Thread: Fox News: Deal Reached on Compromise Immigration Reform Pack

Thursday, April 06, 2006

WASHINGTON — Senators said Thursday that although some fine-tuning still must be done, a consensus has been reached among Republican and Democratic lawmakers on a compromise immigration reform package that puts illegals onto three tracks toward legal status in the United States.

The compromise comes at the same time the Senate failed a "cloture vote" on an immigration reform bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but did not have the support of 60 senators. The 39-60 vote against the bill acts like a filibuster by preventing the end of debate, leaving the legislation in suspended animation, an effective death blow.

While the vote was happening, some senators held a press conference to announce the alternate bill, which had the support of a majority of the 55 Senate Republicans and several Democrats who are trying to get something rather than nothing.

"The good news is that because of the hard work of the people who are with me, we've had a huge breakthrough which will allow us to pivot in the next several hours that will lead us to the conclusion of passing a very important bill," said Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. He was surrounded by Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., co-sponsor of the failed legislation; and Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader.

"While it admittedly is not perfect, the choice we have to make is whether the bill is better than no bill. And I think that is decisive," said Specter, who supported the Democrat-favored bill.

President Bush has come out in support of the compromise, and was expected to make an announcement later in the day.

The compromise centers on two of the toughest issues in the immigration debate: creating a path to legalization for 11 million illegal workers in America now and a temporary worker program for future illegals seeking to work legally in America.

It builds on the defeated measure, proposed by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. That bill contains a guest worker proposal that would have allowed immigrants who entered illegally to stay legally in the country to work and obtain green cards after six years. It also would have let any illegal who arrived before Jan. 7, 2004, to get on the path to citizenship if they maintained jobs and met other conditions. Those include paying back taxes and a fine and being English proficient.

But the compromise measure proposed, first floated Monday night by Republican Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida, himself an immigrant, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, would create a three-layer system for current illegal immigrants to gain legal status in the country. The cutoff date plan, known as the "roots concept" by Republicans, would favor those who have lived in the United States longer than five years.

The roots plan gives consideration to much of the McCain-Kennedy bill in terms of the hoops set for illegals to climb through on the path to citizenship, including passing national security and criminal background checks, having been employed for three of the last five years, registering for the Selective Service and working an additional six years after the bill's enactment to ensure that their status is not adjusted before those who are already in line.

It also sets a number of 325,000 — down from 400,000 in the prior bill — of temporary work visas allowed each year. Workers could shift jobs without penalty, being allowed to move from agriculture to service industries without losing their legal status. Before filling any jobs with temporary illegal workers, employers must advertise the job publicly at the prevailing local wage for that job — only after failing to fill that job with legal American workers can the employer hire a temporary illegal immigrant.

The compromise creates a tiered system that gives preference to illegals who have been in the United States longer and have established roots in their communities:

— Illegals in the United States less than two years would be required to leave immediately. If caught once, they would be subject to a misdemeanor, and if caught twice they would be charged with a felony. About 2 million to 3 million people fall into this category.

— Illegals in the United States between two and five years would have go to one of 16 ports of entry in the United States, determined by the U.S. Visit program, and declare themselves. They would be given a temporary visa and allowed back to their U.S. residences immediately. Once in the United States, they could apply for the citizenship path spelled out in the McCain-Kennedy bill. About 3 million to 4 million people fall into this category.

— Illegals who could prove they have been in the United States for more than five years would immediately be given guest worker status and would get on the 11-year path to citizenship. They would not have to declare themselves as guest workers. This path would be open to about 5 million illegals living in the United States.

Support has not been completely lined up. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued a statement late Wednesday that avoided taking a position on the proposal, but he is expected to oppose it. In his statement, he said he remains "adamant that we not repeat the mistakes of the 1986 bill, a measure widely viewed as having imposed amnesty on those in the country illegally."

The bill also faces amendments and other objections on the Senate floor.

"We're almost there. We're not there. We still have some obstacles. The leader and I have spoken about them the last few hours. There's other pieces of legislation that may interfere. We have some amendments we have to vote on that are going to be hurtful to some people and not to others," said Reid.

"So even though we all feel good about today, it pales in comparison to the millions and millions of people out there who today feel that they have a chance to participate in the American dream," he said

If a bill does pass the Senate, any differences will have to be negotiated with the House. Speaker Dennis Hastert didn't rule out including elements of the Senate bill, and Sen. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the sponsor of the more restrictive House bill that passed in December said something must come from the Senate if a final product approved by both chambers is going to be enacted.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190770,00.html

So William...what do we do this afternoon? Admit defeat in the Senate, or hammer those we could still get to oppose this....we are waiting to march.

Hammer these traitors now. I'd rather have no bill then a crappy bill.

So even though we all feel good about today, it pales in comparison to the millions and millions of people out there who today feel that they have a chance to participate in the American dream," he said

Everybody feels good today except Americans.

We feel like we've been floating down the river and just noticed that thousand foot high waterfall coming up ahead.

Originally Posted by PintoBean

So William...what do we do this afternoon? Admit defeat in the Senate, or hammer those we could still get to oppose this....we are waiting to march.

See http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-21569.html

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Thursday, April 06, 2006

WASHINGTON — Senators said Thursday that although some fine-tuning still must be done, a consensus has been reached among Republican and Democratic lawmakers on a compromise immigration reform package that puts illegals onto three tracks toward legal status in the United States.

The compromise comes at the same time the Senate failed a "cloture vote" on an immigration reform bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but did not have the support of 60 senators. The 39-60 vote against the bill acts like a filibuster by preventing the end of debate, leaving the legislation in suspended animation, an effective death blow.

While the vote was happening, some senators held a press conference to announce the alternate bill, which had the support of a majority of the 55 Senate Republicans and several Democrats who are trying to get something rather than nothing.

"The good news is that because of the hard work of the people who are with me, we've had a huge breakthrough which will allow us to pivot in the next several hours that will lead us to the conclusion of passing a very important bill," said Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. He was surrounded by Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., co-sponsor of the failed legislation; and Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader.

"While it admittedly is not perfect, the choice we have to make is whether the bill is better than no bill. And I think that is decisive," said Specter, who supported the Democrat-favored bill.

President Bush has come out in support of the compromise, and was expected to make an announcement later in the day.

The compromise centers on two of the toughest issues in the immigration debate: creating a path to legalization for 11 million illegal workers in America now and a temporary worker program for future illegals seeking to work legally in America.

It builds on the defeated measure, proposed by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. That bill contains a guest worker proposal that would have allowed immigrants who entered illegally to stay legally in the country to work and obtain green cards after six years. It also would have let any illegal who arrived before Jan. 7, 2004, to get on the path to citizenship if they maintained jobs and met other conditions. Those include paying back taxes and a fine and being English proficient.

But the compromise measure proposed, first floated Monday night by Republican Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida, himself an immigrant, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, would create a three-layer system for current illegal immigrants to gain legal status in the country. The cutoff date plan, known as the "roots concept" by Republicans, would favor those who have lived in the United States longer than five years.

The roots plan gives consideration to much of the McCain-Kennedy bill in terms of the hoops set for illegals to climb through on the path to citizenship, including passing national security and criminal background checks, having been employed for three of the last five years, registering for the Selective Service and working an additional six years after the bill's enactment to ensure that their status is not adjusted before those who are already in line.

It also sets a number of 325,000 — down from 400,000 in the prior bill — of temporary work visas allowed each year. Workers could shift jobs without penalty, being allowed to move from agriculture to service industries without losing their legal status. Before filling any jobs with temporary illegal workers, employers must advertise the job publicly at the prevailing local wage for that job — only after failing to fill that job with legal American workers can the employer hire a temporary illegal immigrant.

The compromise creates a tiered system that gives preference to illegals who have been in the United States longer and have established roots in their communities:

— Illegals in the United States less than two years would be required to leave immediately. If caught once, they would be subject to a misdemeanor, and if caught twice they would be charged with a felony. About 2 million to 3 million people fall into this category.

— Illegals in the United States between two and five years would have go to one of 16 ports of entry in the United States, determined by the U.S. Visit program, and declare themselves. They would be given a temporary visa and allowed back to their U.S. residences immediately. Once in the United States, they could apply for the citizenship path spelled out in the McCain-Kennedy bill. About 3 million to 4 million people fall into this category.

— Illegals who could prove they have been in the United States for more than five years would immediately be given guest worker status and would get on the 11-year path to citizenship. They would not have to declare themselves as guest workers. This path would be open to about 5 million illegals living in the United States.

Support has not been completely lined up. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued a statement late Wednesday that avoided taking a position on the proposal, but he is expected to oppose it. In his statement, he said he remains "adamant that we not repeat the mistakes of the 1986 bill, a measure widely viewed as having imposed amnesty on those in the country illegally."

The bill also faces amendments and other objections on the Senate floor.

"We're almost there. We're not there. We still have some obstacles. The leader and I have spoken about them the last few hours. There's other pieces of legislation that may interfere. We have some amendments we have to vote on that are going to be hurtful to some people and not to others," said Reid.

"So even though we all feel good about today, it pales in comparison to the millions and millions of people out there who today feel that they have a chance to participate in the American dream," he said

If a bill does pass the Senate, any differences will have to be negotiated with the House. Speaker Dennis Hastert didn't rule out including elements of the Senate bill, and Sen. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the sponsor of the more restrictive House bill that passed in December said something must come from the Senate if a final product approved by both chambers is going to be enacted.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190770,00.html

It`s very clear , who runs this country.It`s also clear that the people that care about this country,have NO POWER AT ALL.It also looks like we have wasted alot of time and money, the American people are WEAK and HELPLESS.OH YEAH! What`s the deal on "Boarder Control"?
And how about the hiring of Illegal Aliens.I don`t see where anything has changed at all.....what a joke.Who will pay for the "Health Insurance"?.Who will control the TB? Can we arrest them now? How about drivers permits?
How about auto Insurance? How about in state tuition?How about Social Security? How about "Breaking our BANK".How about the "Mexican Flag".
Who will help us now?We`ve sent in our best and that wasn`t good enough.
I`ll bet that "Contractors" will alter papers in order to keep some,if not all of their help.
These people in Washington are "IDIOTS" and they can still out smart us.
Way to go AMERICA! Americans are so WEAK.
HILLERY FOR PRESIDENT......It`S POSSIBLE NOW,SHE OBVIOUSLY HAS NO OPPOSITION.

just sickening...

I can't believe that crowd actually says this isn't amnesty.

Amnesty:
# [n] a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense

trai·tor n.

One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust, especially one who commits treason.

Originally Posted by jp_48504

trai·tor n.

One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust, especially one who commits treason.

Bush does not have a country.Bush was born with a golden spoon in his mouth.
bush has always been rich.bush has never worried about the price of gas or milk.bush has never served this country.
I resigned from the American leagon because they let bush on their stage waring a hat with "veteran" emblazend" on it.
bush does not know America or Americans,how could he?
bush disobeys law(s) whenever he wants to.
His father was shoufered to school during the Depression.
I`m not ever sure bush ever had any friends,while growing up.
I could go on and on about this "Un-American" but, I can only take so much before start to I feel sick.I guess what I am saying is;bush makes me want to PUKE.
The sad thing is that Americans are not willing to stand up to him and his gang.I see tens of thousands of Illegals in the street making demands,yet I have not seen ONE(1) American in the streets making demands....Why is that?
American........Combat Veteran

Good Luck America.