Thread: Sessions Critiques New House Immigration Bill

http://sessions.senate.gov/pressapp/rec ... ?id=271162

Press Release of Senator Sessions
Sessions Critiques New House Immigration Bill

Thursday, March 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) today issued the following statement concerning introduction of an immigration bill by U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL):

"The legislation introduced today by Reps. Flake and Gutierrez is not an acceptable foundation for this year's immigration reform efforts. Many of their ideas are modeled on provisions contained in the fatally flawed Senate immigration bill from last Congress. Just like the failed Senate bill, the Flake-Gutierrez bill dramatically increases permanent immigration levels, contains a guaranteed path to citizenship for the illegal alien population and creates a new "temporary" worker program that is anything but temporary. All of these ideas failed to gain enough support to become law during the last Congress.

"We can treat the illegal alien population compassionately without placing them on an automatic path to citizenship, and we can create a temporary worker program that is truly temporary.

"It is an undeniable fact that more people want to come to the United States than we can accept. If members of the illegal alien population or future foreign workers want to apply for green cards, they should have to compete for them in a merit-based system - one that lets people all over the world apply to come here under the same set of rules.

"I am disappointed in the Flake-Gutierrez proposal. However, I am still hopeful that we can pass an immigration bill this Congress."

Specifically, the Flake-Gutierrez proposal:


• Dramatically increases annual permanent immigration levels: The Flake-Gutierrez bill escalates the numerical caps on green cards, supposedly for the purpose of "reducing backlogs" and allowing more high skilled workers to come to and remain in the U.S.

• Puts the illegal alien population on a path to citizenship: The bill will grant "conditional status" to members of the illegal alien population for six years, allowing them to live and work in the United States and to freely travel back and forth across the border. After six years, if they have "touched back" across the border, they will be eligible for legal permanent residence, likely outside of any numerical caps. Legal permanent residents are all eligible for citizenship.

• Creates a "temporary" worker program that is not temporary: Bill sponsors claim that the bill creates a "temporary" worker program. However, just like it was last year, this label is a misnomer. In reality, the program is a new low-skilled permanent immigration program for at least 400,000 new foreign workers and their families per year. Workers and their families will stay for three years, renew their status for another three years and then be able to apply for green cards. In just the first six years, if workers brings a single family member with them, the bill's "temporary" program will result in 4,800,000 new low-skilled immigrants living in the United States on a path to permanent residence and citizenship.

Sounds like we all need to call and thank Senator Sessions.

Sent him a very appreciative thankyou note.

Originally Posted by Bowman

Sounds like we all need to call and thank Senator Sessions.

YES!!
It's important for us to support those in our Congress who care and work for the betterment of the USA.

Sessions deserves an "atta boy."

If they get a temporary guest worker program, how do they think they will enforce it?

These guest workers don't stay in the farmer's fields, they move on to take good paying construction jobs....is it going to be a revolving door of guest workers, just for our farmers?