Immigration Update May 18th

Welcome to DNC’s Immigration Update. As you may know, the nation's attention has turned to immigration reform, with the Senate currently deliberating on its version of immigration reform legislation. The Senate's action is in follow up to House passage of H.R. 4437 late last year. As the immigration issue is of great concern to the various communities that make up the Democratic Party, we wanted to provide daily updates on the proceedings as they develop in the Senate.

Governor Dean has made our position on immigration reform clear: We support comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens our borders, protects U.S. workers and their wages, reunites families, and allows those who pay taxes and obey the law to earn the opportunity to apply for the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

The following is summary of amendments considered or up for consideration as compiled by the National Immigration Forum, www.immigrationforum.org. This list is subject to change as amendments are considered on an ongoing basis

1. Isakson Enforcement Only- mandates an “enforcement only” approach by delaying the implementation of a legalization program until the borders are secure- VOTED DOWN 55-40
2. Salazar Side by Side (to Isakson)- provides that the Secretary of Homeland Security must certify that the land borders are secure and that enforcement authorizations are met and operational before a program to legalize unauthorized aliens can come into effect. PASSED 79-16.
3. Dorgan-Stabenow Elimination of Temporary Worker Program: MOTION TO TABLE PASSED 69-28 (which means the amendment is dead)
4. Bingaman-Feinstein Reduction of Temporary Worker Visas: Lowers the number of temporary workers authorized for “essential” jobs to 200,000, and eliminates the market-based cap adjustment in the Senate bill. MOTION TO TABLE REJECTED 18-79. ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE.
5. Kerry Increased Border Equipment: Amendment to increase border security and related equipment. ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE.
6. Kyl-Cornyn Bars to Participation: would make the following aliens ineligible: (a) subject to final orders, (b) failure to depart under VD, (c) been convicted of a serious crime here or believed to have committed serious crime abroad, danger to national security, etc., and (d) 3 misdemeanors or 1 felony. Includes a limited discretionary waiver. PASSED 99-0
7. Obama-Feinstein-Bingaman Guestworker Proposal on Prevailing Wage and Protecting Unemployed Americans: would establish a prevailing wage for all occupations ...directs the employer to use Department of Labor data for calculating a prevailing wage in cases where neither a collective bargaining agreement exists nor the Service Contract Act governs. …The bill currently bars use of the program if unemployment rates for low-skilled workers in a metropolitan area average more than 11%. Obama amendment lowers that to 9% of workers unemployed with a high school diploma or less. ACCEPTED ON VOICE VOTE
8. Sessions – Fence- Border Fence- PASSED 83-16
9. Stevens amendment extending the deadline given to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the implementation of a new travel document plan for border crossings to June 1, 2009.PASSED BY VOICE VOTE
10. Santorum – to allow additional countries to participate in the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act if they meet certain criteria. PASSED BY VOICE VOTE
11. Vitter-Grassley: Strike Earned Legalization and AgJOBS: This amendment strips the heart of this bill's provisions that deal with undocumented immigrants. It strikes the bipartisan compromise proposal to legalize millions of undocumented workers. It also strikes the AgJOBS legislation that so many members of Congress from both sides of aisle, support. In short, it guts real immigration reform. - VOTED DOWN 66-33
12. Kyl-Cornyn: Strike Self Petition: This amendment would prevent temporary workers from petitioning for legal permanent residency on their own. Right now, the Senate compromise allows H-2C temporary workers to apply for a green card if their work is needed long-term. Access to legal permanent residency—independent of an employer—is a key labor protection for these workers. PASSED 50-48
13. Kennedy-McCain-Graham Side by Side to Cornyn Amendment Striking Self-Petition: This amendment would restore some options for temporary workers to self petition for lawful permanent resident status. PASSED 56-43
14. Ensign Social Security: This amendment is designed to prevent lawfully present immigrant workers from claiming Social Security based on earnings credited before they were authorized to work in the United States. Taking benefits away from workers who pay into the system is unfair and un-American. MOTION TO TABLE AGREED TO 50-49
15. Inhofe-Sessions English Language and Naturalization Requirements: OPPOSE. This amendment is unnecessary and divisive. Immigrants want to learn English, and Congress should create more opportunities for them to take English classes rather than impose English-only requirements and make the bar for citizenship even higher. PASSED 63-34
16. Kyl-Cornyn: Strike Path to Green Card for Temporary Workers: This amendment strips any opportunity for a temporary worker to adjust to a permanent residence. Many jobs may become permanent, and employers may want workers to stay permanently. Workers may decide to remain in the U.S. permanently. This bill does not provide them with that choice. Rather, it creates an underclass of temporary workers that can not become full participating members in U.S. society. We must provide temporary workers with the opportunity to obtain permanent legal status. MOTION TO TABLE PASSED 58-35
17. Clinton Amendment- To establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to States and local governments for the costs of providing health care and educational services to noncitizens, and to provide additional funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. REJECTED 43-52
18. Cornyn Amendment- would require aliens seeking adjustment of status under section 245B of the Immigration and Nationality Act or Deferred Mandatory Departure status under section 245C of such Act to pay a supplemental application fee, which shall be used to provide financial assistance to States for health and educational services for noncitizens. PASSED 64-32
19. Vitter Document Requirements– would modify the document requirements for showing employment eligibility under earned legalization; would strike the “intent of Congress” clause that takes into account the difficulty in obtaining and providing documents - PASSED ON VOICE VOTE
20. Nelson Detention- Increase in Bedspace- PASSED ON VOICE VOTE
21. Akaka – Veteran Related Amendment – would exempt certain children of Filipino WW II veterans from the family cap- PASSED ON VOICE VOTE

Lined Up for Consideration

1. Lieberman – Asylum --protects certain vulnerable populations from prosecution under new document fraud provisions
2. Brownback-Lieberman: Restore Protections for Asylum Seekers and Detention: This amendment would provide important protections for asylum seekers and help to ensure an effective and humane system of immigration detention.
3. Chambliss Amendments to the AgJOBS Farmworker Immigration Compromise: These amendments would severely weaken and undercut the AgJOBS compromise.
4. Cornyn-Kyl: Strike Confidentiality Provisions: This amendment strikes provisions that would preserve the confidentiality of information furnished by applicants for legalization. This will serve as a disincentive for undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows.
5. Hutchison: SAFE Visa Program: This amendment creates a new temporary work visa (SAFE visa) without any path to permanent residency. Also has a return requirement.
6. Potential Amendment By Kyl to Strike Earned Legalization Program with Legal Permanent Residence Path
7. Leahy-Kohl Material Support: This amendment creates a limited exception to the terrorist related grounds of inadmissibility for aliens who provide involuntary material support.
8. Senator Gregg - would require that aliens with higher educational degrees receive the majority of the diversity visas
9. Senator Ensign - provides reimbursement for the use of National Guard to protect the border.
10. Feinstein Orange card program: Treat all undocs alike; details are still being finalized (have not seen language)

Other Democratic or Bipartisan Amendments that May Come Up (Random Order)

1. Feingold - strikes the provision that would virtually eliminate the ability for immigrants to obtain a stay of removal while their cases are pending in federal court
2. Biden – ensures that victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable populations are still given access to removal relief under cancellation, etc.
3. Humanitarian/catch-all waiver: The compromise contains new penalties that would subject many immigrants—even long-time legal permanent residents—to criminal prosecution, deportation, detention, and/or ineligibility for most immigration benefits. Lessons from 1996 teach us that creating broad new immigration penalties without any discretion to consider the facts of particular cases hurts well-intentioned immigrants, and separates them from their families. If Congress is unable to address all of the issues of concern in Title II, at the very least it must include a discretionary waiver for these penalties to prevent unintended consequences. The waiver would not be automatic, but instead provide the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security with the discretion to exempt from punishment those with compelling equities. (nothing filed to our knowledge)

4. Kerry Unchecked Power Amendment: Would strike or amend various provisions in Title II of the Judiciary bill regarding detention, deportation, and naturalization of immigrants in order to protect against the concentration of unchecked powers in the hands of unaccountable executive branch employees. For example, it would prevent the use of secret evidence in determining whether a person has “good moral character” for immigration or naturalization purposes.
5. Document Fraud Exemption: The bill contains internally inconsistent “document fraud” penalties that have the potential to destroy the very foundation of the new structure. The compromise applies these new penalties to conduct following enactment and could impact (unintentionally) those who use a false document or omit or make a false statement in an I-9 form in order to work after enactment. This could cover individuals who presented the false document or made the false statement to gain employment prior to enactment and who continued to work pursuant to such false statement or document post-enactment. We need a special rule for individuals eligible to apply for relief under this Act.
6. Improvements to the DMD program for undocumented immigrants with less than five years in the U.S.
7. Title III substitute
8. NCIC provisions elimination (Lieberman): Strikes the provision in the bill that would mandate DHS to input immigration information into the NCIC. ICE opposes this amendment.
9. Strike “continuing offense” language in criminalization provision/EWIs (Durbin) would delete a backdoor criminalization provision. It amends a provision in the Judiciary bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for the crime of entry without inspection. Under current law, entry without inspection is subject to a 5-year statute of limitations.
10. Leahy Injunctions: Deletes severe limitations on court relief for constitutional or immigration law violations.
11. DOL enforcement
12. Advertisements with inclusion of health insurance benefits
13. Altering definition of individual contractor
14. Labor laws applied in Mariana Islands
15. Obama - Amendment would authorize a small amount of money to the FBI to improve the speed and accuracy of the background and security checks conducted on behalf of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Other Republican Amendments that May Come Up (Random Order)

Note, some of these descriptions came from the Republican Policy Committee, so we encourage you to read the amendments on Thomas (search on S. 2611 and go to bill status/amendments).

1. Senator Burns - This amendment would prohibit the counting of illegal aliens for reapportionment purposes.

2. Senator Cornyn - This amendment would require that some of the fees and fines paid by unauthorized aliens to become legalized go to a health care fund to reimburse hospitals
3. Senator Grassley - This amendment would require that unauthorized aliens pay all back taxes before legalization (Note: S. 2611 only requires that Group 1 aliens pay taxes for 3 of the 5 years that they were a resident in the United States).

4. Senator McConnell - Voting amendment.
5. Senator Santorum - This amendment would provide that to obtain a visa under the H-1b visa cap, a foreign professor who intends to teach at an American university must speak understandable English.
6. Senator Sessions - This amendment would clarify that unauthorized aliens who are legalized are prohibited from public benefits.