Reid insists reform must include path to citizenship

Ianus · 01-18-2013, 09:57 AM

It looks like reform must have a path to citizenship or bust.I'm also in disbelief that Reid mentioned the bill might be released this month.

Quote:

Searchlight — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is hoping to build an immigration reform bill with bipartisan support but that some related issues are not up for debate in his view.

Meeting Thursday morning at his Searchlight home, Reid outlined his top priorities for the U.S. Senate in 2013, including immigration reform, to reporters who cover the Southern Nevada Hispanic community.

“There will be nothing done in my Senate (on immigration reform) without a pathway to citizenship,” he said.

Reid, sitting in his Western-themed home, which sits in the middle of wide-open desert not unlike the terrain around the southwestern U.S.-Mexico border, said it was time to turn the focus away from border security and toward other reform measures.

“We have spent a huge amount of money on border security, and both our northern and southern borders are more secure,” Reid said. “Frankly, Mexico is doing much better economically, and that has helped the issue a lot. We can’t build a fence of 3,000 miles because no matter how high we build it, they can build a ladder taller than that fence. So I think we have about expended our energy on border security.”

Reid said immigration reform was one of his top two issues for this session. Currently, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are working on a bipartisan proposal they hope to unveil by the end of this month.

“People will have to move to the back of line. They would have to pay some penalties and fines, and they have to work, stay out of trouble and work on speaking English,” said Reid, offering general principles for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants without legal residency. “That would bring people out of the shadows and really help everybody. It would be good for family reunification.”

Reid, who credits his 2010 re-election to Hispanic support, said he had no issue with E-Verify, the federal system for employers to check the immigration status of job applicants, but that it would have to be used much more widely to be effective.

“We have to make the employer sanctions not a Catch-22,” he said. “No one can do it right. If you are an employer, you have trouble, and if you are an employee, you have trouble. So these are some of the things we need to work on that are totally doable if there is a will. That’s why I hope McCain sticks with it, because it will be a great legacy for him.”

Reid lamented the loss of Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, both of whom are resigning, and said it was important to replace the loss of Hispanic leaders in the upper echelons of the federal government.

“I have never ever served with someone who I admire more (than Ken Salazar), and whom I feel more strongly about. … It’s a shame,” Reid said, adding he was offering recommendations for appointments to President Barack Obama.

Reid also touched on subjects that do not carry added weight in the Hispanic community, including Obama’s gun-control speech Wednesday morning.

Reid referred to a “room full of guns” in his house, saying he used to hunt but that he no longer could say what the guns are for. He said he was open to discussion about the types of firearms that are available and magazine capacity, but he also wanted to look into mental health issues and violence in media and video games.

Reid said he would be in favor of training to help teachers identify mental health problems, and he thought the regulations around forced psychiatric care had become too strict after being too lenient when he first started practicing law.

For those wanting to purchase guns, Reid said, “I think there can be general agreement that we can do a much more thorough and better job.”

Last year, 75,000 people lied about having a felony conviction on their record when they purchased a gun, Reid said, and just 7,000 of those people were referred to the U.S. Justice Department.

“That’s wrong,” he said. “That shows we can do a better job on things like that.”

Reid will return this weekend to Washington, D.C., and will attend the presidential inauguration on Monday.

A relief bill for victims of Hurricane Sandy that had already passed the House of Representatives is at the top of the pile for the Senate when it returns. Then the Senate will address nominations and its rules. Those issues could become contentious as Reid made it clear he planned procedural rule changes.

Reid repeatedly has criticized the overuse of the procedural filibuster, in which one or more senators stall legislation by registering an objection but without actually having to speak on the floor to delay action. Sixty votes are needed to overcome the procedural filibuster.

Reid said he would not attempt to reduce the votes needed to end the filibuster to a simple majority, but he said he would take action to streamline procedural rules that delay action. For example, Reid said he wanted to shorten the time allowed for debate after cloture, the filing to end debate, from 30 hours to just a few hours.

Such a change could draw the ire of Senate Republicans and their minority leader, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

“I would hope that McConnell would realize I’m going to do it with or without him,” Reid said. “It would be nice if he would work with me to do something. At this stage, that has not come to be.”

After that, Reid said it would be time to tackle the tough debates over gun control and immigration reform.

cacheton011 · 01-18-2013, 10:04 AM

And here we go.........

2Face · 01-18-2013, 10:36 AM

Well this is great. The Republicans don't want a pathway to citizenship and Democrats won't have it without a pathway to citizenship. WE want a pathway to citizenship which obviously won't be an easy one. This shits going to go down the freakin wire. This is the final push...Now or never. This is the end of the road for CIR. If they don't do this this year, I certainly don't think that will be the case, then this issue will be dead for the coming decade.

Nic89 · 01-18-2013, 12:08 PM

I like Raid's confidence by saying: “There will be nothing done in my Senate (on immigration reform) without a pathway to citizenship,” .

EditorInChief · 01-18-2013, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ianus

It looks like reform must have a path to citizenship or bust.I'm also in disbelief that Reid mentioned the bill might be released this month.

Reid is again simply playing politics! He just wants to keep CIR as a low hanging fruit, instead of giving it to us. Reid does so by making CIR unacceptable to the Republicans.

Both Democrats are Republicans are proposing the SAME thing:
Undocumented (1) ---> Legal Status (2) ---> Green Card (3) ---> Citizenship (4)

There is no question about (3) to (4) because that is a standard procedure.
The critical questions lie in (1) to (2) and (2) to (3). The Democrats proposal may take less time whereas the Republican proposal may take more time.

As for "legal status", the two parties have different names for it. Democrats call it "Conditional Legal Permanent Status" whereas Republicans call it "W visa". But, neither proposal is a REAL green card, despite difference in names.

So, don't be too optimistic and be realistic! The conservatives still have plenty of power. So, some compromise needs to be made in order to really achieve CIR.

In fact, keeping CIR always as a low hanging fruit is the best strategy that the Democrats prefer, instead of letting us have it. That way, they will always be able to stay supported by us. But once CIR is done, the Democrats may not get as much support!

VeryNicePerson1 · 01-18-2013, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cacheton011

And here we go.........

Couldn't have said it better myself,

msaccountant · 01-18-2013, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EditorInChief

Reid is again simply playing politics! He just wants to keep CIR as a low hanging fruit, instead of giving it to us. Reid does so by making CIR unacceptable to the Republicans.

Both Democrats are Republicans are proposing the SAME thing:
Undocumented (1) ---> Legal Status (2) ---> Green Card (3) ---> Citizenship (4)

There is no question about (3) to (4) because that is a standard procedure.
The critical questions lie in (1) to (2) and (2) to (3). The Democrats proposal may take less time whereas the Republican proposal may take more time.

As for "legal status", the two parties have different names for it. Democrats call it "Conditional Legal Permanent Status" whereas Republicans call it "W visa". But, neither proposal is a REAL green card, despite difference in names.

So, don't be too optimistic and be realistic! The conservatives still have plenty of power. So, some compromise needs to be made in order to really achieve CIR.

In fact, keeping CIR always as a low hanging fruit is the best strategy that the Democrats prefer, instead of letting us have it. That way, they will always be able to stay supported by us. But once CIR is done, the Democrats may not get as much support!

Seriously you know history shows that immigrants tend to vote for democrats more than republicans?

Anyways another reason why other folks should not settle for just a 'work permit' is because once they get older they won't be able to receive pensions, social security and medicaid? Am I correct or just plain wrong?

EditorInChief · 01-18-2013, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msaccountant

Seriously you know history shows that immigrants tend to vote for democrats more than republicans?

Anyways another reason why other folks should not settle for just a 'work permit' is because once they get older they won't be able to receive pensions, social security and medicaid? Am I correct or just plain wrong?

Both the Republican proposal and the Democrats proposal will eventually get us the citizenship.

There is no difference between "Legal Status" and "A Path to Citizenship". They are in fact the same thing, but are given different names by different parties.

Reason that they are the same: There are existing, standard procedures for a LEGAL person to get the green card which leads to citizenship in five years.

The Republican proposal may take more time AFTER the legal status is granted, but the Democrats' proposal may take more time BEFORE any legal status is granted. ---

Being comprehensive means time-consuming! That is the Democrats' approach to always keeping the fruit low hanging for us, but without really letting us have it.

bertdude7 · 01-18-2013, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

Well this is great. The Republicans don't want a pathway to citizenship and Democrats won't have it without a pathway to citizenship. WE want a pathway to citizenship which obviously won't be an easy one. This shits going to go down the freakin wire. This is the final push...Now or never. This is the end of the road for CIR. If they don't do this this year, I certainly don't think that will be the case, then this issue will be dead for the coming decade.

False, Republicans do want a pathway to citizenship for us; they just wanna give us hell earning it. Democrats want an "easier" more reasonable way to gain Citizenship. Marco Rubio even said with his "plan" we would see an eventual pathway to becoming an USC. But then again, you're right.....sigh. Here we go again, this might be 2006 all over again. Stupid ideology gets in the way, so they just stand in a stalemate and no compromised is ever achieved.

msaccountant · 01-18-2013, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertdude7

False, Republicans do want a pathway to citizenship for us; they just wanna give us hell earning it. Democrats want an "easier" more reasonable way to gain Citizenship. Marco Rubio even said with his "plan" we would see an eventual pathway to becoming an USC. But then again, you're right.....sigh. Here we go again, this might be 2006 all over again. Stupid ideology gets in the way, so they just stand in a stalemate and no compromised is ever achieved.

Perhaps some do. Anyone remember the Achieve Act? Even the man (R) who created it said there was no "special" pathway towards citizenship because "that's what marriage was for". Seriously?

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Reid insists reform must include path to citizenship