Thread: Millions to become citizens

INVASION USA
Millions of illegals to become citizens?
Kennedy-McCain immigration reform bill likely to pass Senate committee after recess

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Posted: March 16, 2006
5:00 p.m. Eastern



© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A bill that would give millions of illegal aliens in the United States the opportunity to earn citizenship is closer to becoming law today as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee signaled likely passage of a proposal by Sens. Edward Kenney, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz.

Though a committee vote will not be held until after a week-long congressional recess, likely March 27, committee members appeared ready to back the Kennedy-McCain bill.


"The votes are there," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Congress is working to pass a reform bill that includes enforcement, a policy on dealing with illegals already in the country and a guest-worker program pushed by President Bush.

Under the legislation, illegal aliens in the United States would obtain six-year nonimmigrant visas under which they could work in the country and travel outside the country. The aliens would have to pay a $1,000 fine and undergo background checks.

After six years, the aliens would be able to meet certain requirements and then apply for a green card, or permanent residency.

Besides voting on the bill after the recess, committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said the panel also would vote on a bill by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., that would give illegal aliens up to five years to leave the U.S. After returning home, they could then apply to return, either as temporary workers or for permanent residency.

"Our intention is not to strand anyone outside the country," Kyl said, according to an AP report. But he asserted the McCain-Kennedy plan would give an illegal alien allowed to stay and work in the country a "huge advantage" over a person having to wait for years in his or her own country for a green card.



The McCain-Kennedy bill would start off with offering 400,000 of the new visas.

Two years ago, Bush proposed a guest-worker program that has been criticized by immigration-reform advocates as nothing more than an amnesty program for foreigners who entered the United States illegally.

Kennedy disputed the amnesty charge: "There is no moving to the front of the line, there is no free ticket. This is not amnesty."

Majority Leader Bill Frist has threatened to bring his own immigration bill to the floor of the Senate March 27 if the committee has not approved one.

These dunces in the Senate Judiciary Committee better start polishing up their resumes because in upcoming elections they will be pounding the pavement to find some REAL jobs and not at US citizen taxpayer expense.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ho ... 053340.php

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Compromise reached on guest-worker plan
Senate panel's deal includes legalization proposal.

By DENA BUNIS
The Orange County Register

WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee today reached agreement on proposals for a new guest-worker program and a plan to allow the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States to become permanent residents.

Less than 24 hours after most experts and Capitol Hill watchers believed the committee would be unable to get a bill to the Senate floor by Majority Leader Bill Frist's March 27 deadline, committee Chairman Arlen Specter had brokered deals between some key senators on the complex issue.

No formal votes were taken and committee staffs were preparing to spend the next 10 days drafting language that would put in place the compromises reached. It appeared that at least a dozen of the 18 members on the panel would be prepared to back this deal. The committee plans to meet first thing in the morning on March 27. It is not yet known whether Frist will allow the panel to finish and send its bill to the Senate floor or if he still plans to bring up a more limited, possibly enforcement-only measure.

But even if nothing scuttles the compromise between now and when lawmakers get back from recess, and if the Senate passes a bill with these elements, there would remain a steep battle to get agreement from the House. The House passed an enforcement-based measure in December that doesn't include a guest-worker program or a plan for undocumented immigrants in the United States now.

Early this afternoon, Frist announced his intention to introduce a bill before next week’s recess that would deal with immigration-laws enforcement but will not include any of the controversial guest-worker or illegal-immigrant provisions. Officials in Frist’s office say he is doing this to ensure that there is a bill ready on the floor if the committee fails to pass a bill. If Specter does get a bill out of committee, that could be substituted for Frist's measure, said Frist press secretary Amy Call.

The most likely scenario, said ardent supporters of immigration reform who were pleasantly stunned by today's events, is that the issue will end in a stalemate, only to be brought up again in the next Congress. But they say it's important that the Senate go on record as supporting comprehensive change.

For the first time, Specter, R-Pa., who said he spent hours on the phone last night with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., agreed to Kennedy's plan to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Specter would have allowed these people to work indefinitely but not get green cards. Kennedy wanted to give them a path to legalization.

Specter agreed this morning with Kennedy's approach, provided that these illegal immigrants would not be able to start legalization proceedings until the backlog of 3 million people now waiting in countries around the world for their chance to come to the United States legally get their green cards.

The deal reached on a new guest-worker plan says that 400,000 new guest workers would be allowed into the country each year. Under the proposal authored by Kennedy and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that number would have been unlimited. But Kennedy, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, agreed to a cap and also agreed that after working for two years, these new guest workers would have to go back to their home countries and reapply for another stint as guest workers, one that could last up to six years. But first they'd have to stay in their home countries for one year.

Built into this compromise, however, is a chance for these workers to get a waiver and not go home based on how long they have been employed here or if they are considered essential to a U.S. employer's business.

The plan also allows guest workers to apply for permanent U.S. residency, something not included in either Specter's bill or the other major proposal under consideration, the bill by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

Kennedy essentially compromised with Cornyn, who chairs the immigration subcommittee. The deal takes parts of each of their proposals.

Not all members of the committee agreed with these compromises.
Kyl said he still believed the illegal immigrants would get preference over those waiting legally in line overseas because the undocumented would be able to stay in the U.S. and work until their turn at a green card came. Those waiting to come here legally don't have that option, he said.

And several committee members most opposed to a guest-worker program – most notably Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., were not at this morning's session.

WHERE IN THE H_ LL WERE THOSE MOST OPPOSED TO THIS!@!!!!!%#^$&$*$

WHERE WAS MY SENATOR, SENATOR SESSIONS at such a critical time!!!!??$&#*(&*@(*&$*(@#$&$

These traitors, every stinking one of them that voted for this, just flipped the American people the "bird" and have told us "you little peons, you don't mean a da_ n thing"! I am BEYOND MAD!!!!!!!

I'm not only FURIOUS, I am literally sick at my stomach at this fiasco. I can't understand how they can not support 80% of the American people and thumb their noses at the Constitution. What ever happened to "for and by the people?" This is beyond awful. It is treason!!

Hate to say I told you so.

Though a committee vote will not be held until after a week-long congressional recess

I dont think a vote was taken.

I dont think this is really even news.


The McCain/Kennedy amnesty has always been the "default" bill to be passed in the Judiciary... It was what we expected to be fighting before the Specter bill was introduced to supposedly "meet halfway" between the Kyle and the McCain bills.

There have always been enough pro sentiments to pass McCain/Kennedy through the Judiciary.

Im not sure why you think that Sessions has betrayed his earlier position. His physically being present would not change the dynamics of the committees make-up. They all knew he'd be against it.

The second article says there are 12 supporters out of 18. What's news about that? We went into this expecting more support than THAT for the Kennedy amnesty. The only one we were able to count on was Sessions going into this Judiciary hearing. Now we have Sessions, Grassley, Coburn, Feinstein, Kyle, and Cornyn likely to vote against it (Kennedy bill).

Kennedy, Specter, Leahy, Feingold, Schumer, Durbin, Biden, Dewine were already on the "pig" list going into this.

Brownback, Hatch, Kohl, Graham the golfer - I mean.....we thought they might be moveable with enough outcry...... Esp with Brownback entertaining presidential aspirations, Hatch and Kohl up for re-election,......
but it was always just a chance.

Personally, if I were an Alabaman, I'd be damn proud of my Senator Sessions.

The House will reject this. So we won't get anything done till after the elections...just like they planned it...however..after the election there will be some very surprised senators.

Btw...are any on the judiciary committee up for re-election???

RR

Yes, RR.

Brownback, Hatch, Kohl, Graham the golfer - I mean.....we thought they might be moveable with enough outcry...... Esp with Brownback entertaining presidential aspirations, Hatch and Kohl up for re-election,......

Hatch
Kohl
Kyl
Dewine
Feinstein
Kennedy

Brown back has presidential aspirations

I was not talking about Senator Sessions or the others that are opposed. I was talking about the ones like McCain, Kennedy, etc. I am proud of Senator Sessions, I just would like to know why he was not there. For the most part Alabama's representatives are opposed to amnesty or guest worker programs.