Thread: Committee Leadership Raises Specter of Immigration Reform

Committee Leadership Raises Specter of Immigration Reform

Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security
May 6, 2009 Wednesday
By Daniel Fowler, CQ Staff

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday outlined her three fundamentals of immigration overhaul: a "strong and effective" enforcement strategy, reform of the visa system, and a plan for dealing with illegal immigrants.

Sound like something you've heard before? Napolitano made her comments in response to a question from Herb Kohl, D-Wis., at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.

When Kohl pursued details on what to do with illegal immigrants here already, Napolitano declined to offer specifics. She would rather wait for the administration and Congress to take up the issue, she said.

"I'm focused now, as I believe my charge is to enforce the law that we have and to do it intelligently and effectively," Napolitano said.

But Napolitano then went on to tell Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., that she supports his bill (S 729) to provide permanent resident status for long-term illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children and meet certain requirements -- just as she said she did previous versions while still governor of Arizona.

"As a governor of a border state, this is one of those areas where everyone wants the immigration law enforced," Napolitano said. "We must enforce it. It's part of our national sovereignty among other things. On the other hand, we have to have the ability to deal with some of the human issues that arise here."

Then, under questioning from Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., who expressed sympathy to those "living in the shadows," Napolitano said simply rounding up and deporting the millions of illegal immigrants in the country would be impractical.

"The ability of our country to do that and the sheer logistics of doing that are overwhelming," she said.

And that raised the specter of another legislative try at an immigration overhaul.

"All the more reason, Leahy responded, "why I think we should try again on some kind of immigration bill. . . . The committee will work with you on that issue."

The committee's top Republican, Jeff Sessions, of Alabama agreed the immigration system is in need of reform. "We need to fix our immigration system," he said. "It's something I support."

But Sessions, in his first hearing as Arlen Specter's replacement as the committee's top Republican, took a harder line approach.

"The American people correctly are dubious of a plan that gives lawfulness now to people who came in illegally without confidence that the legal system is going to work in the future and that we're not going to be back in the same situation just a few years from now, and in fact that amnesty, or that status that we provide for those who entered unlawfully, it becomes a magnet or a message abroad," he said.

According to Sessions, there has been some progress in stemming illegal immigration. "The numbers are going down," he said. "This puts you in a position to execute some policies that will work."

When the public recognizes "the broken pipe is being fixed, and we're not just mopping up the water, but we're fixing the leak . . . we can have a far better discussion about how to deal fairly and humanely with people who [have] been here a long time," Sessions said.

Daniel Fowler can be reached at dfowler@cq.com.

Source: CQ Homeland Security
©2009 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Go Get em Senator Sessions, America is behind you!

"I'm focused now, as I believe my charge is to enforce the law that we have and to do it intelligently and effectively," Napolitano said.

Could have fooled me. I was under the impression that she was ignoring the law, perhaps on orders from above.