Posted on 03/16/2006 1:51:16 PM PST by VU4G10
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under pressure to produce broad immigration reform legislation by the end of the month, a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday neared agreement on a proposal that would give some of the 12 million illegal aliens living in the country an opportunity to earn citizenship.
Although no vote will be held until after a weeklong congressional recess, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday appeared ready to back a proposal by panel member Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, who has worked on the issue with his Republican colleague John McCain of Arizona.
The panel, which is working on comprehensive immigration and border security legislation, will also consider a related proposal that would allow foreigners to enter the United States as legal guest workers and then have a chance to earn permanent status.
Republicans are divided over immigration policy, and the Judiciary Committee plan is likely to spark a firestorm from conservatives who oppose regularizing the status of illegal immigrants, saying they would be rewarded after breaking U.S. immigration law.
But backers cite both economic and security reasons. They say that providing a path to permanent residency and eventual citizenship will avoid creating a permanent underclass of workers and help bring illegals aliens out of the shadows.
Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who opposes giving permanent status to illegals, said after the meeting that the panel would probably vote for the Kennedy plan.
"The votes are there," Grassley said.
NO AMNESTY
Kennedy told the committee the proposal was not an amnesty. People seeking legal status would have to pay a $2,000 fine, apply for a six-year temporary status, have a job, pay taxes, learn English and show an understanding of U.S. government.
They would not get permanent status faster than the three million foreigners awaiting legal entry, he said.
"There is no moving to the front of the line, there is no free ticket," Kennedy said. "This is not amnesty."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, quipped that the requirements "probably exclude half of my family."
The panel also reached tentative agreement on a guest worker program sought by President George W. Bush has said he wants. A compromise struck between Kennedy and Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, would give future temporary workers an opportunity to seek permanent status after four years.
U.S. business groups favor creating a temporary worker program to help fill jobs that Americans either cannot or will not do. Both business and labor groups also favor giving current undocumented workers a way to legalize their status.
Committee members said details would be worked out during the recess.
The panel is working against a deadline set by Majority Leader Bill Frist. The Tennessee Republican, and possible contender in the 2008 presidential race, wants the Senate to take up a bill addressing only enforcement and border security. He threatened to do that on March 27 if the Judiciary Committee failed to reach agreement on comprehensive legislation.
Whether Congress will finalize immigration legislation before the November congressional elections is unclear. Both Democrats and Republicans are likely to use the issue to gain advantage.
The House of Representatives has voted for tough border security and enforcement legislation with no guest worker program. The two sides would have to work out their differences before a bill could be sent to Bush for his signature.
Election Day: a great day for Republicans to stay in bed.
(Politician, fear the wrath of the people.)
The last amnesty was Jimmy Carter's pardon of all draft evaders. That was a shameful day in American history.
America has been thrown under the bus, once again.
Impeachment will be guaranteed with thinking like this.
PING!
"It didn't happen in 04."
It hasn't happened to date because of three factors:
1) The Dems ran candidates that made it necessary to still vote for the GOP.
2) The GOP still managed to provide a fair differentiation between themselves and the Dems, and
3) No action was taken on illegal immigration.
But now that Bush is pushing a shamnesty program and the GOP Senate appears poised to cave to the McKennedy bill, the GOP is not on record as wanting some form of amnesty. And if they couple that with a failure to provide border security, it's gonna be trouble.
Oh, and I love how you point to a post I made in November 02 to show it didn't happen in 02 - I made that post AFTER the 02 election.
NO AMNESTY
"Every Generation needs a new revolution" - Jefferson
"There needs to be a deadline set for the illegals to obtain citizenship."
There is no need for a deadline, because no illegals should ever obtain US citizenship. My version of an amnesty is "You have until (date) to leave the country." If you are caught in the country after that date you will be permanently banished from the nation with no eligibility to come back in EVER. Including full revocation of any refugee/amnesty priviledges. Even if it means deporting you to your death. Those caught will first serve 1 year hard labor building a border security fence before deportation.
Hopefully the GOP hasn't forgotten it. They'd do well to remember what happens when they go against the will of so many of the people.
By the way, quote where Perot bashed immigrants. If you go to this transcript of a 1996 debate among Clinton, Dole, and Perot, under the fourth heading down ("ISSUE: LEGAL IMMIGRATION"), you'll see that Perot was the only one out of the three candidates who did not call for a reduction in the number of people legally admitted into the country. Unlike so many of the open-borders types, he understood the proper distinction between legal and illegal immigration.
He also didn't call for leaving legal immigration unchanged or increasing legal immigration. Your proof is that Perot didn't jump up and repeat the same policy as other 2 candidates word for word.
One of Perot's complaints about NAFTA was that it would increase illegal immigration. You have one quote to not really prove your point. I have a whole book, Perot's 1993 book "Save Your Job, Save Our Country"
However, it is probably unfair for me to say Perot spearheaded an anti-immigrant party. Perot was not a rabid xenophobe. He just attracted them, like his predecessors Lamm and Buchanan and those who voted for him(them.) Thank you for correcting me.
I don't think he's wrong. Many conservatives who'd been unswervingly pro-Bush and pro-GOP have become disillusioned with them at an increasing rate. They held on in '04 because they really didn't want to see Kerry win, and in many cases, were promised by Bush's supporters that "things would be different this time". But as he kept sliding further into the big-government and open-borders morass since the election, they've really started to give up on him. This can't keep up forever, unless the Republicans really start to turn things around.
Okay, they pay a fine to stay. Directly into corrupt politicians pockets. No money No problem. Sell a few drugs or break into a few homes or cars, hock the stuff.. Entrance fee paid.
And the first 3 things on the illegal's agenda?
Get across the border, find a flop house to live in, create an anchor baby. All problems now solved. Jose in America forever. Bring on the freebies.
Don't think creating an anchor baby won't be on the top of their list. It already is. After all, it's fun, and it's free. And then it's permanent security.
Roger that. And we cannot have that happen. We did make the good fight and put him in office twice....no matter what, we cannot allow the enemies of freedom, and the enemies of the US Constitution to remove this historic President. I will vote on election day and urge all my friends to get out the vote too, to elect Republicans. I am sorry I had a moment of weakness and felt otherwise, and I thank you for putting me back on the beam. Bless you.
Yes, the President whose screwing of us has taken on historic proportions.
Dubya beat Kerry by 3 million votes in record turn out. If this is disillusionment I say never placate conservatives.
But as he kept sliding further into the big-government and open-borders morass since the election, they've really started to give up on him.
No, what has happened is conservatives have started to swallow the lies and polls feed to them by the rat media. That is stupidity unsupported by election results.
Your predictions of conservatives abondoning the GOP are less convincing since you have been Bush-bashing for 4 years...IOW since you joined FR.
I'm well on record here on FR as being adamantly opposed to just about everything Bush, Ashcroft, & Co. have been doing to the Constitution, which is quite a bit.
As you ahould be able to see from my post, I was talking about since the election. Also, those votes were at least as much anti-Kerry as they were genuinely pro-Bush, as I'm sure you well know.
No, what has happened is conservatives have started to swallow the lies and polls feed to them by the rat media.
Nice try. It wasn't the "rat media" that "lied" about Bush's atrocious record on border security. If anything, they've provided cover for him there.
Your predictions of conservatives abondoning the GOP are less convincing since you have been Bush-bashing for 4 years
And your unshakable pro-Bush stance - what does that do for your credibility in claiming that the Republicans are safe from a third-party threat? The only way my predictions could serve any "agenda" is by making the GOP's policies be more in line with the vast majority of conservatives and of Americans. What agenda would your "predictions" serve?
Thanks for that old quote from me, by the way. As you can clearly see from following the link, I was putting my opposition to Bush's policies in perspective, by highlighting my far greater opposition to the Left, and by chastising a poster who failed to see the difference between the two.
That "atrocious record" includes putting more agents on the border and toughening identification standards. His record is better than any President since Ike, and unlike Reagan he has yet to amnesty one illegal.
I was putting my opposition to Bush's policies in perspective, by highlighting my far greater opposition to the Left
The words adamantly opposed to just about everything Bush, Ashcroft, & Co. have been doing to the Constitution show your atagonism to the GOP. If you hate rats just as much, this just solidify my implication that you have been a 3rd party supporter all along.
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