Thread: Senators agree illegal aliens should be legalized!

Senators agree that illegal immigrants in U.S. should be legalized
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
3:17 PM PDT, May 15, 2007


WASHINGTON -- With a deadline looming to craft an accord on immigration reform, a bipartisan group of senators has agreed that their final compromise should immediately grant legal status to all illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.

But disagreements still cloud overall progress and as senators met for a final, potentially decisive session later today, some questioned whether they would be able to reach a compromise.

"I'm still not sure we're going to reach an agreement," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), on his way to a Republican strategy session before the bipartisan group met. He said one problem was that Democrats continually reopen issues that Republicans considered settled.

Senior senate aides said the decision to grant "Z visas" to illegal immigrants is one of several areas of broad agreement between Democratic and Republicans senators struggling to meet a Wednesday deadline set by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to begin debate on immigration.

Key senators have been meeting with administration officials for two months to develop a bill, without success. Senior staff worked through the weekend to settle details, while the senators are meeting today to hash out the larger issues that still remain undecided.

Reid has said that if they cannot reach a compromise, he will start debate on a new version of the immigration bill the Senate passed last year. Republicans say last year's bill is no longer acceptable and have signaled that they will block Reid's attempt to bring it up for debate.

If the senators are unable to reach a deal today, debate on immigration likely will fizzle. If it does, none of the agreements that Democrats and Republicans have forged so far would come to pass.

Both Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today they hoped for an agreement by the end of the day but they offered slightly different outlooks. "I remain optimistic that we'll be able to put together a bill that can clear the Senate on a bipartisan basis, hopefully an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis," McConnell said.

Reid said he hoped to replace last year's bill with the compromise bill, but was more cautious about the prospects. He cited "some areas of accomplishment," but added that the two sides were "a long ways from where we need to be."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) huddled in the Senate hallways for a brief conservation before entering an afternoon meeting, which began at 3 p.m. EDT and which McConnell predicted would "go on well into the evening."

Reid said there were still "a number of things up in the air," including the terms of a worker program for future immigrants. Republicans are adamant that any program that imports labor should be purely temporary and not allow participants to become citizens. Democrats, immigrant advocates and some unions argue that if temporary workers do not have the option of citizenship, the U.S. will develop a permanent underclass.

Legal immigration is another trouble area. The senators have to settle on the number of green cards to make available for legal immigrants, but they will also tackle a larger issue. From its formal beginnings, the U.S. immigration system has been based on family reunification.

Republicans would like to see that change to a point-based system designed to serve the nation's economic needs. That system would grade potential immigrants based on their education and skills. Senate aides said that a potential compromise is emerging that would combine the family and point system.

Reid also said there had been progress in some important areas. The two sides have agreed on the Dream Act, a provision that would allow young illegal immigrants to attend college at in-state tuition rates and eventually gain citizenship. Democrats and Republicans have also agreed on a jobs program for the agriculture industry and on access to courts for legal immigrants.

And they have settled on a plan that would award a "Z visa" to all qualified illegal immigrants in the country before a date that has yet to be decided. Applicants would have to pass security checks, learn English and pay a $5,000 fine.
The visa would have an eight-year probation period, during which time the head of the household would have to return to his home country and then re-enter the U.S. They would have to take their "Z visa" to the U.S. Embassy or consulate and would be guaranteed re-entry to the U.S.

nicole.gaouette@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... ome-nation

No senators, they should be deported and you should study up on the law of the land. You owe your Allegiance to the American people, not the illegal scumbags. If you grant amnesty to these lawbreakers, you will have committed treason against the majority of Americans who have said no.

some unions argue that if temporary workers do not have the option of citizenship, the U.S. will develop a permanent underclass.

So they want a permanent underclass of CITIZENS, rather than NON-citizens. I guess this is so they can grab all the govt. goodies!