Update on the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill

Dear Friends,
Below you will find an update on the Senate activities and next steps on immigration
by the National Immigration Law Center.

From: National Immigration Law Center [mailto:NILC [at] mail.democracyinaction.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:14 PM
To: Larisa
Subject: Update on the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill


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Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)


Update on the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill



For more information, contact Josh Bernstein, Director of Federal Policy at
bernstein [at] nilc-dc.org<mailto:bernstein [at] nilc-dc.org> or Joan Friedland, Immigration
Policy Director, at friedland [at] nilc-dc.org<mailto:friedland [at] nilc-dc.org>


INTERIM REPORT

On May 25, the Senate completed its first week of debate on immigration reform,
voting on 12 amendments to the "Grand Bargain", which was negotiated and placed on
the Senate floor by Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the White House,
and others. The agreement takes the form of a substitute amendment to S. 1348, the
Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, the text of
which begins
here<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=356130580&url_num=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffrwebgate.access.gpo.gov%2Fcgi-bin%2Fgetpage.cgi%3Fposition%3Dall%26amp%3Bpage%3DS6625%26amp%3Bdbname%3D2007_record>.
NILC's statement on the agreement can be found
here<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=356130580&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnilc.org%2Fimmlawpolicy%2FCIR%2Fcir022.htm>.

Amendments that have already been considered

Perhaps the most significant amendment approved last week would likely make the
already problematic legalization process even longer than originally projected - in
fact it could prevent most of the legalized immigrants from ever transitioning from
the precarious "Z nonimmigrant" status to lawful permanent residence and eventual
citizenship. The amendment, offered by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), was adopted by a
voice vote. It would enhance the "triggers" that must be met before legalizing
immigrants could adjust from "Z nonimmigrant status" to lawful permanent residence -
and also before the new temporary worker program could take effect - to, among other
things, include a new requirement that DHS establish and demonstrate operational
control over 100 percent of the international land border between Mexico and the
United States. Needless to say, no such standard is likely to be achieved in the
foreseeable future.

Another amendment, introduced by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and passed by unanimous
consent (meaning that there was no vote, but the amendment was agreed to because no
Senator objected), would require legalizing immigrants to pay back taxes. This
requirement, which has almost always been included in previous legalization bills,
had been stripped from this one at the White House's request, causing a predictable
uproar on conservative blogs, cable television, and radio talk shows. Additional
amendments are now pending on this subject - and could be voted on next week - that
would require legalizing immigrants to pay significantly more taxes than others by
disallowing tax credits and refunds that all other low-income tax filers rely on to
make their tax burden affordable.

Several other amendments that would have gutted the agreement were defeated. One
amendment to strike the entire legalization program for undocumented persons in the
U.S. was overwhelmingly voted down. The Senate also defeated amendments striking the
temporary worker program from the bill and ending the temporary worker program after
5 years, but passed an amendment reducing from 400,000 to 200,000 the number of
persons who could be admitted under the program each year. The temporary worker
program envisioned in the agreement is deeply flawed because it would require
non-seasonal temporary workers to leave the U.S. for at least a year every 2 years
and would leave them without any realistic eventual path to permanent residence or
citizenship. These features, combined with the fact that the implementation of the
new "merit-based" system would likely result in an initial reduction of permanent
work visas for unskilled workers, would all but guarantee the creation of a
substantial new undocumented class in the years to come. But no amendments to
specifically address these issues have been filed to date.

Another amendment would have outlawed state and local government policies that
prevent their employees -- including police and health and safety workers -- from
inquiring about the immigration status of those they serve if there is "probable
cause" to believe the individual being questioned is undocumented. It was defeated,
but only by one vote.

Other amendments that the Senate passed include:

* Providing long-sought protections for unaccompanied minor children;
* Clarifying rules that apply to non-citizens employed as dairy workers;
* Giving local and DHS officials greater involvement in decisions about the
location of border fencing;
* Imposing mandatory minimum sentences for non-citizens who re-enter the U.S.
after removal;
* Exempting children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from numerical
limits on immigrant visas; and
* Establishing the American Competitiveness Scholarship Program.

For more information on the amendments that were considered last week, you can go to
http://thomas.loc.gov, search for S. 1348, click on "bill summary and status file"
and click on "amendments".

What's next

The Senate will resume consideration of the bill on June 4. Almost 100 amendments
have been filed but not yet voted on. We do not know which of these amendments will
be voted on or when, and it expected that additional amendments will still be filed.
For example, we expect at least one amendment with revised provisions for an
electronic employment eligibility verification system to be filed. While the
amendments that have been filed can be studied in advance, others will be filed,
debated and voted on with little time for analysis or public scrutiny.

Some of the amendments have the potential to improve the bill. They include
reclassifying spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate
relatives and giving family relationships greater weight in the new "merit-based"
points system. These amendments would partially undo the bill's dismantling of the
family immigration system. If the pro-family amendments are not approved, a likely
result will be that far fewer women will come to the U.S., since most immigrants who
come here strictly for employment are men. Those who come would also be less likely
to have lasting attachments to the U.S. and - perhaps surprisingly - there is little
evidence that they would surpass today's family immigrants in economic development
over the long run.

The points system itself is unlikely to be removed from the bill, and many extremely
damaging amendments have been also filed. Senator Cornyn (R-TX) alone has filed more
than 25 amendments, virtually all of which would punish immigrants or deprive them
of fundamental rights or make the path to legal status more arduous. At this point,
it is impossible to predict how the bill will change before the vote on final
passage in the Senate, or whether the amended bill will be able to garner the 60
votes required to overcome the likely filibuster and pass the Senate.

For the present, our initial concerns about the "grand bargain" now being debated
remain. While it would provide short term benefits to many undocumented immigrants,
the long term consequences for both immigrants and citizens would likely be dire.
Absent significant improvements next week, we expect to recommend that the Senate
vote no on final passage.

Josh Bernstein, Director of Federal Policy
Joan Friedland, Immigration Policy Director















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