Bills Up for a Vote: Frist, Judiciary, Compromise

After more closed door negotiations late Wednesday, the Senate will limit further debate and begin voting on three competing immigration proposals:

1) the committee bill (McCain-Kennedy, Specter)
2) an enforcement-only bill (Frist)
3) a new compromise bill (Hagel-Martinez)

The compromise bill seems -miraculously!- to have Frist's endorsement, as well as McCain's, and possibly many of the Democrats'. Will this end the impasse of the last two days? And when will we know if DREAM is part of this new proposal?

http://<br /> <a href="http://www.b...A&refer=us</a>


Senate Republicans Reach Compromise on Undocumented Immigrants

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Republicans reached an agreement on procedures for allowing undocumented aliens to apply for citizenship, clearing an obstacle that stalled legislation overhauling U.S. immigration laws.

"It moves the debate forward,'' Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee told reporters last night.

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.

Less Than Two Years

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.

Two to Five Years

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 $1,000 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.

Republicans including Mel Martinez of Florida, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona 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, upon introducing the compromise plan, moved to limit debate on it and said senators will have the opportunity over the next two days to vote on three separate immigration proposals. They are the compromises 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. ``We can't predict the outcome.''

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said last night that while he hadn't read the new proposal he was told it makes only "minimal changes'' to how undocumented immigrants would gain legal status compared with the committee legislation.

"If that's all it is, it's a victory,'' Reid said. "I hope it's something we can support."

Senators seek compromise on immigration
BY MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON - Key Senate Republicans on Wednesday night offered compromise immigration legislation that seeks to sway conservative holdouts by providing slightly less generous treatment for illegal immigrants than the bill now foundering on the floor.

While it remained unclear whether enough conservatives would support it, the Democrats held their fire as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., unveiled an 11th-hour alternative that still would place millions of illegal immigrants on a path to eventual citizenship. With Democrats solidly united behind the idea of legalization, they could potentially provide the votes necessary to push the GOP compromise to victory.

"It moves the debate forward," Frist said, though he declined to predict the outcome of the vote expected Friday.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada didn't close the door to his caucus offering its support, saying the deal appears to represent "very minimal change" to the legalization plan approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and backed by Democrats.

"I'm hopeful it's something we can support," Reid said.

Key Republicans have been negotiating frantically behind the scenes in recent days as it became clearer that the Judiciary Committee bill wouldn't garner enough support when it comes up for a vote. The main stumbling block: some conservatives' belief that it constitutes amnesty by placing illegal immigrants on a direct course to legal permanent residence and eventual citizenship.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who was in that camp, issued a noncommittal statement Wednesday night. "Although I've not had an opportunity to read this rather lengthy proposal, I remain adamant that we not repeat the mistakes of the 1986" amnesty, he said in a press release.

The GOP compromise would treat illegal immigrants differently based on their length of stay, the concept being to make the process simpler for those who have the deepest roots in U.S. society. Under their plan:

Illegal immigrants who arrived after January 2004 (as many as 2 million people) would be offered no path to legal status. Proponents suggest the newcomers would leave as jobs for illegal workers dry up amid tighter workplace enforcement.

Those who can prove - using pay stubs, utility bills or other documents - that they've been here more than five years would "earn" legalization by working for six years, paying $2,000 in fines and back taxes, undergoing background checks, and learning English and civics.

The estimated 3 million people here for more than two years but less than five years would face a more circuitous path to legal residence. They would be required to leave the United States within three years, if even for just a day, to apply for a temporary worker visa good for six years. They could then, at the end of their visa, apply for a green card providing for legal permanent residence - though the proposal sets aside only 135,000 green cards for low-skilled workers and thus could mean years waiting in a backlog.

Negotiators briefly considered, but rejected, the idea of making the more recent arrivals perform community service.

In the two-to-five year group, applicants who decide to apply within the first year would not face a fine. Those waiting until the second year would pay $2,000, with the fee rising to $3,000 for those taking until the third and final year to leave the United States to apply to return as a temporary worker.

The alternative in many ways parallels the provisions that Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., successfully offered in the Judiciary Committee. Their proposal also would deny a legal pathway to illegal immigrants who came here after January 2004, and treats those here five years or more the same as the GOP deal.

The biggest difference is for the two-to-five year group, which would find itself less advantaged than illegal immigrants here the longest.

"This isn't amnesty, it's probation," Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said, testing a new strategy to fend off criticism that the compromise is too soft on illegal immigrants. "If you look at the requirements, it's a lot more like probation than it is like an amnesty. And it should be referred to as such."

All illegal immigrants, regardless of their time in the United States, would be required to report their identity to the government within 60 days of the law's enactment - but those on a path to legal status would be immune from removal. That wouldn't be the case for those here two years or less.

Asked about the requirement that the newer immigrants leave the United States to file their paperwork, a Senate aide involved in the negotiations said on condition he not be named: "It is a symbolic gesture. You are leaving the country and you are entering legally."

The details of the Senate plan changed daily, if not hourly, as senators and staff roamed from meeting to meeting in the Capitol Wednesday, under intense pressure to complete a bill before lawmakers begin a two-week recess Monday.

"It's chaos," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said earlier.

Hoping to keep the heat on Congress to adopt a legalization plan, immigrant-rights, religious and labor unions, which have dispatched hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in recent weeks, are planning another show of force. Rallies are planned in 63 cities, including Dallas, on Monday.

Crowds "in the millions" will turn out, said Jaime Contreras, president of the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, which is coordinating the events. Other rallies are planned Sunday.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14272435.htm

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That's good, but the million dollar question is does it have DREAM in it? For me... I have been here more than five years and I have a couple of years in tax returns (using my ITIN number), but I'am not working right now. Therefore, it most have DREAM for me and does Dreamers, who are just students or not working to benefit. However guys! momentum is in our favor. The majority of Republicans are trying to legalize many of us. We should be greatful to God that the Senate is trying to work out a deal that may leave Congress, and the President would sign. We are definitely more ahead, than we were a year ago.

I moved this to the front page.

Front Page:
http://dreamact.info/index.php?optio...d=65&Itemid=41

Forum Link:
http://dreamact.info/forum/viewtopic.php?p=557#557

Just for general info on news:
http://dreamact.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37