Thread: Senate Subcommittee Chair Lays Out Priorities for Immigratio

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 24, 2009; 3:19 PM

Congress can pass a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws as soon as this year if it prioritizes a crackdown on illegal immigration, including a new national identity card that will verify workers' eligibility, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said today.

Speaking one day before President Obama is to host lawmakers from both parties at the White House to discuss prospects for an immigration bill, the head of the Senate's main immigration subcommittee laid out key legislative priorities, including requiring that an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants register with the government and "submit to a rigorous process to convert to legal status" or face immediate deportation.

Legislation must also create mechanisms to attract high-skilled immigrants, control the flow of low-skilled immigrants and protect native-born workers, Schumer said, without providing specifics. He did not propose an expanded guest-worker program, a linchpin of overhaul efforts that failed in 2006 and 2007 under President George W. Bush.

In laying down a road map for legislation, Schumer set the groundwork for tomorrow's White House meeting, a long-awaited session that immigrant advocates and Latino leaders have demanded as proof that Obama will fulfill a campaign pledge to move forward on immigration legislation this year.

Schumer said he expects Obama to show his "unyielding commitment" toward the goal but demanded that advocates recognize that Democrats must show the American people they believe that "illegal immigration is wrong -- plain and simple."
"All of the fundamental building blocks are in place to pass comprehensive immigration reform this session and, even possibly, later this year," Schumer said. "I truly believe that [President Obama's] leadership will be the critical difference in getting us over the hump this time around."


However, Schumer added, "the American people will never accept immigration reform unless they truly believe their government is committed to ending future illegal immigration. . . . Advocates understand the need to embrace this principle during the current debate."

As examples, the New York Democrat -- who has taken the lead in the Senate immigration debate in the place of the ailing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is focusing on health-care legislation -- said the federal government must achieve "operational control" of the nation's borders within a year and develop new ways to enforce laws against hiring illegal immigrants.

Schumer's proposal for a national "biometric" identification system to verify work documents -- based on fingerprints, iris scans or digital photographs -- stems from a key weakness of past immigration overhaul efforts. A 1986 law required workers to fill out I-9 forms and present identification documents, but it lacked provisions to crack down on unscrupulous employers or job seekers with fake IDs, creating a booming fraudulent ID industry.

"I'm sure the civil liberties groups will object to some type of biometric card -- it will be something with all kinds of protections -- but we're going to have to do it. It's the only way to do it," Schumer said, referring to enforcing laws against hiring illegal immigrants.

"Legislation must also create mechanisms to attract high-skilled immigrants, control the flow of low-skilled immigrants and protect native-born workers, "

Let's see: So even if we grant amnesty to pregnant women with three children, we also should consider letting in their parents, who had seven or eight children?

STOP THE FAMILY REUNIFICATION POLICY!!!!!

including a new national identity card that will verify workers' eligibility, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said today.

Doesn't he know Americans are against this?

Dixie

When are Shumers constiguents wake up and vote this a$$ out of office?