Comprehensive Immigration Reform officially introduced

Ianus · 01-04-2007, 09:40 PM

It's official as of today an immigration bill has been introduced & the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary has,Patrick Leahy, has a press release on the matter,the debate is on.

Quote:

Senator Patrick Leahy,[D-Vt., the incoming Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the Senate Thursday to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Below is Senator Leahy’s statement, as prepared, and the text of the immigration legislation introduced as part of the Democratic Leadership package.

Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
On The Introduction Of A Bill To Provide
For Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Senate Floor
110th Congress
January 4, 2007

As the new Congress begins, we have a tremendous opportunity before us to enact fair, comprehensive immigration reform. It is time for bipartisan action. Accordingly, I join with Senators from both sides of the aisle to call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and will work to enact it. We need to put aside the mean-spiritedness and short-sighted policies driven by fear and recognize the dignity of those whose work contributes to reinvigorating America. Consistent with our heritage as a nation of immigrants we need to bring people out of the shadows.

Through comprehensive immigration reform, we can increase the opportunities for American businesses to obtain the workers they need while ensuring that priority is given to willing domestic workers -- from dairy farms in Vermont to multi-national corporations. We have been told of the plight of American farmers from New York to California and have seen the photographs of piles of rotting fruit that have gone unharvested. We hear American technology companies lamenting the lost opportunities and the loss of skilled innovators to other countries. In Vermont, dairy farmers are yearning for more available legal workers, while others have watched families in their employ be torn apart through piecemeal, inconsistent and sometimes heavy-handed enforcement efforts. No American farmer or other business should be put in the position of having to choose between obeying the law or losing their livelihood.

Where American workers can fill available jobs, they should be given priority. Where these jobs are available and unclaimed by American citizens, it makes no sense to deny willing foreign workers the opportunity to work. Through our collective efforts we can strike the balance to protect our domestic workforce while meeting the needs of a productive economy.

We must streamline and reform our visa system for low-skilled workers so we can help reduce the crippling backlogs that affect American businesses. And we must increase the number of low-skilled work visas issued each year to keep up with the needs of our economy. We should enact stronger, consistent employer verification procedures. We should impose penalties for those employers who flout the law and exploit those who have no voice. We can do this by working together and enacting comprehensive reform.

Through comprehensive and smart reforms, we can also increase our security. Let us work to focus enforcement efforts on protecting us from those who seek to do us harm. Let us put an end to the conditions that end in too many needless deaths in the deserts of the Southwest.

We must take a smarter approach to dealing with the millions of people already here—one that does not divide families and make instant criminals out of millions of people, but rather honors our nation’s best traditions. When we enact reforms to bring the millions of undocumented people in this country out of the shadows, greater accountability will follow. When we provide incentives for undocumented people to enter a path to citizenship, we will encourage them to live up to our traditions of citizenship and civic responsibility. When we endow those who seek to better their lives—and the lives of their families—with the tools to do so legally, we help instill in them a sense of belonging, of patriotism, and of opportunity. Those who decry this aspect of immigration reform must carefully consider the alternative path. By driving more people underground, we foster a culture of lawlessness and mistrust.

We cannot wall ourselves off from the world. A 700-mile fence on a 2000-mile border is not the answer. Last fall, the Republican Congress rushed through a bill to build 700 miles of fencing and did so against the advice of the Department of Homeland Security. That fence bill was neither fair nor comprehensive. I share the disappointment of tens of millions of Americans who had hoped President Bush would have exercised his constitutional authority to veto that costly, cobbled-together and mean-spirited law. Instead, the President seemed to have abandoned his principles in signing the Secure Fence Act that will cost between $2 billion and $9 billion and fail to perform as advertised to seal our southern border. Scarring our southwestern landscape with a symbol of fear, pandering and intolerance offends the great heritage of our nation while sending the wrong message to our neighbors and to the world about American values. It was a pricey ‘bumper sticker’ law passed to curry favor in certain quarters before the elections. Instead, by focusing on technology, innovation, and personnel rather than partisan politics and divisive walls, we can do a better job of securing our border.

The President has said many times that in order for the United States to achieve real security, we must have comprehensive immigration reform, which must include a realistic solution to bring out of the shadows the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country and to meet the pressing needs of employers for willing workers along with border security. In numerous statements, including a speech in Mission, Texas, in August 2006, he recognized that without all components of comprehensive reform working together, immigration reform will not work.

I will continue working to enact legislation that will secure America’s borders, strengthen our economy and bring about a realistic solution to the millions of people who want to work and live legally in our country. I will continue to support fair and comprehensive immigration reform and to respect the dignity of those who seek to join mainstream American society and to better their lives in the United States. Today, we join together in the hope that common sense and bipartisanship will prevail. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be inserted into the Record.

# # # # #

(Text of the Legislation)

S.9

To recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for more effective border and employment enforcement, to prevent illegal immigration, to reform and rationalize avenues for legal immigration, and for other purposes.

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

January 4, 2007

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MR. REID (for himself and MR. Leahy and _____ ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

A BILL

To recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for more effective border and employment enforcement, to prevent illegal immigration, to reform and rationalize avenues for legal immigration, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007'.

SECTION 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

SENSE OF THE CONGRESS- It is the Sense of Congress that the Senate and the House of Representatives should pass, and the President should sign, legislation to recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants and to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for more effective border and employment enforcement, to prevent illegal immigration, and to reform and rationalize avenues for legal immigration.

thedream · 01-04-2007, 09:47 PM

i really don't have the time to read the whole thing now.... but umm...is it legit? lol
well, maybe i'll read it later

hayire · 01-04-2007, 09:58 PM

Here we go again, God bless us. thanks Ianus.

VJB2 · 01-04-2007, 11:20 PM

GOW125 · 01-05-2007, 01:55 AM

I wonder when Senator Durbin is going to try and add the Dream Act to this CIR bill?

hayire · 01-05-2007, 12:47 PM

the other good news are that minority leader Mitch McConnell wants immigration to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Quote:

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that comprehensive reform is on the Democrats' top-ten list of legislative priorities for the 110th Congress, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in his opening remarks to the newly constituted Senate, boldly declared that: "Immigration is one of the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform -- and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver."

that means the senate will be easier.

Ianus · 01-05-2007, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOW125

I wonder when Senator Durbin is going to try and add the Dream Act to this CIR bill?

He cannot add Dream act to this CIR bill because it isn't in his jurisdiction to do so.Ted Kennedy is the Chairman of the Immigration sub-committee in the Senate & basically dictates what can & cannot be added at this time until the bill goes to the full Judiciary committee.

Hayire,the Senate was a never a problem even though members of FAIR,Numbersusa & Alipac would have like to make everyone think so.I believe that S.9 should have more than enough votes to overcome a filibuster when it's all set & done with amendments.The House is the TRUE obstacle for any reform.

On another note,I think I understand why the Republicans might be for a CIR bill this time around.It seems that some members of their usual voting block or evangelical leaders will be getting in on the debate.If you don't know,evangelicals make-up about ~23 million votes & it seems this new coalition will be an invaluable ally on getting Republican support for a reform bill.

Quote:

The goal here is to somehow come up with a plan for immigration reform and to that end, recast the debate and start anew. The group has sent a letter to President Bush and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Here’s a portion:

“We believe that if we can leave the confines of this past year’s debate, we can help you formulate and win wide support for a coherent immigration achievement. We stand ready to work with you to find a new families first approach at the earliest convenience of your staff.”

Manny Miranda told CBN: “Until now, religious leaders have been criticized for staying uninvolved in the immigration debate…This coalition gets them involved, they offer to come to the table and offer ideas they can eventually support. Previously, the White House did not invite their participation, and they did not offer their help. With certain results, a wider participation may get the President wider support to allow Republicans and Democrats to obtain a coherent reform.This new coalition is bigger and broader than the Secure Border Coalition that dominated the debate on the right in the last go round.”

hayire · 01-05-2007, 02:50 PM

what is S9?

juang · 01-05-2007, 11:57 PM

I feel like this should go in the front page...Nick, you know what to do.

Ianus · 01-06-2007, 08:30 PM

Never thought I'd post something that was front page worthy,nice!

Anyway,I found a blog which had some interesting info as well as no.'s,check it out !

Quote:

Further, by our calculations, there are about 200 House members who have either gone on record or questioned the wisdom of Bush’s “comprehensive immigration reform” plan. You will note that the word “amnesty” never leaves the lips of administration enablers, including Martinez, for they know what the public reaction would be to such a proposal. Will twenty or so Republicans or Democrats vote to kill Bush’s idiocy? With Martinez at the RNC post, he is able, through granting and denying funding to agreeable/recalcitrant GOP members, to head off any further dissent on the immigration issue. In short, he would wield much more power than he currently does, and, as they say in Brooklyn, “that ain’t good” for traditional conservatives.

Of course,I don't know how accurate those numbers are,but I estimate there are ~220 members members in the House Democratic caucus that would vote for some form of Comprehensive reform.If Mel Martinez does get the post & the evangelical leaders become a powerful voice on the right,it could be smooth sailing if everything goes accordingly.

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform officially introduced