Immigration Bills: Now to conference committee Posted by: McQ
on Friday, May 26, 2006
People keep saying that an immigration reform law will actually pass this year. I have my doubts. I know, politically, that both sides are interested in passage of something. And that usually leads to very bad legislation. But I can't help but feel, listening to the rhetoric from members of the House, that there's very little compromise they are willing to make on certain issues. For instance, House Majority Leader John Boehner says in a press release:
"The American people expect Congress to secure our borders and stop the flood of illegal immigration, and House Republicans responded by passing a strong border security bill that re-establishes basic respect for our immigration laws. Now that the Senate has passed a bill, we owe it to the American people to seek common ground on responsible solutions, while always stressing our most important priority is to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration.
"I'm committed to working with Chairman Sensenbrenner, Chairman King, and House Republicans to ensure we produce a strong bill that meets our commitments to the American people. I would urge House Democrats, who have constantly advocated troubling policies that encourage open borders and invite more illegal immigrants into our country, to join us in supporting a strong bill that addresses the concerns of the American people and makes our borders more secure."
While that all sounds fairly vague and collegial, it is the equivalent of throwing a political gauntlet down.
Given all of that, it is worthwhile to look at the highlights of the two bills, one from the House and one from the Senate and note their differences.
The Senate:
> CITIZENSHIP: 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, back taxes and learning English. Requires illegal immigrants in the United States 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.
> GUEST WORKERS: Creates a special guest worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farmworkers, who could also earn legal permanent residency. Provides 200,000 new temporary "guest worker" visas a year.
> DEPORTATION: Illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors would be deported no matter how long they have been in the United States.
> BORDER FENCE: Authorizes 370 miles of new triple-layered fencing plus 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
> BORDER PATROL: Authorizes hiring an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents this year, for a total additional 3,000 agents this year. Adds another 14,000 Border Patrol agents by 2011 to the current force of 11,300 agents.
> NATIONAL GUARD: Limits National Guard tours of duty on the U.S.-Mexico border to 21 days.
> DETENTION: Authorizes additional detention facilities for apprehended illegal immigrants.
> VERIFICATION: 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.
> PASSPORTS: Delays by 17 months, until June 1, 2009, a requirement now in law that Americans re-entering the United States after cruises or short visits to Canada and Mexico show a passport or high-tech identification card.
> ENGLISH: Declares English the country's national language.
> TECH WORKERS: 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.
> VISA WAIVERS: Allows additional countries to participate in the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of certain countries to visit the United States without a visa. The United States and more than two dozen countries now have reciprocal visa waiver agreements.
The House:
> CITIZENSHIP: No provisions providing path to legal residency or citizenship for illegal immigrants.
> GUEST WORKERS: No new temporary guest worker program.
> LAW ENFORCEMENT: Makes illegal presence in the country a felony and increases penalties for first-time illegal entry to the United States. 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. Makes a drunken driving conviction a deportable offense.
> BORDER FENCE: Requires building two-layer fences along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the United States.
> DETENTION: Requires mandatory detention for all non-Mexican illegal immigrants arrested at ports of entry or at land and sea borders.
> VERIFICATION: Beginning in six years, all employers would have to use a database to verify Social Security numbers of all employees.
> FINES: 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.
> SMUGGLING: Establishes mandatory sentences for smuggling illegal immigrants and for re-entering the U.S. illegally after deportation.
Looking over the key points of both, there are some on which compromise is obviously possible. I'm sure the House would have no problem adopting the English language provision from the Senate bill. And hopefully they'll insist the "illegals get Social Security" be stripped from it as well. And doubtless both can reach agreement on the size of any border fencing.
But there is a gulf a mile wide on citizenship and guest workers, which, one would presume is at the heart of the problem. And it is there House Republicans have taken a stand (totally unaddressed is the matter of streamlining the entire system to make it more responsive and timely in terms of processing the applications of immigrants or guest workers one of the primary reason we see such a problem with illegal aliens). The question is do they see that stand as a political hill to die on? My sense is they do, at least for the moment. Hard-liners on the immigration issue sense their stance is the will of the majority. Whether you agree with their stance or not, I think they'll try to insist on their provisions. The conference committee will get bloody and compromise may end up being impossible. Arm twisting and news conferences will be the order of the day as both sides try to muster public support for their agenda.
It is going to be interesting. In the end, nothing may be the result, as both sides refuse to move on particular issues. The political ramifications of that may be significant ... but at this point, I'd guess both sides are sure their stand will help, not hurt them politically.
You basically are taking away the incentive for kids to go to college to get those jobs. Keep going down this path, and we’ll be importing all our technical labor, including doctors.
I don’t understand in what world are you living in jpm100 !! open your eyes and mind. Innovation has already slowed down in this country ask any tech leader. Not because of immigrants but because of american schools. The only way we can maintain tech leadership in the world is by allowing smartest and brightest from all over the world to come here and make america their home.
Not because of immigrants but because of american schools. The only way we can maintain tech leadership in the world is by allowing smartest and brightest from all over the world to come here and make america their home.
For some reason, the "only way to" solution doesn’t address the problem statement. Unless you want them to run our schools and teach our kids.
Blah blah blah - I know too many American born comp sci techies and engineers who can’t find work to buy this story about ’not enough of’ or ’not good enough’.
The sticking point between the 2 bills is AMNESTY.
OPTION ONE: Amnesty is granted and the corporate supremacists and their allies in the senate and the white house win. Taxpayer Schmuck pays more taxes and lines the pockets of the big corporations who now have 12 million more customers who live constantly on the government handouts like free emergency care and public schooling. Also, amnesty attracts more "amnesty" seekers so now there are 6o million more people in the US competing for the same jobs Mr. Schmuck needs. Also, don’t forget: More money for the corporations and less money for Mr. and Mrs. Schmuck.
OPTION TWO: Amnesty is denied and all illegals are deported. Mexico then descends into chaos and joins the "Failed States" club.
