Thread: Sununu's plan: Getting immigration right

Sununu's plan: Getting immigration right

1 hour, 21 minutes ago

Last Thursday Sen. John Sununu laid out an excellent plan for passing meaningful, positive immigration reform. President Bush and congressional leaders should try it.

After the Bush-Kennedy immigration reform bill, nearly 400 pages long, failed in the Senate, Sununu said one of the problems was its size and complexity. He suggested breaking any immigration reform legislation into three distinct bills.

First, secure the borders and make it harder for employers to hire illegal aliens. That's what Americans want most, and it is the most important part of any immigration overhaul.

Second, reform the country's visa programs. One positive aspect of the Bush-Kennedy bill was that it attempted to open the borders to more high-skilled professionals, the type of immigrants who will create jobs and wealth.

Third, figure out what to do with illegal aliens already in the country.

On Thursday Sununu and Sen. Judd Gregg voted on opposite sides of an amendment to make a proposed new visa program renewable after five years instead of permanent. Sununu supported the good idea, Gregg opposed it, saying it would end up skuttling the entire immigration bill.

That was an example of the type of difficulty created by such a huge, complex bill. Break it down into three distinct bills each dealing with a separate category of immigration concerns and the chances of getting a good bill passed will improve tremendously.

The Bush-Kennedy bill failed to pass the Senate Thursday night, but it could be revived. The Senate should divide it up as Sen. Sununu suggested and reopen debate. Let's separate the issues and see who in Congress wants real border control and who wants amnesty for illegals.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... tion+right

heck i said cut it down to three bills two days after this mess came out

and he just now gets it?