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Details of the Compromise Immigration Reform Bill

Update: Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are skeptical. They say the bill needs to be improved in the Senate. I agree, particularly with respect to the family separation issues, the need to go back to the home country and wait, possibly for years, to return and the onerous path to permanent residency and citizenship.

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The 300 page immigration reform bill won't be publicly available until tomorrow. Here is a summary of key provisions:

— Undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before Jan. 1, 2007 — an estimated 12 million — would get immediate, but probationary, legal status and ability to work and travel if they pass background checks.

— Undocumented immigrants and their families could get new “Z'’ visas good for four years, but renewable indefinitely, by paying a $5,000 fee per head of household. After eight years, holders of Z visas could apply for permanent legal residence — a green card — by returning to their home countries and paying another $4,000 penalty.

— Between 400,000 and 600,000 foreigners would be able to come every year to work. They could stay for two years on new “Y-1′’ visas then return home for one year and could renew the visas for a total of six years in the country. They could bring their families with them for one two-year period.

More...

— New Z and Y visas would not take effect until the Department of Homeland Security had met new border security and immigration enforcement conditions, including: expanding the Border Patrol to 18,000 agents; constructing 200 miles of vehicle barriers and 370 miles of fencing along the border; deploying four unmanned aerial vehicles and 70 ground-based radar and camera systems along border; establishing a secure identification system to verify workers are eligible for jobs.

— Employers would have to use a new electronic system to verify new hires are eligible for work within 18 months. Three years after that, all employees would have to have ID verified through the new system.

— The current green card system would be replaced by a new point system, with applicants getting credit for English proficiency, job skills, education and family ties. Spouses and children of U.S. citizens could still qualify for unlimited number of green cards. Parents of U.S. citizens could get up to 40,000 green cards per year. Spouses and children of permanent legal residents could get up to 87,000 green cards per year. About 380,000 green cards would eventually be issued via point system.

— Total number of green cards issued per year would be about 1 million, same as current law.

— Agricultural workers could get new Y-2A visas good for 10-month stays in the United States every year.

— Undocumented immigrants under 30 who came here as children would be eligible for green cards within three years.

Here's the transcript of the Senate Conference. And the viewpoint of some of the undocumented who are skeptical about the proposal.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Bush's bill (none / 0) (#1)
    by wquine on Thu May 17, 2007 at 10:00:09 PM EST
    You can see that there are a lot of changes between this bill and the one that the senate passed last year, all of which I assume can be laid at the White House Door.  This bill appears to have been drafted by the chamber of commerce to create a permanent underclass of immigrant workers with very little in it of redeeming value.

    Unlike the prior senate bill, the guest worker program here is a recipe for exploitation.  There is no path to citizenship, and it will effectively end in two years which will probably just lead to the creation of a new group of undocumented immigrants.  The "touchback" provision in this bill for z-visas (the program for regularizing the status of the current group of undocumented immigrants) is a perverse and pointless policy.  It is unclear from the summary whether the "head of the household" will have to leave the country to petition to come back, with its attendant wait, or whether it is just a formality.  Either way it is a tremendous cost on the household that serves no function. And, while switching to a "merit-based" immigration system rather than the current model of employer-sponored system may have its advantages, the fact that this plan was hatched in a back-room by the Whitehouse does not inspire confidence.  I would also like to add that the reduction of family-based immigration is cruel and represents a massive overhaul of the immigration system aimed at ending something, "chain migration" that has been the model for every ethnic community to reach our shores since colonization (except of course African-Americans).

    In short, the bill looks like it stinks.  However, it is not substantially worse than the legislation that the senate began working on last year, and they managed to completely rearrange it in committee so there is still hope.

     

    Excellent Points (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Jeralyn on Thu May 17, 2007 at 10:02:38 PM EST
    I remain very disturbed about the separation of families and the cost to the undocumented.  I think the path to citizenship is too onerous.  

    I'm very skeptical still.

    Parent

    the path to citizenship (none / 0) (#3)
    by cpinva on Thu May 17, 2007 at 11:12:20 PM EST
    is through the proper channels. what, exactly, don't you understand about that? geez, you're a law school graduate after all, and this isn't rocket science. let me make it simple for you: THEY ARE CRIMINALS!

    are we offering similar terms to those who've committed other crimes? probably not. what makes illegal immigrants special? please explain.

    They are not criminals (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Jeralyn on Thu May 17, 2007 at 11:21:17 PM EST
    Undocumented residents who entered without proper papers or overstayed their visas are in violation of immigration civil statutes, not the criminal laws.  

    Parent
    Criminal background check? (none / 0) (#5)
    by dkmich on Fri May 18, 2007 at 05:18:35 AM EST
    How do you do that in a foreign country?  I don't think we have a clue who we are letting in legally or otherwise.

    Parent
    I don't have a clue... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Fri May 18, 2007 at 11:38:26 AM EST
    about what the guy next to me on the bus is capable of, I don't know if he has a criminal record, I don't know if he's a citizen, I don't know if he's a sinner or a saint.  

    That's life...I don't mind.  Once somebody spits out the womb, they are part of the human race, free to roam the orb they were spit out on, deserving of basic human dignity.

    Parent

    Until.........they forfeit that right. n/t (none / 0) (#11)
    by dkmich on Sat May 19, 2007 at 07:11:16 AM EST
    Yeah... (none / 0) (#15)
    by kdog on Sat May 19, 2007 at 08:51:57 AM EST
    by killing, raping, stealing....not by crossing imaginary lines.

    Parent
    If all they did was (none / 0) (#8)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri May 18, 2007 at 11:39:08 AM EST
    enter without proper papers or overstay their visas
    then, technically, you'd be right.

    Thing is, many of their activities while they're here, as a result of the illegalness of their alieness, are criminal.

    Parent

    hey cpinva.... (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Fri May 18, 2007 at 11:40:18 AM EST
    ever drive 60 in a 55?  ever smoke a joint?

    If yes, you're a criminal too.  It's a big club...welcome aboard brother, glad to have you on the team.

    Parent

    Did you ever violently assault anyone? (none / 0) (#12)
    by dkmich on Sat May 19, 2007 at 07:12:24 AM EST
    How about murder or rape?  Should you be welcomed into the club?  Or, are you the senior members?  There is criminal and then there is criminal.  Don't be obtuse.

    Parent
    Tell that to the government.... (none / 0) (#13)
    by kdog on Sat May 19, 2007 at 08:49:16 AM EST
    they are obtuse...practically making having a hang nail criminal.

    You said it yourself, there is criminal and then there is criminal. Think about it.

    Ayn Rand said...."The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

     

    Parent

    Add.... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Sat May 19, 2007 at 08:50:47 AM EST
    And it's working...I can't get through a day without breaking a law.

    Parent
    So what about the huge increase (none / 0) (#6)
    by dkmich on Fri May 18, 2007 at 05:19:35 AM EST
    in H-1B visas hidden in this bill??  No comment?  Just call this place USA, Inc.  

    The US Code has both civil and criminal penalties (none / 0) (#10)
    by B on Fri May 18, 2007 at 08:55:31 PM EST
    Title 8, Ch. 12, Subch. II, Part VIII, Sec. 1325 provides "...Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both...".  They are criminals even though the pretender in chief and gonzo attorney general routinely choose not to prosecute them. The immigration deal is amnesty for criminal aliens and corporate welfare for their employers.