Thread: Immigration reform effort running on several tracks

"WASHINGTON — The wheels have come off the bipartisan House-Senate campaign to craft a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, with key players splintering into different directions."

March 15, 2007, 9:58PM
Immigration reform effort running on several tracks
House, Senate alliances change along with the strategies for a comprehensive bill


By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The wheels have come off the bipartisan House-Senate campaign to craft a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, with key players splintering into different directions.

The Senate's lead immigration champion, Massachusetts Democrat Ted Kennedy, is moving in one direction; his House allies in another; and the White House is operating on a third track with Senate Republicans.

"There is an enormous amount of swirling energy and political effort going on. And inevitably in that sort of dance, you go forward, you go backward, you go sideways," said Tamar Jacoby, a Manhattan Institute immigration-policy expert close to the White House and Republican lawmakers.

"It's way too soon to be talking about setbacks."

Though the policymakers acknowledge their strategies have changed, they say they remain optimistic about getting a comprehensive immigration bill through Congress this year.


Inherent complexities
Still, the shifts in talks and tactics offer further proof of the complexities inherent in any effort to address the status of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and determine the future flow of immigrants and temporary workers.

As late as last week, business, labor, religious and immigrant rights groups unified in the push for a legalization bill were still pinning their hopes on the four-party talks held by Kennedy, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.

Earlier this week, Kennedy and McCain shelved their work after they were unable to strike a compromise on organized labor demands that would make a guest-worker program far less attractive to employers.


'Start where we left off'
Instead, Kennedy announced that he'd offer up the bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last year.

"In my view, the quickest way to get this done is to start where we left off," he said.

Though the measure Kennedy and McCain have been working on has been closely guarded, it tracks broadly with what the Judiciary Committee passed last year.

Both bills would place most illegal immigrants on a path to eventual citizenship; increase immigration enforcement; and create a guest-worker program.

But that 2006 bill was significantly amended before it passed the Senate — only to founder amid bickering with the House.

Kennedy's decision to go back to the past isn't being emulated by Gutierrez and Flake, who instead will introduce a bill that enshrines much of their work with Kennedy and McCain.

The Bush administration, meanwhile, is working privately with Senate Republicans.

President Bush has dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to Capitol Hill, where they have spent many recent afternoons huddled with Republicans on both sides of the immigration divide.

The idea, said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, is to find a consensus that spans legalization-friendly and enforcement-minded Republicans alike and get behind a broad set of GOP principles.

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a leader of the talks, declined to characterize the progress, though he acknowledged that key sticking points remain whether to provide citizenship for illegal immigrants or permanent status for future guest workers.

"There is no consensus yet," he said earlier this week.

John Gay, co-chairman of the business-backed Essential Worker Immigration Coalition lobbying for a comprehensive bill, professed no concern about the split in tactics.

"The important thing is that things are moving — not how many tracks they are moving on," he said.


Concerns of advocates
Some advocates, however, have expressed concern about the White House talks, fearful that an effort to hammer out a GOP consensus could fall well short of what they are seeking.

"Is there a path (to citizenship) or not? Is this worker program still temporary?" asked Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, which is most intent on getting illegal immigrants on a course to citizenship.

"What worries me a little bit is when the president sometimes talks about this issue, he's not as clear."

michelle.mittelstadt@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/pol ... 35621.html

I would like to know, do we have any people up on capital hill lobbying for us against illegal immigration? We only seem to hear about the ones who are lobbying for the illegals, who is there for us?

Originally Posted by nittygritty

I would like to know, do we have any people up on capital hill lobbying for us against illegal immigration? We only seem to hear about the ones who are lobbying for the illegals, who is there for us?

I've heard this discussed too nitty. Thing is, the politicians may be financially backed by big biz and some of these organizations and yet they still need votes. Where do those come from mostly? Every day citizens like us. And that, the politicians do care about. They know how most of silent (sometimes) majority feels and that concerns them a lot.
Btw, there is a large group of talk show hosts going to DC to lobby for us in April:
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=55722

It's a shame that Washington won't listen to the voices of Americans, that they have to have lobbyists knocking down the doors, and most of them being rich and funded by the rich.

Hey Nitty, sorry didn't post this earlier. This isn't all by any means.

http://www.csuchico.edu/~kcfount/immigration.html

http://www.csuchico.edu/~kcfount/

American Immigration Control Foundation
http://www.aicfoundation.com
E-Mail: aicfndn@cfw.com
PO Box 525
Monterey, VA 24465
Phone: 540-468-2022
Fax: 540-468-2024 "Founded in 1983, AIC Foundation has become a prominent national voice for immigration control. Representing many different ethnic groups and backgrounds, AIC Foundation supporters have a deep commitment to preserving our common heritage as Americans, and to helping AIC Foundation educate our fellow citizens on the disastrous effects of uncontrolled immigration." http://www.aicfoundation.com)

Americans for Better Immigration
http://www.betterimmigration.com
E-Mail: info@betterimmigration.com
1601 N Kent St., Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: 703-816-8820 "Americans for Better Immigration (ABI) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization which lobbies Congress for reductions in immigration numbers."
(http://www.betterimmigration.com)
60th Percentile

Center for Immigration Studies
http://www.cis.org
E-Mail: center@cis.org
1522 K St. NW, Suite 820
Washington, DC 20005-1202
Phone: 202-466-8185
Fax: 202-466-8076 "It is the Center's mission to expand the base of public knowledge and understanding of the need for an immigration policy that gives first concern to the broad national interest. The Center is animated by a pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted."
(http://www.cis.org/aboutcis.html) THINK TANK
30th Percentile



NumbersUSA
http://www.numbersusa.com
E-Mail: info@numbersusa.com
1601 N Kent St., Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: 703-816-8820 "NumbersUSA.com is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy organization that favors an environmentally sustainable and economically just America. It opposes efforts to use federal immigration policies to force mass U.S. population growth and to depress wages of vulnerable workers. NumbersUSA.com is pro-environment, pro-worker, pro-liberty and pro-immigrant. Activists in the NumbersUSA.com network are Americans of all races and include many immigrants and the spouses, children and parents of immigrants." (http://www.numbersusa.com/)


U.S. Border Control
http://www.usbc.org
E-Mail: webmaster@usbc.org
8180 Greensboro Dr., Suite 1070
McLean, VA 22102
Phone: 703-578-4901 "U.S. Border Control is a non-profit, tax-exempt, citizens lobby, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Border Control is dedicated to ending illegal immigration by securing our nation's borders and reforming our border and immigration policies." (http://www.usbc.org/organiz/whowe.htm)

all that really needs to happen is a national organization for all of the Pro America supporters to work together with and no other lobby would stand a chance!