From: Federation for American Immigration Reform <info@fairus.org>
Date: 2006/05/17 Wed AM 11:31:38 EDT
Subject: Daily Senate Amnesty Update 5-17-06

The Senate reconvened at 9:45 am on Tuesday, May 16 to debate S.2611, the guest worker amnesty bill authored by Senators Specter, Hagel and Martinez. Debate continued throughout the day, into the early evening, with amendments offered and roll call votes taken. Below is a summary of the day's events.

Senator Frist began by remarking on President Bush's address on Monday night. Stating, "Our borders are out of control," he supported the President's decision to send the National Guard to the border. He said it was an appropriate action to take until more Border Patrol agents can be trained.

Senator Reid also remarked on President Bush's speech, saying that the President "did a commendable job." He also supported the temporary deployment of the National Guard to the Border, but said that we also need more detention beds and border patrol agents. Senator Reid called on the President to stay engaged in the debate and to publicly recognize how bad the House bill is. He called on the Senate to use this bill as an opportunity to exhibit bipartisanship and asked Senators to vote their conscience.

Senator Craig stood up on the Senate floor and declared, "The President gets it." He then added, "If the Senate doesn't get it, shame on us." He continued by saying that the U.S. economy needs immigrant workers-several hundreds of thousands a year.

Senator Isakson commended President Bush for his speech and his prioritizing of border security. He stated that when the laws are enforced and enforced soundly, our laws will be obeyed and respected. The Senator stated that the first thing the U.S. needs to do is secure its border, and then it can consider granting legal status to aliens. "This country can do anything it sets its mind to," he said. Senator Isakson offered amendment #3961, which delayed the implementation of any legalization program under the bill until the Department of Homeland Security certifies that the enforcement provisions (including the addition of detention space) have been implemented.

Senator Salazar offered amendment #3994, a competing amendment to the Isakson amendment. This amendment provided that neither the guest worker nor the amnesty programs shall be implemented until the President determines that doing so is in the national interest. Senator Salazar complimented the President for supporting "comprehensive immigration reform." The Senator said he agreed with the President that all elements of the problem must be addressed or else none of them will be resolved.

Senator Salazar continued by saying we should not allow a law to go into effect unless it is in the national interest and said this amendment will help improve the bill. The Senator said that the Isakson amendment would gut the underlying bill.

Senator Kennedy voiced his support for the Salazar amendment. He argued that the Isakson amendment does nothing to deal with undocumented workers or employment verification and reiterated his belief that immigration reform must be addressed in a "comprehensive way." The Senator said he was open to having the National Guard on the border, but stated that the government had, for years, put money into border security and yet there were more people than ever illegally crossing the border.

Senator Cornyn stood up in favor of the Isakson amendment and said the first thing we need to do is secure the border. He said that we can't wave a magic wand and suddenly train all of the new Border Patrol agents, build infrastructure, and create new secure ID cards. This will take time, he said. "We shouldn't put the cart before the horse."

Senator Chambliss spoke in favor of the Isakson amendment and said he was proud to be a co-sponsor of it. He said we all now know that the 1986 bill, which closely mirrors S.2611, did not work. If we are going down the same path as 1986, he said, shouldn't we ask what went wrong? Senator Chambliss stated that the problem with the 1986 bill was that it was one sided: status was changed but enforcement never came. That's why, he argued, Senator Isakson's amendment was so important.

Senator Durbin, echoing Senator Craig's remarks, said: "The President gets it." Senator Durbin cited the increase in border security spending over the past 10 years and argued that if border security alone was sufficient, the number of illegal immigrants would not have grown as it has.

Senator Thune spoke in favor of the Isakson amendment and stated that he was a co-sponsor of it. He said the amendment had a simple concept and represented a sound approach. "We need to secure our borders," he said. "The American people expect us to have a secure border."

Senator Isakson argued that his amendment would not gut the bill and that, in fact, it did nothing to change the underlying bill; it didn't delete one word. It simply provided that a legalization program could not be implemented until the enforcement provisions are implemented.

Roll call votes were taken on the Isakson and Salazar amendments. The Isakson amendment failed, 40-55. The Salazar amendment passed, 79-16.

Senator Dorgan then offered amendment #4017, to repeal the guest worker program in S.2611 (Title IV).
The Senator stated that if you read the paper or see the news, you see the new corporate strategy everywhere: export good jobs and import cheap labor. This, he said, was probably a good strategy for profits, but a horrible strategy for America. We built the middle class with good jobs and good wages, he said.

"What if the U.S. had no immigration laws at all?" Senator Dorgan asked. Massive numbers of immigrants would come. It is not selfish, he said, to be somewhat protective of our standard of living and our way of life. There are many voices here speaking for immigrants, but we have a responsibility to our citizens and there is precious little talk about them in this chamber these days. "Let me speak for a moment on behalf of American workers."

Senator Dorgan decried the argument that "guest workers" are needed to take the jobs Americans won't do. He argued that Americans want these jobs and are doing these jobs. The Senator criticized the 325,000 cap coupled with the automatic 20% escalator provision. He stated that this formula would result in 10 million guest workers in 10 years. He concluded that the guest worker provision of the bill wasn't about filling empty jobs, but was about "importing cheap labor." The Senator said that guest workers could more appropriately be termed "low wage replacement workers."

Senator Specter spoke out against the Dorgan amendment. He said he agreed with the argument that these are jobs Americans won't do, although he said it perhaps was not universally true.

Senator Boxer stood up in favor of the Dorgan amendment. She said while she felt there was a need for agricultural guest workers found in the AgJOBS portion of the bill, the guest worker program in Title IV was entirely too open-ended. She said she did not believe the argument that these were jobs Americans won't do, adding that these jobs are already being done in large part by Americans. Senator Boxer argued that if the guest worker provision were taken out, the bill would be better for it.

Senator Sessions also spoke in favor of the Dorgan amendment. He argued that there was nothing "temporary" about the guest worker program. The guest workers can apply for a green card through their employers the first day they are here. Or, after four years, they can apply for a green card on their own. He explained that with a beginning annual cap of 325,000 combined with an automatic 20% escalator, the increase in immigration is "extraordinary." He urged his colleagues to think seriously about what they are doing.

Senator McCain opposed the Dorgan amendment. He thanked President Bush for his speech Monday night and said the President gave an outstanding depiction of the situation in the U.S. The Senator said he agreed with the President's statement that all elements of the immigration problem need to be addressed or none will be solved at all.

Senator McCain then stated that the reason the 1986 bill didn't work was because it did not have a guest worker program. He said our population is getting older, restaurants are locking their doors because there is no one to serve the food. We need a viable guest worker program to stop the flow of illegal aliens, he said. He compared the immigration crisis to the so-called "war on drugs" and said that like drugs, there would always be a demand for foreign workers.

Yet no one should mistake this for another Bracero program, said Senator McCain. One of the biggest evils of illegal immigration is how innocent people are exploited. He said that the guest worker program was a fundamental part of the bill—if this is taken out, the country will be faced with the same economic pressures of the past.

Senator Specter moved to table the Dorgan amendment. The motion prevailed, 69-28.

Senator Bingaman then offered amendment #3981. He explained that his amendment would reduce the cap on the guest worker program from 325,000 to 200,000 and also eliminate the automatic escalator provision if the cap is reached. He compared the guest worker formula found in S.2611 to compound interest, but instead called it "compound immigration." He displayed a chart showing that if the bill were passed as originally drafted, skyrocketing numbers of guest workers would enter the U.S. over a relatively short span of six years. On top of this, he said, the guest worker provision has no sunset so the increase goes on indefinitely. The Senator argued that his amendment was not a drastic provision and that it would not undercut the bill. He said his amendment would improve the legislation.

Senator Feinstein spoke in favor of the Bingaman amendment. She stated that all automatic escalators in the bill should be deleted because they bring in too many people over a relatively short period of time. The Senator said the bill, as drafted, would double or triple the number of foreign workers over six years. A cap of 200,000 for the H-2C worker was ample, especially since workers may be admitted under other parts of the bill, such as the AgJOBS provision or the provision that increases H-1B workers.

Senator Boxer also spoke in favor of the Bingaman amendment. She predicted that "the guest worker bill will come back to haunt us."

Senator Specter opposed the Bingaman amendment. He stated the 325,000 cap on H-2C workers was the result of compromise. "This legislation," he said, "is trying to accommodate the market." The fluctuating escalator, therefore, is more important than the difference between 325,000 and 400,000 (the original cap on the H-2C program). He argued that prominent economists had testified that the impact on workers and wages would be minimal and that the legislation has been carefully constructed to protect U.S. workers.

Senator Specter moved to table the Bingaman amendment. The motion failed, 18-79. The Bingaman amendment then passed on a voice vote.

Senator Specter then announced that amendments authored by Senators Kerry, Kyl, Obama, and Sessions would be considered on Wednesday. He said while there would be no roll call votes during the rest of the day, members could speak to their amendments.

Senator Kerry offered amendment #3999. Senator Kerry stated that there are currently about 12,000 Border Patrol agents to cover 8,000 miles on the border. He added that if you took into account the need for 24-hour patrols and night shifts, there were only about 4,000 agents guarding the 8,000 mile border at any given time. This, he said, was not enough. Senator Kerry explained that his amendment increased the Border Patrol by 1,000 agents during this year and allowed governors from border states to request additional agents from DHS during emergencies. The amendment also increases helicopters and power boats for the border patrol and provides agents training to use them. Senator Kerry said this addition was needed for an immediate addition of agents.

Senator Reid spoke out in favor of the Kerry amendment and there was no further debate. The amendment passed on a voice vote.

Senator Kyl offered amendment #4027. This amendment provides that aliens with a felony conviction or three misdemeanor convictions are ineligible for amnesty. The amendment also makes aliens who have not left the country in accordance with a deportation order ineligible for amnesty.

Senator McCain spoke in favor of the Kyl amendment, stating that it made the bill better.

Senator Graham also spoke in favor of the bill, saying that they wanted to create a path to citizenship that is earned. He thought the provisions that allowed exceptions for lack of notice or hardship were fair. Senator Graham said the amendment made the bill better.

Senators Cornyn and Kyl both stressed that they had negotiated on the amendment in good faith and showed they could work to improve the bill.

Further debate on the Kyl amendment was postponed until Wednesday.

Senator Inhofe then offered an amendment to make English the official language in the United States and to require all official business to be conducted in English. He described the need for aliens to assimilate into American society. The Senator cited polls in which a large majority of Hispanics stated they felt learning English was necessary to being successful in the U.S.

Further debate on the Inhofe amendment was postponed until Wednesday.

The Senate adjourned around 7pm Tuesday. The Senate will reconvene at 9:15 Wednesday morning.

Stay tuned for more updates on Senate action from FAIR.