2 Senators Offer Immigration Overhaul

[Ryan Ruck]

2 Senators Offer Immigration Overhaul

March 18, 2010

Two senators, a Democrat and a Republican, unveiled the outlines on Thursday of a proposal to overhaul the immigration system, which would require illegal immigrants to admit they broke the law before they could gain legal status and require all workers in the United States to carry a biometric identity card to prove that they are eligible to work.

In carefully choreographed moves, the senators, Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, described their proposal in an editorial posted at midafternoon on the Web site of The Washington Post.

President Obama immediately responded with a statement saying it “should be the basis for moving forward,” and he pledged “to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year” around the bill.

Those moves followed like clockwork plans that White House officials had laid out in recent days to the leaders of immigrant advocacy groups that have summoned many thousands of supporters to a march on Sunday in Washington. The White House is struggling to keep prospects for the immigration overhaul alive through a difficult political passage. Marchers will demand that Mr. Obama make good on his repeated promises to push forward with an overhaul, which would grant legal status to an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Republican lawmakers, including Mr. Graham, have warned that if Democrats pass health care legislation using a parliamentary maneuver that sidesteps their votes, they will not work with the White House on thorny issues like immigration this year.

Mr. Schumer said the blueprint included more and tougher enforcement at the border and in workplaces, a shift intended to overcome opposition that overwhelmed an overhaul proposal in 2007. It minimizes access for future blue-collar foreign workers and favors visas for highly educated immigrants.

“It’s based on the theory that Americans are equally strong on support for legal immigration and opposition to illegal immigration,” Mr. Schumer said in an interview. “Previous bills did not get that balance right, and they failed.”

The plan calls for a big increase in immigration agents patrolling workplaces, and would require all workers, including legal immigrants and American citizens, to present a tamper-proof Social Security card when they apply for jobs. Biometric identity information would be stored on the card and not in any government database, according to an explanatory document from the senators.

The plan’s emphasis is on making it easier for highly skilled and educated immigrants to come to the United States, including awarding residence documents known as green cards to those who receive advanced degrees in science and technology from American universities. It proposes a limited program for temporary lower-skilled guest workers, tightly keyed to changes in the American labor market.

To gain legal status, illegal immigrants would have to admit their legal violation, pay fines and back taxes and perform community service.

To advance the legislation, Mr. Schumer and Mr. Graham have said they need help from Mr. Obama to round up at least one more Republican sponsor, a prospect that seems unlikely while bitterness over the health care battle prevails on Capitol Hill.

Still, immigrant advocates and some Democratic lawmakers were heartened Thursday when Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois in charge of immigration issues for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he had decided to support the Democrats’ health care legislation after assurances from Mr. Obama that the White House would continue to press for the immigration overhaul.

“I have high expectations that his part of the agreement will get done,” Mr. Gutierrez said.

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Janet Napolitano says U.S. will target immigration reform
by Dennis Wagner - Mar. 26, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday told a packed lecture hall at Arizona State University that the Obama administration is setting its sights on immigration reform.

"We're going to keep pushing this until we get it over the finish line," said Napolitano, who served as Arizona's governor, attorney general and U.S. attorney before joining the Obama administration last year.

Napolitano emphasized that the United States has a sovereign right to secure its borders, and she touted a nearly 20 percent increase in the deportation rate of criminal illegal immigrants since President Barack Obama took office.

She added, however, that America also needs an immigration system that upholds ideals of fairness and openness.

"What I cannot tell you is the when," Napolitano said. "We know now that health care is done, that clears the decks. . . .But the commitment - long term or short term - is certainly there."

Napolitano drew a capacity crowd to the 500-seat music hall at ASU's Tempe campus, with hundreds watching on a video monitor in an overflow room and others viewing a live webcast.

The secretary's lecture on "Meeting New and Evolving Threats to Our National Security" was delivered just three months after a would-be suicide bomber failed to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.

Napolitano was pilloried by critics afterward for saying, "Once the incident occurred, the system worked."

On Thursday, she said that the near tragedy created a learning opportunity that exposed flaws not only in America's terrorism-defense system, but in aviation security worldwide. Napolitano said she already has coordinated with Europe, Asia and the Americas to create a global fix but emphasized that homeland security is an ever-changing business.

"We know that terrorists remain determined to strike the United States," she said. "This is a constant effort by a very, very determined adversary."
Napolitano said one of her greatest challenges is balancing America's principles of freedom with the duty of protection.

"We have to cast aside the notion that our liberty and our security are two opposing values. . . . You cannot live freely if you live in fear," she said.

Later, the secretary was asked whether her decision to kill the proposed "virtual fence" surveillance system along the Mexican border means the nation's security is diminished. She answered that the high-tech program, with a projected $1.4 billion price tag, was stopped because the prototype built in Arizona was over budget, overdue and didn't work.

"We are not less safe," she added, noting that funds have been shifted to other border-protection technologies that are effective.

Napolitano has been a target of criticism since taking over Homeland Security, a mega-agency with 230,000 employees and a $56.3 billion budget.

She did not get an entirely warm welcome home to Arizona. Sign-waving protesters could be heard chanting outside the lecture hall.

One group decried the continuing DHS effort to catch and deport illegal immigrants, and Obama's failure to achieve promised immigration reform. Of particular concern, said organizer Carlos Garcia, is Homeland Security's cooperation with anti-immigrant efforts by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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Aztlan

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Reid, Schumer, Menendez to unveil their immigration reform plan

By Michael O'Brien and Russell Berman - 04/29/10 04:21 PM ET

Senate Democrats will unveil a plan to reform U.S. immigration laws on Thursday afternoon.

The plan will require that benchmarks be met on border security before the status of illegal immigrants is settled, according to a memo prepared by Senate Democratic offices.

The memo indicates the Democrats' plan includes measures to bolster border security and unify standards for the detention and removal of illegal immigrants. The plan also provides a path to U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants who agree to some penalties, including paying back taxes.

The names of three Democratic senators are attached to the memo: Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Sens. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Robert Menendez (N.J.).

Reid will unveil the framework for the bill at a 5:45 p.m. press conference, according to a press release sent out by Democrats.

Schumer has been spearheading the immigration reform effort and said this morning that he's been reaching out to Republican senators on the plan.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had worked with Schumer for some time on a proposal, warned Thursday that "if you bring up immigration in this climate, you'll divide the country further."

Graham told The Washington Post 's Ezra Klein, though, that while he sympathizes with immigration reform, it just can't be done this year.

"If you go, I can't go with you. Some supporters of immigration reform think I've abandoned them," he said. "But they're not listening. This is just too far for me and for the issue this year."

Other key congressional figures have warned about the feasibility of immigration reform. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said that he doubts Democrats can fit it into their schedule this year.

And while House leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have suggested the Senate must act first on immigration, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned there's "not a chance" that Congress would pass an immigration bill this year.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday night said he favors moving forward on immigration reform, but warned that Congress might not have the political will to take up the issue this year.

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"That's a step in the right direction," one of the most forceful advocates for immigration reform, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), said after learning Senate Democrats would unveil their draft proposal, which he said he had seen.

Gutierrez was unfazed by Obama's comments. The congressman said the process would undergo a lot of "ups and downs" before reform is ultimately achieved.

"It means double down. Be persistent," Gutierrez said. "We can't let our guard down.

"It is what it is, but it is not a death knell."

He said he was opposed to pushing immigration reform as a political maneuver to rally Latinos for the 2010 elections. If a bill can't pass, Gutierrez said, "I don't want a cynical vote."


This story was updated at 1:55 p.m. and 4:21 p.m.
Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...migration-plan
The contents of this site are © 2010 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsisiary of News Communications, Inc.
Comments (195)

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National ID Card Included In Democratic Immigration Bill

Ryan Grim – Thu Apr 29, 8:05 pm ET

Democrats pushed forward on an immigration overhaul on Thursday evening with no Republican support, as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) continues to hold out, arguing that the divisive issue will make progress on climate change legislation impossible.

The Senate is also in the middle of debating Wall Street reform, which is expected to take up the next few weeks of floor time. Reid, however, said that the chamber would be able to handle the task. "We can do more than one thing at once," he said.

The Democratic proposal includes increased money for border patrol and drug war agents, equipment, helicopters and unmanned drones. It would create a national ID -- which is dubbed a "biometric social security card." Though Democrats insist that it is not an ID card and can only be used for employment purposes.

The proposal would also include a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers. It works to deport some immigrants who are not in the country legally and creates a limited pathway to citizenship for others.

Democrats brought out their heavy hitters for the announcement: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who's been leading the push for immigration reform; Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.); Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) and Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

The crackdown on employers relies on the creation of national identity cards. "These cards will be fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant, wear resistant, and machine-readable social security cards containing a photograph and an electronically coded micro-processing chip which possesses a unique biometric identifier for the authorized card-bearer," reads the bill summary.

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Reid adds controversial immigration measure to defense bill

Posted: September 14th, 2010 05:55 PM ET


Harry Reid said he will add the DREAM Act to a defense policy bill next week.

Washington (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he will add the DREAM Act, a controversial immigration measure, to a defense policy bill the Senate will take up next week.

The decision means the defense bill, which often passes with bipartisan support, will be home to two major, thorny political issues – the other being the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Reid called the DREAM Act "really important" and said it should be passed because it provides a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who go to college or serve in the military. DREAM is an acronym for Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act."

I know we can't do comprehensive immigration reform," Reid said at a news conference. "But those Republicans we had in the last Congress have left us."

Many Hispanic voters are angry with Democratic leaders for not doing more to pass an immigration overhaul. The decision by Reid to add the DREAM Act now could help soothe that anger.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Reid's decision "needlessly controversial."

The Senate will need 60 votes to take up the bill next week, and Reid said Tuesday he doesn't know if he has enough votes.

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Reid promises vote on aliens

House action on Dream Act

By Stephen Dinan
-
The Washington Times
6:40 p.m., Sunday, October 31, 2010


Reid

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the weekend promised to force the Senate to vote on an immigration bill, the Dream Act, in a lame-duck session of Congress this month.

Mr. Reid, a Nevada Democrat who is in a desperate battle to keep his Senate seat, told Univision's "Al Punto," a Sunday political talk show, that he has the right as majority leader to decide what legislation reaches the floor, and said he is "a believer in needing to do something" on immigration.

In doing so, he elevated immigration to join jobs, spending and tax cuts — the issues most lawmakers expect to dominate Congress when they reconvene in November.

"I just need a handful of Republicans. I would settle for two or three Republicans to join with me on the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration reform, but they have not been willing to step forward," Mr. Reid said. "They want to keep talking about this issue, and I say [it] is demagoguery in its worst fashion and is unfair to the Hispanic community."

The Dream Act would grant legal status and a path to citizenship to illegal immigrant schoolchildren and to illegal immigrants who agree to serve in the U.S. military.

In September, just before Congress adjourned for two months, Mr. Reid tried to attach the Dream Act to the annual defense policy bill, which already was loaded down with language laying out a path for gays to serve openly in the military. But Republicans blocked the defense bill, arguing that Mr. Reid was playing politics just before the election.

The immigration issue has been dominant in the Nevada Senate race, which pits Mr. Reid against Republican nominee Sharron Angle, who has been running ads accusing Mr. Reid of being a friend of illegal immigrants.

Then, Mr. Reid last week had to fire a staffer after it was revealed she had entered into a sham marriage to help a man stay in the United States.

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I don't care how they spin it, any type of immigration reform rewards those who entered this country illegally.