Sen. Specter lays out immigration reform plan

By DENA BUNIS

Via The Orange County Register

Judiciary panel chair’s idea includes guest-worker visa.

WASHINGTON – Judiciary Committee Chairmen Arlen
Specter this morning has laid down his own marker for comprehensive
immigration reform that combines enhanced enforcement with a temporary
guest-worker program as well as an opportunity for the estimated 11
million illegal immigrants here now to come out of the shadows and work
legally.

Specter’s bill – which combines elements from
several other immigration proposals – sets the scene for what is likely
to be a protracted and contentious debate, first in the Senate and then
with the House, which passed a bill in December that does not include
any new guest-worker provisions and would not allow illegal immigrants
to work here legally. The Judiciary Committee will begin reviewing the
proposal Thursday.

The measure responds to President Bush’s
call for immigration reform that includes tough enforcement measures at
the borders and interior sections of the country and the ability of the
business community to get the labor officials say the economy needs.
And it runs counter to a wing of the Republican party – mostly in the
House – who say such provisions amount to an amnesty and would reward
those who illegally entered this country or overstayed their visas.

The 350-page bill, obtained this morning by the Register, includes:

•
Additional enforcement agents, increased technology at the border, a
requirement for the Department of Homeland Security to submit plans for
systematic surveillance of land and sea borders, as well as a national
strategy for border security. It requires DHS to report to Congress on
whether a fencing system along the northern, southern and maritime
borders of the U.S. is necessary. It tightens laws regarding
deportation, increases penalties for document fraud, particularly as it
relates to marriage fraud.

• A new workplace enforcement
program, including a measure authored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona,
that would require employers to check the Social Security numbers of
new hires against a federal data base. Unlike the bill passed by the
House, most employers would have to check only new workers, although
the homeland security secretary could require workplaces with potential
homeland or national security concerns to also check the status of
current employees. The employer plan would be phased in over five years.

•
Creates a new temporary worker visa – H-2C. Residents of foreign
countries who can show they have a job waiting can get this visa for
three years, renewable for another three years. These workers would be
required to return to their home countries after their work visas
expire.

• Creates a new student visa category – F-4. This would
allow students pursuing advanced degrees in math, engineering,
technology or the physical sciences to stay in the United States for a
year after they graduate to look for work. If they get a job, they
would be allowed to get a green card after paying a $1,000 fee and
passing security clearances.

• Increases the number of employment-based green cards from 140,000 to 290,000.

• Increases the number of visas available for unskilled workers.

•
Creates a new conditional work authorization status. This would allow
illegal immigrants who can prove they were here and working in the
United States before Jan. 4, 2004, to pay a $500 fee, undergo
background checks, pay any income taxes owed for work before Jan. 4,
2004, and get a conditional work status. Illegal immigrants who have
been ordered deported would not be eligible for this status.