Senators, White House reach deal on immigration
05/17/2007 @ 1:52 pm
Filed by Nick Juliano
A bipartisan group of senators has come to an agreement with the White House over an immigration reform bill that would give the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US a path to citizenship and strengthen border security.
Advertisement
The draft immigration bill announced today was crafted after months of negotiations among the most liberal and conservative senators and White House officials. The bill's top aim is securing the nation's borders through stepped-up enforcement measures and severe sanctions against employers to "stop the magnet" that leads immigrants to enter the country illegally, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said in a televised news conference today.
President Bush "looks forward to signing this bill," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who represented the administration in negotiations with the Senate, said at a press briefing Thursday afternoon.
The bill provides for a guest worker program that would allow immigrants to work temporarily in the US, although they would still live in their home country. The legislation also would allow the estimated 11 million to 12 million immigrants already in the country to come forward and apply for a probationary "Z visa" that would allow them to stay in the country legally and eventually put them on the path to citizenship.
Senators stressed, however, that the bill should not be seen as giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants applying for the visa would have to pay a $5,000 fine and return to their home country before being eligible for citizenship, and they would go to the "end of the line" of immigrants vying for citizenship, senators said.
Although the citizenship process could take a decade or more, illegal immigrants would be eligible to live and work in the US indefinitely so long as they pay the fine, file a citizenship application from their home country and passes a criminal background check.
The draft legislation also changes the way the US evaluates green-card applicants, and for the first time a "point system" will place a higher value on applicants' education and skill level rather than familiy connections within the US.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., predicted the immigration measure would pass the Senate with "overwhelming" support.