Deal-Cutting Time

26 May 2006



Senate Passes Immigration Bill, Conference Committee Ahead

The US Senate has decided on an immigration bill and passed it on a vote of 62-36. That is a solid majority, but not a veto-proof one. Fortunately, the president likes the current Senate position. Less fortunately, the House has passed a much different immigration bill, and the two must be reconciled in a conference committee. There are a few issues to which some in the president’s own party will not be reconciled.

The Senate bill creates a three-tiered system for dealing with illegal aliens. Those with fewer than two years in the country simply have to leave. Presence of two to five years would require a visit to a point of entry on the border and application to stay. More than five years would allow permanent residence and future citizenship (following an 11-year probationary period) after a $3,250 fine and back taxes as well a demonstrable proficiency in English. The House bill is silent on all of this, but a lot of Republicans say this is “amnesty,” and therefore unacceptable.

The Senate bill also creates a guest worker program for 200,000 temporary workers and for 1.5 million farm workers. The House bill says nothing on this point, but it does make it a felony to be an illegal alien in the US. The Senate doesn’t mention felony charges but does make English the “national” language, while the House bill doesn’t address the issue.

The two unifying issues are the fence and the punishment of businesses that hire illegals. In the case of the fence, neither is comprehensive. The House wants 700 miles of it, and the Senate 370 miles. The border between the US and Mexico is 1,971 miles long. The effect will be to force those who insist on crossing to move to the less hospitable areas – but cross they will. The larger border with Canada is to remain unfenced (apparently, Canadians aren’t trying to come to the US; who ever heard of “frostbacks?”). Meanwhile, both versions raise the fines for hiring illegals from $10,000; the Senate’s doubled it while the House quadruples it. Also, employers will have to use an electronic database to ensure that workers are legally in the country.

There are the makings of a deal here, but the Bush White House is dead wrong it if thinks getting a bill through will help it shake off the second-term doldrums. The Democrats will support it because they believe something must be done, and the Senate bill in particular works for them. The Republicans will remain split (only 4 Democrats voted against the Senate bill), and the toughest opposition comes from the hard right – the people who have been the biggest backers of the president. The conference committee fight could be ugly in the extreme, Republican against Republican.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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