited to border enforcement. It would make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges and it contains no provision for either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and children in the country unlawfully.

In contrast, the Senate bill would mark the most far-reaching changes in immigration law in two decades. Built on compromise after painstaking compromise, it was designed to appeal to conservatives and others seeking tougher border enforcement; business interests eager for a steady supply of legal, low-wage labor; unions seeking enhanced protections for migrants who often toil in seasonal work the fields and Hispanics who are on the cusp of greater political power and determined to win a change in legal status for millions of illegal immigrants.

That last group - Hispanics - comprises the fastest growing segment of the electorate, and millions made their feelings clear in street demonstrations denouncing the House measure and calling for passage of a broader measure.

Bush played a prominent role in the run-up to passage. An Oval Office speech last week made explicit his support for the Senate's overall approach. A later trip to Arizona was designed to reassure conservatives about his commitment to stanching illegal immigration.

In more than a week of debate, the Senate made a series of changes in the legislation. Still, the key pillars were preserved when opponents failed to knock out the guest worker program or the citizenship provisions. A new program for 1.5 million temporary agricultural workers also survived.

To secure the borders, the measure calls for the hiring of an additional 1,000 new Border Patrol agents this year and 14,000 by 2011, and backs Bush's plan for a short-term deployment of National Guard troops to states along the Mexican Border. The bill calls for new surveillance equipment as well as the construction of 370 miles of triple-layered fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers.

The new guest worker program would admit 200,000 individuals a year. Once here, they would be permitted for the first time to petition on their own for a green card that confers legal permanent residency, a provision designed to reduce the potential for exploitation by employers.

A separate new program, a compromise between growers and unions, envisions admission of an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers who may also apply for permanent residency
Even supporters of the bill conceded the three-tiered program related to illegal immigrants was complicated.

Those in the country unlawfully for five years or more would be permitted to remain, continue working and eventually apply for citizenship. They would be required to pay at least $3,250 in fines and fees, settle any back taxes and learn English.

Illegal immigrants in the country for more than two years but less than five would be required to travel to a point of entry before re-entering the United States legally and beginning a lengthy process of seeking citizenship. They would be subject to the same fines, fees and other requirements as the longer-term immigrants.

An immigrant in the country illegally for less than two years would be required to leave with no guarantee of return.

A new electronic system for employee verification is designed to hold employers accountable for hiring decisions. It provides for maximum fines of $20,000 for each worker and possible jail time for repeat offenders.

A separate controversy erupted over a call to make English the national language. Supporters said it would leave all current rights in place. Detractors argued it could undermine an executive order that mandates assistance to individuals who receive services such as health care yet lack proficiency in English.


Senate and House Immigration Bills

May 25, 2006

By The Associated Press

My Way News

Highlights of separate immigration and border security bills passed by the Senate and the House.

Senate bill passed Thursday:

_Allows illegal immigrants who have been in the country five years or more to remain, continue working and eventually become legal permanent residents and citizens after paying at least $3,250 in fines and fees and back taxes and learning English.

_Requires illegal immigrants in the U.S. between two and five years to go to a point of entry at the border and file an application to return.

_Requires those in the country less than two years to leave.

_Orders deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors no matter how long they have been in the U.S.

_Creates a special guest worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers, who could also earn legal permanent residency.

_Provides 200,000 new temporary "guest worker" visas a year.

_Authorizes 370 miles of new triple-layered fencing plus 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

_Authorizes hiring an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents this year, for a total additional 3,000 agents this year.

_Adds 14,000 Border Patrol agents by 2011 to the current force of 11,300 agents.

_Authorizes additional detention facilities for apprehended illegal immigrants.

_Requires employers and subcontractors to use an electronic system within 18 months to verify new hires are legal. Increases maximum fines to employers for hiring illegal workers to $20,000 for each worker and imposes jail time for repeat offenders.

_Delays by 17 months, until June 1, 2009, a requirement that Americans re-entering the U.S. after cruises or short visits to Canada and Mexico show a passport or high-tech identification card.

_Declares English the country's national language.

_Increases the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers from 65,000 to 115,000 annually, beginning in 2007. Immigrants with certain advanced degrees would not be subject to the caps, which could rise by 20 percent depending on labor market demands.

_Limits National Guard tours of duty on the U.S.-Mexico border to 21 days.

_Allows additional countries to participate in the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of certain countries to visit the U.S. without a visa. The United States and more than two dozen countries now have reciprocal visa waiver agreements.
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House bill passed in December:

_No provisions providing path to legal residency or citizenship for illegal immigrants. No new temporary guest worker program.

_Makes illegal presence in the country a felony and increases penalties for first-time illegal entry to the U.S.

_Makes it a felony to assist, encourage, direct or induce a person to enter or attempt to enter or remain in the United States illegally.

_Beginning in six years, all employers would have to use a database to verify Social Security numbers of all employees.

_Increases maximum fines for employers of illegal workers from current $10,000 to $40,000 per violation and establishes prison sentences of up to 30 years for repeat offenders.

_Requires mandatory detention for all non-Mexican illegal immigrants arrested at ports of entry or at land and sea borders.

_Establishes mandatory sentences for smuggling illegal immigrants and for re-entering the U.S. illegally after deportation.

_Makes a drunken driving conviction a deportable offense.

_Requires building two-layer fences along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the United States.