WORLD / America
Senate passes immigration bill overhaul
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-26 08:51
Landmark legislation to secure U.S. borders and offer millions of illegal
immigrants a share of the American dream cleared the Senate on Thursday,
a rare election-year reach across party lines and a triumph for President
Bush.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., talks with reporters on
Capitol Hill Thursday, May 25, 2006, after the Senate voted 62-36 to
overhaul the nation's immigratikon laws. Left to right are Frist, Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. [AP]
The 62-36 vote cleared the way for arduous summertime compromise talks
with the House on its immigration measure focusing on border enforcement
with no guarantee of success. Republicans and Democrats said energetic
participation by Bush would be critical.
"Why not say to those undocumented workers who are working the jobs that
the rest of us refuse, come out from the shadows," said Arizona
Republican John McCain, a key architect of the bill.
The legislation includes money to better secure the borders, provide a
new guest worker program and give an eventual shot at citizenship to many
of the estimated 11 million to 12 million immigrants in the country
illegally.
The bill "strengthens our security and reflects our humanity," said
Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., McCain's partner in the Senate compromise.
"It is intended to keep out those who would harm us and welcome those who
contribute to our country."
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and the Democratic leader, Harry
Reid of Nevada, both sided with supporters, a reflection of the
bipartisan backing for a bill that was months in the drafting and
survived several near-death experiences. In all, 38 Democrats, 23
Republicans and one independent voted for the bill, while 32 Republicans
opposed and four Democrats opposed it.
Conservative critics attacked the legislation to the end after trying
unsuccessfully to pull it apart with amendments.
"This bill will not secure our borders," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (news,
bio, voting record), R-Ala., one of the most persistent critics.
"This is amnesty," added David Vitter, R-La., who tried last week to
strip out provisions relating to citizenship.
Not so, said Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa.,
chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in a rebuttal to weeks of debate.
"They have to pay a fine. They have to undergo a criminal background
check. They have to pay back taxes, they have to learn English and they
have to go to the back of the line," he said, referring to illegal
immigrants who would apply for citizenship.
Still, Sessions, Vitter, John Cornyn of Texas and others echoed a view
widely held among House Republicans, many of whom have vigorously
denounced the Senate bill as well as Bush's call for a "comprehensive
approach" to the issue.
That portended difficult compromise talks in the shadow of midterm
elections, at a time when Bush's poll ratings are low, congressional
Republicans are concerned and Democrats are increasingly optimistic about
their chances in November.
Lawmakers in both parties pledged strenuous efforts to reach a
compromise. Specter said that Republicans, as the party in power in
Congress and the White House, had a special burden to produce a
compromise. "I believe the president will put a heavy shoulder to the
wheel," he added.
Internal GOP divisions will complicate compromise talks. In the Senate
alone, four members of the leadership voted against the bill, including
Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, chairman of the party's senatorial
committee.
House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a statement that said,
"we owe it to the American people to seek common ground on responsible
solutions, while always stressing our most important priority is to
secure our borders and stop illegal immigration."
The House bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is
generally limited to border enforcement. It would make all illegal
immigrants subject to felony charges and it contains no provision for
either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and
children in the country unlawfully.
In contrast, the Senate bill would mark the most far-reaching changes in
immigration law in two decades.
Built on compromise after painstaking compromise, it was designed to
appeal to conservatives and others seeking tougher border enforcement;
business interests eager for a steady supply of legal, low-wage labor;
unions seeking enhanced protections for migrants who often toil in
seasonal work the fields and Hispanics who are on the cusp of greater
political power and determined to win a change in legal status for
millions of illegal immigrants.
That last group - Hispanics comprises the fastest growing segment of the
electorate, and millions made their feelings clear in street
demonstrations denouncing the House measure and calling for passage of a
broader measure.
Bush played a prominent role in the run-up to passage. An Oval Office
speech last week made explicit his support for the Senate's overall
approach. A later trip to Arizona was designed to reassure conservatives
about his commitment to stanching illegal immigration.
In more than a week of debate, the Senate made a series of changes in the
legislation. Still, the key pillars were preserved when opponents failed
to knock out the guest worker program or the citizenship provisions. A
new program for 1.5 million temporary agricultural workers also survived.
To secure the borders, the measure calls for the hiring of an additional
1,000 new Border Patrol agents this year and 14,000 by 2011, and backs
Bush's plan for a short-term deployment of National Guard troops to
states along the Mexican Border. The bill calls for new surveillance
equipment as well as the construction of 370 miles of triple-layered
fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers.
The new guest worker program would admit 200,000 individuals a year. Once
here, they would be permitted for the first time to petition on their own
for a green card that confers legal permanent residency, a provision
designed to reduce the potential for exploitation by employers.
A separate new program, a compromise between growers and unions,
envisions admission of an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers
who may also apply for permanent residency
Even supporters of the bill conceded the three-tiered program related to
illegal immigrants was complicated.
Those in the country unlawfully for five years or more would be permitted
to remain, continue working and eventually apply for citizenship. They
would be required to pay at least $3,250 in fines and fees, settle any
back taxes and learn English.
Illegal immigrants in the country for more than two years but less than
five would be required to travel to a point of entry before re-entering
the United States legally and beginning a lengthy process of seeking
citizenship. They would be subject to the same fines, fees and other
requirements as the longer-term immigrants.
An immigrant in the country illegally for less than two years would be
required to leave with no guarantee of return.
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