Democrats stymie Republican efforts to pass immigration reform measures
Posted on Monday, October 12 @ 23:40:37 EDT
Topic: Democrat Democrats illegal immigration
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 Republicans failed last week to keep provisions
addressing illegal immigration in the Homeland Security spending bill,
the latest sign that Democrats want to hold off on that debate until
next year.
GOP senators had succeeded in attaching a pair of border security
and enforcement provisions to the Senate version of the appropriations
bill: one would have completed the 700-mile fence authorized along the
Mexican border and the other would have permanently extended a
requirement for all federal contractors to verify their employees
through a government database.
But Democrats stripped both provisions out in conference. They did
extend the verification program by three years along with several
expiring visa programs, including one for international medical
graduates in rural states and another for religious workers.
Topics: illegal immigration, border, fence, amendments, Senate, Democrats, spending, appropriations, committee
By Walter Alarkon
10/11/09
The Hill
"Clearly in our bill, we assumed nothing was
permanent," said Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), chairman of the Senate
Appropriations subcommittee for Homeland Security. "We took some
stop-gap measures."
Lawmakers, Price said, know that immigration won't be a top
priority in coming months, when Congress is looking to pass bills on
healthcare, climate change and financial regulations, and address the
struggling economy. Price said he believed Congress had the political
will to tackle immigration early in 2010 but that it would be hard to
pass anything once campaigning for the mid-term elections begins next
summer and the presidential race begins in 2011.
Leaving the provisions out will give advocates for a path to
citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in they
country more leverage to win over centrists once the immigration debate
begins.
The most recent immigration overhaul stalled in 2007 when lawmakers
couldn't agree, even though the effort was supported by President
George W. Bush, Democratic leaders and centrist Republicans.
The path to citizenship, which was in that bill, ended up being a dealbreaker for conservatives, who view it as amnesty.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (S.C.), one of the Republicans who backed the
immigration overhaul, said that the 3-year extensions of current
policies were good steps but no substitute for broader reform.
"You may extend a program or two, but you're never going to solve this problem piecemeal," Graham said.
He suggested that compromises will be necessary to pass any
legislation that realistically deals with the millions in the country
illegally.
"I think America is ready to embrace give-and-take politics on this
issue only if you can convince them that this will solve the problem,"
he said. "That's our challenge, to convince the American public that
the border is more secure."
Republicans who opposed the last immigration overhaul are again
pushing for increased immigration enforcement provisions in the 2010
spending bills.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) failed to get an amendment attached last
week to the Commerce, Justice and Science spending bill that would have
barred local law enforcement groups from receiving federal money for
community policing programs if they refused to report illegal
immigrants they encountered to federal authorities.
Large police departments, including those in New York City and
Philadelphia, have long objected to the proposal to end “sanctuary
cities”. They say it would have a chilling effect on policing in
immigrant communities, with potential witnesses to crimes avoiding
police for fear they will be reported.
Senators voted to table the amendment on a 38-61 vote, with every Democrat opposing the measure.
Vitter said that he hasn't seen any evidence that the gap between
supporters and opponents of the comprehensive immigration overhaul has
shrunk.
"I think there's very much still the same divide in Congress,"
Vitter told The Hill. "And I think there's still very much the same
support among the American people for getting serious first with
enforcement."
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