Lawmakers: Immigration bill not dead
Via CNN.com
Specter ‘optimistic’ as protests highlight political ramifications
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lawmakers traded
blame Sunday over the impasse that left immigration legislation stalled
last week in the Senate, expressing hope that the push for an
election-year overhaul was not dead.
“I hope it’s savable,” said Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat. “I hope politics doesn’t get in the way.”
Sen.
Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said
he is “optimistic,” but quickly added “I’m always optimistic.”
“There’s a real risk of significant political fallout here,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
Bush: Democrats’ leader sunk immigration bill
VIA CNN.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush blamed
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Saturday for the potentially
fatal blow dealt to compromise immigration legislation.
The
landmark bill, which would offer eventual citizenship to millions of
illegal immigrants, fell victim Friday to internal disputes in both
parties.
But Bush — echoing earlier complaints from Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee — sought to place all the
blame on Reid, D-Nevada, who refused to permit votes on more than three
Republican-backed amendments.
“I call on the Senate minority
leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work
and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill,” Bush said in his
weekly radio address.
Hailed as a bipartisan breakthrough earlier
in the week, the immigration measure would have provided for stronger
border security, regulated the future entry of foreign workers and
created a complex new set of regulations for the estimated 11 million
immigrants in the country illegally.
Officials said an estimated
9 million of them, those who could show they had been in the United
States for more than two years, would eventually become eligible for
citizenship under the proposal.
Faced with a major setback only
months before much of the Republican-controlled Congress is up for
re-election, Bush sought to give life to the issue. Speaking mostly to
conservatives in his party, he said border security must be improved
and enforcement within the United States needs to be enhanced.
But
in a nod to business leaders who support temporary worker programs that
would ensure an easy supply of low-cost labor, he spoke passionately
about the need to put out the welcome mat for those from other
countries.
“Immigration is an emotional issue and a vitally
important one,” Bush said. “At its core, immigration is the sign of a
confident and successful nation.”
Bickering stalls immigration bill breakthrough
VIA CNN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate breakthrough
on an immigration bill praised by leaders in both parties appears
endangered by partisan bickering over amendments from opponents.
Both
sides acknowledged that if the Senate is going to pass a bill, it might
not occur until Congress returns from a two-week Easter recess.
Republicans
appeared united in blocking a final vote on a compromise proposal
worked out among immigration leaders in the two parties until Democrats
allow votes on amendments by opponents.
A test vote was scheduled Friday on the compromise, as well as a bill by Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Democrats
said the amendments would undermine the immigration compromise that
offered hope for American citizenship for millions of illegal
immigrants.
“I know the reality, tomorrow we cannot finish it,”
the assistant Democratic leader, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said
late Thursday.
Supporters of the compromise claimed 70 votes and
said they could defeat all of the amendments offered by opponents.
Republicans, however, closed ranks in insisting that at least some of
those amendments get votes. Both sides indicated the Senate would
complete the bill when Congress returns from the recess that begins
Monday.
U.S. Senate at impasse on immigration bill
Via SFGate.com
Washington —
The compromises emerging from closed-door efforts to forge a Senate
consensus on immigration have even ardent supporters of changing the law
wondering whether the current dysfunctional system might not be so bad after
all.
The Senate impasse offers a vivid demonstration of how daunting,
politically and practically, it is to solve the issue of 12 million human
beings living illegally in the country. Their existence is the result of past
compromises and their unintended consequences, stretching over several decades
and rooted in a long history of divided public opinion that veers spasmodically
between nativism and inclusion.
Congress last overhauled U.S. immigration law in 1986, providing amnesty
to 3 million illegal immigrants, half the illegal population at the time, but
without expanding future legal ways of entering the country. Within 10 years,
the illegal population had rebounded, and Congress passed another law
attempting to toughen border enforcement, pouring money into the Border Patrol
and building a fence in San Diego, among other things. Another decade has
passed, and the illegal population has reached the size of the population of
Ohio.
The current Senate bill is “a valiant effort to try to salvage a bill on
which a lot of political blood has been spilled, but I don’t think a bill
should be salvaged by violating … accepted understanding of what went well
and what did not go well with the 1986 legislation,” said Demetrios
Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan
research group.
The danger, he said, is that Congress could produce legislation that “does
not solve fundamental problems we have with immigration today, or solves them
in such a way that I can see clearly three or five years from now, starting the
same 20-year cycle of trying to fix a lousy system.”
With Republicans deeply divided over a bipartisan bill that emerged from
the Senate Judiciary Committee — and Democrats fearful that they have
already compromised too much — the Senate came to a standstill again
Wednesday as proponents and opponents engaged in hours of negotiation and
brinksmanship. Votes to decide the fate of the bill are scheduled to begin
today.
The Senate bill is modeled largely on a bipartisan effort by Sens. John
McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would provide a chance for
permanent residence after about 11 years for the estimated 12 million illegal
immigrants if they learn English, pass background checks, remain employed, take
civics courses, pay hefty fines and pay back taxes.
The bill was cobbled together under a crushing deadline from several
conflicting pieces of legislation. Roughly 300 pages long, it is a complex and
far-reaching amalgam that includes everything from a farmworker program to a
border crackdown.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee was trying to act with a gun not just
pointed at its head but against its temple and cocked,” Papademetriou said.
“Everything including the kitchen sink is in that legislation.”
Many Republicans believe the bill provides amnesty for those who broke the
law to enter the country. To draw more Republican votes, supporters are
floating various compromises to somehow evade the amnesty charge.
But that task requires mixing oil and water: making illegal immigrants go
home while allowing them to stay.
The irony is that almost no one in the Senate who opposes the bill thinks
it is wise or practical to round up 12 million people and send them home. And
supporters say they oppose amnesty, but believe illegal immigrants should be
allowed to earn legal permanent residence.
One plan under intense discussion would divide the 12 million into three
groups, depending on how long they have been in the country. Newer arrivals
would face more difficult requirements.
One of those rules would be to touch base at the border, by somehow
checking in at a port of entry to make it appear they are exiting the country
if only for a very short time.
Immigration Primer
that they had reached a compromise on a proposed immigration overhaul.
With politicians across the political spectrum lavishly praising each
other, it seemed like a new milestone had been reached.
Others were less optimistic. As Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, noted today:
“We still have some obstacles.”
A vote on the Senate bill could come tonight. Here are some of the main questions and issues swirling around.
- What was done?
- After
days of negotiation, the leaders of both parties reached a compromise
on some key points but still have to work out details on others. The
compromise was a recognition that none of the bills pending in the
Senate could be passed.
- What does the compromise call for?
- It establishes three groups of undocumented immigrants, depending on the amount of time they have been in the United States.
- Those here longer than five years
would not be required to return home. They would also have a chance to
become citizens if they meet a series of requirements and pay a fine.
There are more than 7 million people in this category.
- What about those who are here between two and five years?
- They
have to return to their home country briefly, then can re-enter as
temporary workers. Once they have the proper papers, they could begin
the process of seeking citizenship.
- What of those in the U.S. less than two years?
- They
would be required to leave the country. They would have to take their
place in line with other workers in their home country waiting for
permission to enter. They would receive no assurances that they will be
given permission to return.
- About 40%, or 4.4 million people, have been in the U.S. five years or less.
- What is to prevent them from sneaking back across the border if they are denied permission to return?
- The parties have also agreed in principle to step up border enforcement, though the details have yet to be made public.
- Early
on, there were provisions to toughen penalties on employers who hire
illegal workers, but it was unknown whether those provisions will be in
the final bill.
Why is this being called a compromise?- The bill tries to balance the concerns of the different players.
- Democrats
and President Bush received a guest worker program, which had been
opposed by conservative Republicans. Democrats fall short of creating a
program for all undocumented workers.
- Moderate
Republicans received a modified program that supplies foreign labor
needed by businesses, particularly in agriculture, construction and
tourism.
- Conservative
Republicans get to limit the number of undocumented workers who will be
allowed to stay in the United States, but if the bill passes, there
will be a guest worker program that they strongly oppose.
- Doesn’t a compromise mean that everyone is happy?
- No.
- Senate conservatives immediately attacked the compromise as too lenient and they are expected to vote against it.
- However,
Democrats have 44 votes, so if they all hold together, only seven
Republicans would be needed for passage. That seems likely given the
support of such prominent Republicans as Majority Leader Bill Frist of
Tennessee and Sen. John McCain of Arizona — rivals for the GOP
presidential nomination.
- So this will likely become law?
- It is too soon to know.
- Even
if some form of the compromise passes the Senate, the House has passed
a tougher immigration bill without a guest worker program. Speaker
Dennis Hastert has said his house is willing to compromise, but
conservatives there have taken a tougher line against a guest worker
program.
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USCIS Sources Provide Early, Unofficial Information on FY 2007 H-1B Filing Volume
Via The American Immigration Lawyers Association
Sources at USCIS indicate that the first two days of filings for H-1Bs for
fiscal year 2007 are at about the same pace as last year. Last year, the cap was
reached on August 10, 2005. USCIS expects to have a count of initial receipts
within a week.
Senators Reach Compromise on Immigration Measure (Update1)
April 6 (Bloomberg) — Senate Republicans and Democrats
reached an agreement on procedures for allowing undocumented
aliens to apply for citizenship, clearing an obstacle that
stalled legislation overhauling U.S. immigration laws.
“We have a huge breakthrough,” Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist of Tennessee told reporters today.
Democrats, including Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts
and Minority Leader Harry Reid, said the compromise may lead to
passage of the Senate measure this week.
“Hopefully in the next 24 hours there will be a real
celebration,” Reid said. President George W. Bush supports it
too and will publicly endorse it later today, said Arizona
Senator John McCain.
The compromise splits the estimated 11 million undocumented
immigrants into three groups, based on how long they have been in
the U.S., for the purpose of setting rules on their eligibility
to apply for legal status.
Under the plan hammered out by Republicans last night, the
more than 1 million undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S.
after Jan. 7, 2004, would have to return to their home countries
and apply for a new guest-worker program from there.
The estimated 3 million immigrants who illegally entered
between 2001 and 2004 would have three years to apply for legal
status as part of a new temporary-worker program and pay as much
as $3,000 in fines. To receive their temporary-worker visas, they
would have to travel to a land port of entry and physically leave
the U.S. before immediately re-entering.
Once they receive the visas, they could stay as long as six
years while applying for one of 130,000 permanent residency cards
set aside annually for the group. If they don’t win permanent
residency after six years, they would have to leave.
More Than Five Years
Undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. more than
five years, an estimated 7 million people, would be able to keep
their jobs after paying a $2,000 fine and meeting other criteria,
such as learning English.
Before a two-week recess begins at the end of this week, the
Senate is working to pass an overhaul of immigration policies
that includes strengthening border security and creating a guest-
worker program. Debate on the measure had stalled as Republicans
negotiated how to treat undocumented immigrants and Democrats
worked to block amendments they said were too harsh.
The House last year passed legislation that increases border
security without addressing a guest-worker program or allowing
undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status. Any Senate
measure would have to be merged with the House proposal.
Some Republicans said they remain opposed to the plan.
“It’s unacceptable to me,” Republican Jeff Sessions of
Alabama said. “We’re not ready to do this right now.”
Paying a Fine
Republicans Mel Martinez of Florida, Chuck Hagel of
Nebraska, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and McCain spent days
negotiating before agreeing on this proposal.
Under the agreement, all undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
for more than five years would be able to acquire legal residency
and U.S. citizenship after about 11 years.
The compromise doesn’t change guest-worker proposals that
would allow 400,000 immigrants each year to enter the U.S. for
jobs.
Frist said senators will have the opportunity over the next
two days to vote on three separate immigration proposals. They
are the compromise introduced last night; Frist’s own legislation
that focuses on border security and enforcement of immigration
laws; and a Judiciary Committee measure that lets undocumented
immigrants in the country before Jan. 7, 2004, apply for legal
status and stay at their jobs in the U.S. after paying a $1,000
fine, passing a background check and learning English.
The votes will “allow people to express where they are,”
Frist said last night. “We can’t predict the outcome.”
Democrats today failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to
limit debate on the committee proposal. Thirty-nine Senators
voted to end debate with 60 voting against it.
UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate strikes deal on immigration bill
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate leaders on Thursday
announced a bipartisan compromise on an overhaul of U.S. immigration
laws, giving some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship and creating
a temporary worker program.
“I think we’re looking like we may
be able to dance this afternoon,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid
of Nevada told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a
Tennessee Republican, appeared with Reid and said “We have a great
opportunity to deliver to the American people what they expect, what
they deserve,” a comprehensive border security and immigration reform
bill.
The deal, which would include a temporary worker program
backed by President George W. Bush, would allow illegal immigrants who
have been in the United States more than five years a chance to become
citizens if they meet a series of requirements and paid a fine. Other
rules would apply to people in the country less than five years.
“We still have obstacles ahead,” said Sen. John McCain, an Arizona
Republican who helped lead the debate. McCain cited some pending
amendments that could gut the compromise as well as eventual
negotiations with the House of Representatives, which passed a much
harsher bill that concentrated only on border security and enforcement
of immigration laws.
McCain said Bush supports the compromise. Bush was expected to make a statement shortly.
The Senate compromise would give illegal immigrants who had been in the
United States less than five years but more than two years a chance to
obtain a temporary work visa. They would have to leave the country and
reapply to come back. Those who had been in the country less than two
years would not be legalized.
Senate Democrats Push for Immigration Vote
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats pushed for a vote on a bipartisan
immigration bill after Republicans foundered while trying to rally GOP
support for a compromise on what to do about the millions of illegal
immigrants now in the country.
Democrats set up a showdown over a proposal that would allow the
illegal immigrants to remain in the country and become permanent
residents after paying $2,000 fines and back taxes, learning English
and working six years.
“Are the Republicans going to stand up for comprehensive immigration reform or not?” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked Tuesday.
Republicans had floated a proposal Monday night and early Tuesday to
divide illegal immigrants between those who have been in the country
more than five years and those who have not.
Several rank-and-file Republicans objected, and Majority Leader Bill
Frist and fellow Republicans spent much of the day trying to find an
alternative.
“I don’t know that we’re going to get a bill,” said Sen. Mike DeWine (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio. “It’s tough.”
Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record)
of Nevada, the Democratic leader, blocked numerous attempts by
Republicans to hold votes Tuesday on selected amendments. “We do not
need a compromise. It’s in our bill,” he said and later set the stage
for a test vote on Thursday.
Democrats need 60 votes to overcome objections from conservatives on
the immigration bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee that is
being pushed by Reid.
Durbin acknowledged the votes to cut off debate and force a final
vote are not there, but said Democrats had to move because they feared
Frist was going to let the clock expire on the bill, in its second week
on the floor.
But Republicans blamed Democrats for inaction. “The other side is
delaying, postponing, obstructing and not allowing votes on
amendments,” Frist said.
The House has passed a bill that would shore up border security by
putting the military on the border, requiring employer to verify
they’ve hired legal workers and making being in the country illegally a
felony.
A strong Senate bill would mean a better bargaining position in conference committee with the House, Durbin said.
The White House repeated President Bush’s call for a temporary worker plan as a way to identify the millions of
illegal immigrants in the country. The administration said in a
statement it wants a bill that does not create “an automatic path to
citizenship.”
USCIS WARNS OF SPOOF H-1B RELEASE
Washington, D.C.- USCIS became aware today of the circulation of a
bogus release indicating that USCIS has received enough petitions to
meet the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for FY 2007. The release
further relays that the H-1B exemption limit for the first 20,000
foreign workers with a U.S.-earned master’s or higher degree was also
met. This release is not accurate and was not issued by U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services.
To date, USCIS has not received enough petitions to close either the
congressionally mandated H-1B cap for FY 2007 or the 20,000 worker
exemption limit. USCIS is committed to ensuring that employers have
accurate and timely H-1B information and will provide an update about
the latest cap numbers later this week.
Official USCIS news release are always listed on the USCIS website (uscis.gov) at the following location Chronological List of Public Information.
– USCIS –
On March 1, 2003, U.S Citizenship and Immigration
Services became one of three legacy INS components to join the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is charged with fundamentally
transforming and improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship
services, while enhancing the integrity of our nation’s security.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Immigrant Issues Are Personal for Bush
Associates say he has long had a comfort level with Mexicans and their
culture. In a 2004 campaign video, he waved a Mexican flag.
April 2, 2006
MIDLAND, Texas — Cecilia Ochoa Levine was a Mexican trying to make it
in America. But when she hit upon a promising business opportunity, to
make knapsacks south of the border to sell in the United States, she
could not get the trade permits she needed.
And so Levine asked for help from a longtime friend in Texas, where she had been a legal resident for many years.
The friend was George W. Bush.
Within a week, Levine was on a plane to Washington for a meeting with
trade officials. And soon after, she had the papers to expand her
business, creating dozens of jobs at plants in El Paso and Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico.
Not everyone would have been willing to use his influence to help a
Mexican citizen start a company, particularly one creating jobs in
Mexico as well as in the U.S. But Bush’s actions of 21 years ago help
explain why today, as president, he is striking an unusually nuanced
tone on the emotional question of immigration policy — a stance that
has placed him at odds with the conservative Republicans who have long
formed the base of his political support.
“Here was this single mother, Mexican, no money, starting a tiny little
business,” recalled Levine. She phoned Bush because his father was then
vice president and “he was willing to use his connections in Washington
to help me out. He understood it would mean jobs for poor people.”
Long before the immigration fight that is rattling the nation, Bush
developed a picture of immigration from his life in Midland, where he
knew Levine and other Mexican immigrants personally and came to see
both sides of the border as part of the same universe.
A three-hour drive from Mexico, Midland did not have the feel of such
border cities as El Paso, but it saw a wave of Mexican immigration long
before many other communities across the South and the West. It is
where Bush spent many of his childhood years and where he later
returned to start an oil exploration business.
What Bush learned in Midland shaped his ability to appeal to Latino
voters and foreshadowed what could be one of his most important
legacies: helping the Republican Party compete for the nation’s
fast-growing political constituency.
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