Thread: Immigration bill: Votes being exchanged for broader support

Immigration bill: Votes being exchanged for broader support

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles ... ation3.txt

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS/Associated Press

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 11:28 PM PDT

WASHINGTON - Sixteen of the two dozen amendments the Senate will consider attaching to a revived immigration bill come from senators who helped derail the legislation earlier this month.

A list of the proposed changes obtained by The Associated Press illustrates how key Republicans and Democrats plotting to revive the measure before the Fourth of July recess are trying to placate critics by holding votes to address their top concerns.

The proposals range from bids to make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to gain legal status to attempts to give family members of U.S. citizens more opportunities to immigrate.

The bipartisan coalition that crafted the deal is keeping the still-tentative list under tight wraps as they scramble to fine-tune it with an eye toward attracting the widest possible swath of converts to the bill. The measure, which would grant as many as 12 million illegal immigrants lawful status while tightening border security, stalled on June 7 when just 45 senators voted to end debate and move to a final vote - well short of the 60 whose backing was needed.

The package of changes was described by three congressional aides close to the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the list is confidential and subject to change.

Under the plan, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., would get a vote on his plan to bar illegal immigrants from getting green cards. Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia would see consideration of his amendment to limit legalization to certain unlawful immigrants who have been in the U.S. four years or more.

Both voted ‘‘no'' during the test-vote that blocked the bill's progress.

Also making the list is an amendment by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that would bar illegal immigrants from collecting Social Security benefits for work done while they were in the U.S. unlawfully.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, one of only 11 Democrats who voted against expediting final action on the bill, would get a vote on her amendment to reduce the number of temporary workers admitted to the U.S. based on how many guest laborers overstayed their visas.

Democrats already succeeded in revising the bill to lower the cap from as many as 600,000 per year to 200,000.

There's no guarantee that such proposals would pass - nor have any of their sponsors said publicly that they would back advancing the bill if they had a chance to air their amendments. But Senate leaders in both parties believe the list will produce the 60 votes needed to reopen debate on the measure and get it to a final vote.

One senior aide close to the discussions predicted that as many as 24 Republicans would back moving ahead with the bill under the scenario envisioned - compared with just seven GOP senators who did so previously.

Also in the package, as currently drafted, are:

** An amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to mandate that all illegal immigrants return home within two years to gain lawful status. The bill only requires those seeking green cards to do so.

** A proposal by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to increase the number of points under a new merit-based green card allocation system that could be awarded for being related to a U.S. citizen or green card holder.

** An amendment by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., to condition any legal status for unlawful immigrants on the measure's border security and workplace enforcement measures. The bill would instead allow such immigrants to get probationary legal status while those so-called ‘‘triggers'' were being met.

** A proposal by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to increase penalties on employers who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants.

** An amendment by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to replace the employment verification system with a less-burdensome alternative.

** An amendment by Montana's Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, who opposed moving to a final vote on the bill, to remove requirements that workers present ‘‘REAL ID'' driver's license to prospective employers.

** An amendment by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., to let law enforcement agencies share information about people's immigration status.

** An amendment by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, the sole Independent to oppose the June 7 test vote, to bar companies that have had mass layoffs from hiring foreign high-tech workers.

When the bill would hit the Senate floor was in doubt amid a troublesome debate on energy legislation that threatened to push the immigration bill into next week.

This happens far to often within our Congress. The employer penalties are only civil fines. No jail, regardless of how many times the employer hires illegals.

The loop holes are there for non-enforcement of immigration laws.