Thread: Martinez details how Senate slugged out immigration bill

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 5170.story
Martinez details how Senate slugged out immigration bill

Frank Davies | Washington Bureau
Posted May 25, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida -- a key force behind the Senate's immigration bill -- explained Wednesday how he cajoled Republican colleagues to support his plan during morning workouts in the Senate gym, joking that "if I pushed too hard, they'd send me back" to Cuba.

He recalled "some shouting" at a negotiating session over his compromise plan with several senators, including Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and some staffers.

"Kennedy looked at me and said, 'He and I will work this out,' " Martinez said. "Kennedy and I slugged it out some, and then we joined arms on this."

Today, an intense, monthslong legislative struggle in the Senate over immigration is likely to culminate with about 70 senators passing a complex plan crafted by Martinez and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. A final vote was assured Wednesday when the Senate voted 73-25 to limit debate.

Martinez, a freshman and the only immigrant in the Senate, said he didn't seek such a prominent role in the fiercely contentious debate until colleagues "who knew my background looked to me and wondered what I thought."

"That gave me the impetus to get more involved," Martinez said in an interview Wednesday as he provided new details on how the final bill emerged.

Martinez said that Republicans, controlling the Senate and the House, "have a real responsibility to get something done on this, however difficult."

He emphasized that the issue "transcends politics," but as the Senate's only Hispanic Republican, he had another motivation: "I wanted to help our party make sure we don't blow it on this issue."

With "great humility," he likened his standing in the debate to that of Sen. John McCain, an ex-POW and torture victim, denouncing the mistreatment of detainees in U.S. custody.

"I found my life experience gave me an added voice," said Martinez, whose parents sent him from Cuba to Florida when he was 15.

On the Senate floor Wednesday, McCain, R-Ariz., said Martinez "had the experience, knowledge and background to see this bill passed."

It almost did not happen. When the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill March 27 pushed by McCain and Kennedy, Martinez and other senators realized it was too sweeping and generous to illegal immigrants to attract the 60 votes needed to ensure Senate passage.

Circumstances for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants vary widely, said Martinez, who asked his staff to look for a middle ground on how they should be treated. Staffers came up with different rules, depending on length of residency, and found that Hagel had introduced a bill with that approach a few years ago.

Martinez and Hagel joined forces, producing a three-tiered system that is the heart of the bill. Illegal immigrants here five years and longer can stay and work toward legal status and eventual citizenship if they pay fines, back taxes and pass background checks.

Those in the country two to five years would have to go to a point of entry and register for a guest-worker program. Those here less than two years would have to return to their home countries where they could apply for guest-worker permits.

Some senators say this system is unworkable and will only encourage new fraud. But Martinez said it was a compromise "that more senators could live with."

Several amendments in the past two weeks have made the bill "tougher and more palatable" for some, Martinez said. They include steeper fines for employers who hire illegal workers and 370 miles of triple-layered fences along the border with Mexico.

Martinez had called more fencing an "ugly symbol" in a speech a few weeks ago, but ended up voting for the fences.

"That was a bit of reversal, but I was persuaded that in certain urban areas it was important," he said.

The House immigration bill deals only with border security and workplace enforcement. But Martinez is optimistic that later this year, House leaders will consider some sort of guest-worker provision closer to the Senate bill and President Bush's position.

White House strategist Karl Rove met with House Republicans on Wednesday for the second time in two weeks, pushing for a broader immigration plan.

Because of his role, Martinez said he has received pressure from all sides in the debate -- from employers who want more workers, to angry conservatives who say he is making a big mistake.

Some calls to his office have been "ugly," he said. But he has also received hugs from restaurant workers who know of his work.

And then there are the 200-plus bricks sent to Martinez's office by opponents of illegal immigration. The bricks carry such messages as: "Build a wall. Secure the border."

"As long as they're not coming through the window, I can respect that," Martinez said.

On Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told lawmakers that the first wave of about 800 Guard troops will head to the U.S.-Mexico border next week. Blum said 200 soldiers are preparing to go to each of the four border states -- California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico -- about June 1.

The troops represent the launch of Bush's plan to dispatch up to 6,000 National Guard members to states bordering Mexico to support the Border Patrol and help stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the border.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Frank Davies can be reached at fdavies@tribune.com or 202-824-8222.

Martinez is disgusting. I cannot understand how people elected this man to represent them.

You are right Martinez is a disgrace, like so many of our senators. I have written Martinez and our other worthless senator (Nelson) many letters over the past months and to date have not recieved 1 response from either of them.

Unfortunately Martinez is here to stay for right now

To bad he didn't stay in Cuba