Republicans, Democrats strike immigration bill deal with the White House.

[blazee]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...la-home-center

Republicans, Democrats strike immigration bill deal with the White House

Agreement allows millions of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship and creates new merit-based system for future legal immigrants.
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
12:34 PM PDT, May 17, 2007




WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of senators reached agreement today on an immigration reform bill that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship and create a new merit-based system that will determine whether some legal immigrants are admitted.

The agreement, negotiated with the intense involvement of the White House, brings President Bush one step closer to a domestic goal that he has championed for years. It also sets the stage for a divisive debate that some lawmakers hope to complete by Memorial Day.

"This plan isn't perfect, but it's a strong bill and a worthy solution," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said at an afternoon news conference.

Bush called the compromise "an important first step toward a comprehensive immigration bill." He said the agreement will secure U.S. borders and "treat people with respect -- without amnesty and without animosity."

Even as senators reached agreement on the major facets of the legislation, they acknowledged they expect protests from the left and right.

"It may supplant Social Security as being the third rail of the political system," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), a lead negotiator, said shortly before the deal was announced. "No matter what we do here, both ends of the political spectrum will criticize us. Politically, it is a loser for those who have engaged in it. But we have a public duty … to have comprehensive immigration reform."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) pleaded with immigration reform advocates to understand that the bill is a carefully crafted compromise. "Please, please, please don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," she said.

The senators have been negotiating intensely for two months, meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez for hours every week.

The rough outlines of a deal have been circulating and include a "Z visa" that would allow illegal immigrants to transition to citizenship, provided they meet many requirements.

These include a $5,000 fine that can be paid over time, processing fees for the visa, and a requirement that the head of household return to their home country within eight years.

The bill also includes the Dream Act, a provision for illegal immigrants, who were brought in as children and are enrolled in college or the military. They would be immediately eligible for the Z visa. As long as they remain employed or in school and do not have a criminal record they could become eligible for legal permanent resident status, a step toward citizenship, in three years.

All illegal immigrants who entered before Jan. 1, 2007, would be eligible for the Z visa.

The bill focuses heavily on border security and work-site enforcement, two areas that the senators spent weeks negotiating in painstaking detail. The number of border agents would be boosted to around 18,000 from a current level of about 12,000; some 200 miles of vehicle barriers and towers for surveillance would be added along the border.

Work-site enforcement would include a tamper-proof ID, probably a Social Security card, that some Senate aides said would have to be presented in combination with a passport or tamper-proof driver's license. Creating an identity verification system has been a priority for the senators so they can create tough penalties for employers who continue to hire illegally.

The plan would also reconfigure the system for future legal immigration, setting aside 40% of future visas to be allocated on a merit-based system that awards points for education and skills that are needed in the U.S. These could include high-tech skills as well as low-tech talents that are in demand.

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[Muscletang]

Tears, caution on news of U.S. immigration deal

I thought to get a leech off you pour salt on it, not pamper it?

It's also good to know that our lovely government gets Mr. Teddy, who already has his head up his ass to lead this bill.

[03cavPA]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

It's also good to know that our lovely government gets Mr. Teddy, who already has his head up his ass to lead this bill.

It's all about the Benjamins ....... er ......votes, baby.

Let 'em in, tax 'em like the rest of us.

[blazee]

It's dead:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldN...34416020070628

[tenguzero]

I was certainly no fan of the bill in general, that's for sure (although there were definitely some valid measures in it.)

But that being said, I'm far more angry about the fact that this means, again, NOTHING will be done in the immediate future. At least this was something. I don't like the idea of illegal immigrants undercutting American labor, but let's face it -- none of us will EVER find ourselves applying for a job picking tomatoes for chump change somewhere in the southwest. It's just not going to happen. But until the day comes when robots are able to walk around in the fields and do the job, SOMEONE has to do it. And (if the many threats of these subsidized agricultural business owners actually have any merit) I'm certainly not willing to start paying $10 for a quart of strawberries so the job can bring truly competitive wages.

1. Seal the border
2. Let the existing illegal population be filtered out through natural attrition (the ones that manage to stay obviously aren't doing much "damage" to the system)
3. Overhaul the immigration process to make it easier to get in

Simple as that. "But what about Bush's legacy!?" You ask? The guy couldn't manage to get squat done with 6 years of a republican controlled congress and what has undoubtedly been one of (if not THE MOST) hawkish cabinets in the history of the U.S. Executive branch. I'd say that's grounds for a D+ presidency.

Meanwhile illegals are still coming in, and the politicians are doing what they do best -- pander for votes.

[blazee]

I just want to point out that the thought of produce doubling, tripling, or quadrupling without illegal immigrants is completely false. By the time that you figure in the cut the farmer gets for months of preparing and tending the product, irrigation, fertilizer, insecticides, packaging materials, shipping supplies, distribution, transportation costs, and retail mark up..... the price paid for getting the items picked only makes up a small percentage of the total cost. You could triple the wages of the field workers and assuming that most of the cost is passed on to the consumer, it still would not make that much of a difference. The difference would actually be less still, because the end price would have to be comparable to prices of the companies that have used legally employed workers all along, meaning that the farmers and retailer would have to take a cut in their immorally increased profit margins.

[blazee]

BTW, I don't think that we should even worry about new immigration laws. The Native Americans didn't even have any immigration laws, and we see how well things worked out for them.... oh wait...

[ericn1300]

Idaho already has a shortage of Hispanics to work in agriculture so they turned to something almost as cheap, chain gangs. http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive...place-migrants

[03cavPA]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

Idaho already has a shortage of Hispanics to work in agriculture so they turned to something almost as cheap, chain gangs.

Why not? I grew up in FL and I can remember road crews of inmates clearing weeds and cleaning out ditches. Blue denim uniforms with the white stripe down the leg and all.

I didn't see any mention of what kind of wages these guys are making, but maybe some of that can be used to support the jail system as well.