Update on Senate Debate and Action Alert

May 22, 2006


The Senate continues consideration of amendments to the comprehensive immigration reform bill. Here is a summary of amendments considered since the last update of May 17.

More amendments from May 17

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) offered an amendment (for Senator Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska) that would delay until June 1, 2009 the deadline by which persons traveling between the U.S. and Canada or Mexico would be required to carry a passport or other similar secure document. That amendment was accepted by voice vote.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4018:/

Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) offered an amendment that would include Poland in the Visa Waiver program (in which travelers from certain countries (mainly in Europe) do not have to apply for a visa to travel for short periods to the U.S. That amendment was accepted by voice vote.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4000:/

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) offered an amendment that would delete the ability of immigrants coming to the U.S. in a temporary worker program to petition for a green card on their own after four years. This amendment narrowly passed by a vote of 50 to 48. (However, this amendment was mostly overturned by a subsequent amendment, see below.)

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP3965:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00128



Amendments from May 18

Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) offered an amendment that mostly rolled back the Cornyn amendment passed on May 17. The amendment restores the ability of immigrants coming to the U.S. in the temporary worker program to petition for a green card after four years, but the Department of Labor would have to certify that there is no available U.S. worker to perform the job.

That amendment passed 56 to 43.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4065:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00129

Senator John Ensign (R-NV) offered an amendment that would bar undocumented immigrants who become legalized from receiving Social Security benefits for which they have paid through payroll taxes during the time they were undocumented. There was a motion to table that amendment, which was agreed to by a vote of 50 to 49.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP03985:/

Vote on Motion to Table:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00130

Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) offered an amendment that would exempt the unmarried and married sons and daughters of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on family-based immigration. This amendment was accepted by voice vote.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4029:/

An amendment by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) would tighten somewhat the requirements for documenting eligibility for the legalization program. This amendment was approved by voice vote.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP3964:/

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) offered an amendment that would make English the “national language” of the U.S. The amendment states that, unless specifically required by law, no person has a “right” to have government services or materials provided in a language other than English.

Additionally, the Inhofe amendment strikes the option that an undocumented immigrant who is applying for legalization, or a participant in the temporary worker program who is self-petitioning for permanent residence show that he or she is “satisfactorily pursuing a course of study” in English and civics. Instead, these individuals will have to meet the requirements of persons applying for naturalization (they will have to know enough English and Civics to pass the naturalization test). This aspect of the amendment, if not fixed, threatens to make the legalization program less effective.

The amendment also contains provisions that may make the naturalization test (for persons applying for citizenship) more difficult.

Unfortunately, this amendment passed after several hours of debate by a vote of 63 to 34.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4064:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00131

Subsequent to the Inhofe amendment, Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) offered an amendment in an attempt to ameliorate the Inhofe amendment. This amendment passed by a vote of 58 to 39.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4073:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00132

The potential effects of the Salazar and Inhofe amendments, and how they would interact, are still being analyzed.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) offered an amendment to specify allocation of certain fees established by the bill. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 43 to 52.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP04072:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00133

A competing amendment by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) would, among other things impose an additional $750 fee on legalization applicants, to be placed in an account that would be used to reimburse states for health and education services provided to non-citizens. That amendment passed by a vote of 64 to 32.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP04038:/

Vote: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00134



The Coalition Passes another Test

Late Thursday evening, there was an amendment offered by Senator John Cornyn (on behalf of Senator Jon Kyl, R-AZ) that provided another test for the coalition of Democratic and Republican Senators who have been backing comprehensive reform in the Senate. After some drama concerning the White House’s position on the amendment, the coalition beat back yet another attempt by hardliners to gut comprehensive reform.

The Kyl amendment would have prohibited persons participating in the temporary worker program from ever adjusting to permanent status. If approved, the amendment would have deleted a key worker protection in the temporary worker program: the ability to adjust to permanent residence (for those who want to remain in the U.S.) and thus to not have to depend on a particular employer for continued status. Senator John McCain offered a motion to table this amendment, and his motion passed by a vote of 58 to 35.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP03969:/

Vote on the Motion to Table:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00135

For an interesting story on the drama surrounding this amendment, see the Washington Post story posted on our Web site at:

http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=693



Positive Amendments Coming Up: Contact Your Senators

The above links to the recorded votes on the various amendments will give you information on how your senators have voted thus far. Please consider thanking them, or calling them to task, depending on how they voted. For the week coming up, here are three positive amendments that may come to the floor. If you can, please contact your Senators about these amendments. (There are more amendments, many of which have been the subject of action alerts being circulated on various e-mail lists. The following is not a comprehensive list.)



Feingold amendment on stay of removal: Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) will offer an amendment to strike a provision of the bill (Section 227(c)) that would prohibit courts from staying the removal of an alien who has received a final order of removal. As the bill now reads, asylum seekers and others could be removed while their appeals are still pending. The Feingold amendment deletes that provision.

Call your Senator to urge him or her to support the Feingold amendment to strike Section 227(c). Section 227(c) would:

nullify the judicial review process by removing people from the country before their cases have been heard;

send asylum seekers back into the hands of their persecutors and, possibly, to their deaths; and cause the U.S. to violate the United Nations Convention

and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits the return of individuals to countries where they will face persecution.

(Thanks to the American Immigration Lawyers Association for the above talking points.)

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4083:/

Lieberman amendment protecting asylum seekers from felony prosecution for using a false passport: Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) intends to offer an amendment that would fix a provision of the bill that would harm persons who affirmatively apply for asylum. There is a provision in Title II of the bill (Section 208) that would make it a felony for someone to use a false passport to enter the U.S. An exception was made for asylum seekers who are apprehended at the border, but not for those already in the U.S. who apply for asylum. Senator Lieberman’s amendment would make the exception apply to all asylum seekers and persons in other specially protected groups. His amendment would prevent the prosecution of asylum seekers for this offense until after their applications were denied and thereafter leave prosecution to the discretion of authorities (as opposed to requiring prosecution, as the bill is currently worded).

Ask your senators to support the Lieberman amendment. Asylum seekers often cannot obtain proper travel documents to make their escape, and should not be prosecuted for relying on what documents they can obtain in order to save their lives.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP4036:/

Leahy amendment on injunctive relief: The compromise immigration reform bill places unrealistic deadlines on courts when immigrants seek a court injunction to provide relief in cases where the immigrants claim they are being harmed by a government decision. If the bill is not changed, many immigrants will not be able to gain court-ordered relief, not because their case has no merit, but because the court will not have sufficient time to consider the case and what remedies to apply.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will offer an amendment to delete from the bill the provisions limiting injunctive relief.

Call Senator Leahy’s office and encourage him to go forward with the amendment. Ask your Senator to support the Leahy amendment on injunctive relief. Immigrants who suffer from improper decisions by the government should be able to gain relief from the courts.

Amendment: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP3972:/

You can find the phone number of your Senator’s office here:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm



More information

For more interesting reading on how the politics of the Senate debate are playing out around the country, see the story from the Washington Post on our Web site, “Bush Is Losing Hispanics' Support, Polls Show”

http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=623

Also see this editorial from the New York Times:

http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=809