Immigration plan attacked on all fronts
Immigration plan attacked on all fronts
By Karoun Demirjian
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published May 19, 2007
WASHINGTON -- This week's bipartisan agreement on an immigration reform bill may have been a substantial achievement, but lawmakers and advocates from the left and right attacked it Friday and vowed to change or scuttle it.
If the compromise plan is to become law, the senators who drafted it -- along with President Bush -- will have to address complaints from a spectrum of critics, from immigrant advocates hoping to relax provisions of the guest-worker program to conservatives who hope to defeat the bill because they see it as an amnesty for the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. But support for the measure could dwindle if key provisions are substantially altered.
The campaign to sell the comprehensive reform legislation officially begins Monday afternoon when the bipartisan group, led by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and others, offer their 380-page measure. They are expecting a favorable reception and eventual passage in the Senate.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the proposal the "last, best chance we'll have as a Congress" to enact immigration reform.
Optimism in check
Advocates for immigrants have shown more measured optimism, pledging to seek key changes but lauding the effort overall as an important first step. But some warned against assuming that an agreement among senators as diverse as Kennedy and Kyl was a harbinger of easy passage in the Senate.
"To say there will be overwhelming support is unrealistic and a bit idealistic," said Marshall Fitz, advocacy director for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It's not at all certain that as a final package this could garner the 60 votes" needed to block a filibuster. "I think that's an open question."
The bill would establish a merit-based, temporary guest-worker visa program for new immigrants, while eliminating the backlog of legal immigrant applications and legalizing the status of undocumented workers currently in the country.
These and other components of the bipartisan bill are controversial enough that those who drafted it will have to work to secure the support of their fellow party members.
Dissent proved to be enough of a problem earlier this week when the bipartisan Senate working group lost Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the main negotiators from either side of the aisle.
Cornyn said he is withholding judgment until the Senate process is under way, but that he is considering voting against a motion to proceed with the immigration debate on Monday.
Menendez said he couldn't support the bill because of the stringent restrictions it would put on temporary workers and their families.
Since the bill was unveiled, other lawmakers, including Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), have said they would not support it unless key changes are made to the guest-worker program.
If the measure does get past the Senate, even bigger challenges likely await in the House, where critics of the Senate bill have been more vocal, and political camps are more sharply divided.
House leaders quiet
So far, House leaders have remained quiet on the issue, voicing support for various principles of immigration reform but not for the Senate bill or any other specific immigration proposals.
"We intend to take action. But I cannot say at this point what the vehicle will be," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairwoman of a key House immigration subcommittee.
Despite a strong Democratic majority in the House, passage of a comprehensive bill is not guaranteed. Several first-term Democrats from conservative constituencies have indicated their unwillingness to vote for a bill that appears to offer amnesty to immigrants who entered the country illegally, the same objection numerous House Republicans have voiced.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has already told Bush he would need to deliver 70 Republican votes before she can bring a measure to the floor. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday the president -- along with Cabinet members Michael Chertoff and Carlos Gutierrez -- would be personally involved in lobbying lawmakers to support comprehensive immigration reform.
Immigrant advocates are hoping the active support for compromise legislation from such notably conservative senators as Kyl, along with legislative emphasis on border security, strict rules on employment and specialized programs for agricultural workers and military personnel will be enough to convince moderate lawmakers to support it.
"The ones who think this is just amnesty ... we're not terribly concerned about those guys; we weren't expecting their votes," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group. "Once this process gets started, House Democrats and Republicans are going to want to get it done. It will be very difficult, excruciating, like crawling over broken glass ... but it's never been more likely that we could get a bill done than this year."
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kdemirjian@tribune.com
By Karoun Demirjian
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published May 19, 2007
WASHINGTON -- This week's bipartisan agreement on an immigration reform bill may have been a substantial achievement, but lawmakers and advocates from the left and right attacked it Friday and vowed to change or scuttle it.
If the compromise plan is to become law, the senators who drafted it -- along with President Bush -- will have to address complaints from a spectrum of critics, from immigrant advocates hoping to relax provisions of the guest-worker program to conservatives who hope to defeat the bill because they see it as an amnesty for the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. But support for the measure could dwindle if key provisions are substantially altered.
The campaign to sell the comprehensive reform legislation officially begins Monday afternoon when the bipartisan group, led by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and others, offer their 380-page measure. They are expecting a favorable reception and eventual passage in the Senate.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the proposal the "last, best chance we'll have as a Congress" to enact immigration reform.
Optimism in check
Advocates for immigrants have shown more measured optimism, pledging to seek key changes but lauding the effort overall as an important first step. But some warned against assuming that an agreement among senators as diverse as Kennedy and Kyl was a harbinger of easy passage in the Senate.
"To say there will be overwhelming support is unrealistic and a bit idealistic," said Marshall Fitz, advocacy director for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It's not at all certain that as a final package this could garner the 60 votes" needed to block a filibuster. "I think that's an open question."
The bill would establish a merit-based, temporary guest-worker visa program for new immigrants, while eliminating the backlog of legal immigrant applications and legalizing the status of undocumented workers currently in the country.
These and other components of the bipartisan bill are controversial enough that those who drafted it will have to work to secure the support of their fellow party members.
Dissent proved to be enough of a problem earlier this week when the bipartisan Senate working group lost Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the main negotiators from either side of the aisle.
Cornyn said he is withholding judgment until the Senate process is under way, but that he is considering voting against a motion to proceed with the immigration debate on Monday.
Menendez said he couldn't support the bill because of the stringent restrictions it would put on temporary workers and their families.
Since the bill was unveiled, other lawmakers, including Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), have said they would not support it unless key changes are made to the guest-worker program.
If the measure does get past the Senate, even bigger challenges likely await in the House, where critics of the Senate bill have been more vocal, and political camps are more sharply divided.
House leaders quiet
So far, House leaders have remained quiet on the issue, voicing support for various principles of immigration reform but not for the Senate bill or any other specific immigration proposals.
"We intend to take action. But I cannot say at this point what the vehicle will be," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairwoman of a key House immigration subcommittee.
Despite a strong Democratic majority in the House, passage of a comprehensive bill is not guaranteed. Several first-term Democrats from conservative constituencies have indicated their unwillingness to vote for a bill that appears to offer amnesty to immigrants who entered the country illegally, the same objection numerous House Republicans have voiced.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has already told Bush he would need to deliver 70 Republican votes before she can bring a measure to the floor. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday the president -- along with Cabinet members Michael Chertoff and Carlos Gutierrez -- would be personally involved in lobbying lawmakers to support comprehensive immigration reform.
Immigrant advocates are hoping the active support for compromise legislation from such notably conservative senators as Kyl, along with legislative emphasis on border security, strict rules on employment and specialized programs for agricultural workers and military personnel will be enough to convince moderate lawmakers to support it.
"The ones who think this is just amnesty ... we're not terribly concerned about those guys; we weren't expecting their votes," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group. "Once this process gets started, House Democrats and Republicans are going to want to get it done. It will be very difficult, excruciating, like crawling over broken glass ... but it's never been more likely that we could get a bill done than this year."
-----------
kdemirjian@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 7:36 AM
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