| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"JP" |
| Date: |
27 Mar 2006 07:10:53 PM |
| Object: |
Senate panel passes bill allowing guest workers |
(This is only part of the process of the whole immigration deal before the
government. The core immigration issues themselves will be discussed
starting tomorrow)
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12034586/
MSNBC.com
Senate panel passes bill allowing guest workers
Sweeping immigration legislation faces stiff opposition in the House
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:49 p.m. ET March 27, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved election-year
immigration legislation Monday that clears the way for millions of
undocumented workers to seek U.S. citizenship without having to first leave
the country.
After days of street demonstrations that stretched from California to the
grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the committee also voted to strip out proposed
criminal penalties for residents found to be in this country illegally.
The panel's vote cleared the way for the full Senate to begin debate Tuesday
on the emotional immigration issue.
"All Americans wanted fairness, and they got it this evening," said Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who played a pivotal role in
drafting the legislation. The bill was approved 12-6.
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., voted for the bill but signaled
that some of the provisions could well be changed by the full Senate.
In general, the bill is designed to strengthen border patrol, create new
opportunities for so-called guest workers and determine the legal future of
the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally.
Democrats' advantage
At several critical points, committee Democrats were united while
Republicans splintered. In general, GOP Sens. Lindsay Graham of South
Carolina, Sam Brownback of Kansas and Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is seeking
re-election this fall, sided with Democrats.
That gave Democrats a majority that allowed them to shape the bill to their
liking.
Earlier Monday, as more than a thousand immigration rights activists rallied
outside the Capitol, the Senate Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment by
Sen. ***** Durbin, D-Ill., that would protect church and charitable groups,
as well as individuals, from criminal prosecution for providing food,
shelter, medical care and counseling to undocumented immigrants.
"Charitable organizations, like individuals, should be able to provide
humanitarian assistance to immigrants without fearing prosecution," Durbin
said.
The House voted in December to make offers of such non-emergency aid a
felony. The Senate panel also rejected a proposal Wednesday by Sen. John
Cornyn, R-Texas, to require humanitarian groups providing aid to illegal
immigrants to register with the Department of Homeland Security.
The immigration bills have sparked protests around the country, and with the
committee's action on Monday demonstrators at the front of the Capitol
claimed to have already had an impact. At least 200 clergy members were
present, including dozens wearing handcuffs to protest the House's action.
'We are Americans, too'
"This is not about legislation any more," said Jorge Medina, an immigrant
from Honduras now living in Charlotte, N.C. "This is about feelings now. We
are Americans, too. We are not from Mars, and we are not from the moon."
President Bush used a naturalization ceremony Monday for swearing in 30 new
citizens from 20 countries to warn critics of his proposal to let some
illegal immigrants remain in the United State against stoking anti-immigrant
feelings.
"The immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and dignified way,"
the president said as lawmakers began tackling the hot-button election issue
of what to do with the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.
More than 500,000 people rallied in Los Angeles on Saturday, demanding that
Congress abandon the House-passed measures that would make being an
undocumented immigrant a felony and would erect a 700-mile fence along the
2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
Similar but smaller protests were held in Dallas, Phoenix, Milwaukee and
Columbus, Ohio, over the weekend. On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators, many
waving U.S. and Mexican flags, marched through Detroit. In Huntington Park,
Calif., several hundred high school students walked out of class as protests
against an immigration crackdown continued on California's Cesar Chavez Day.
A difficult task ahead
Overhauling the nation's immigration laws "is not going to be easy," Bush
said at the naturalization ceremony at Constitution Hall two blocks from the
White House.
"No one should play on people's fears or try to pit neighbors against each
other," Bush said. "No one should pretend that immigrants are threats to
America's identity because immigrants have shaped America's identity.
"No one should claim that immigrants are a burden on our economy because the
work and enterprise of immigrants helps sustain our economy," the president
said. "We should not give in to pessimism. If we work together, I am
confident we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver a
bill that protects our people, upholds our laws and makes our people proud."
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calls for tougher border
security have dominated debate over the knotty problem of controlling
immigration.
But a tough immigration-enforcement bill passed by the House last year has
galvanized forces that want worker programs for illegal immigrants already
in the country.
"We will not accept enforcement-only approaches," said Cecilia Munoz, vice
president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.
Debate comes during election year
Senators up for re-election this year are being forced by the debate to
juggle the demand from voters for tighter borders to keep out terrorists and
businesses who look to the tide of immigrants to help fill jobs.
Employers and immigration advocates prefer a bill drafted by Sens. John
McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., that would allow illegal
immigrants to become eligible for permanent residency after working for six
years. Both McCain and Frist are likely candidates for the Republican
presidential nomination next year.
Another approach offered by Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would let
illegal immigrants get temporary work permits for up to five years. They
would have to leave the United States but could then apply for legal
re-entry.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
© 2006 MSNBC.com
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12034586/
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Senate panel passes bill allowing guest workers |
27 Mar 2006 11:16:31 PM |
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JP wrote:
(This is only part of the process of the whole immigration deal before the
government. The core immigration issues themselves will be discussed
starting tomorrow)
Disgusting display of ethical bankruptcy and political cowardice..
All for the sake of a few hoped-for votes and short term bottom rung
payroll savings for the ever faithful and unpatriotic business boys.
Both the dems and (neo)repubs are playing 'how low can you go' in a
national giveaway.
...Never mind that the legal citizenry will have to endure the
subsequent loss in living standards as their wages go down and their
taxes go up to pay for additional societal costs (and changes) as
millions more illegals set their sights on the 'Reconquista'.
We might as well have had Caligula's horses as our senators.
"No one should claim that immigrants are a burden on our economy because the
work and enterprise of immigrants helps sustain our economy," the president
said. "We should not give in to pessimism. If we work together, I am
confident we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver a
bill that protects our people, upholds our laws and makes our people proud."
Did someone say "Laws"?
What good might they be - when they are not enforced (or even noticed)
anyway?
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Senate panel passes bill allowing guest workers |
27 Mar 2006 09:57:18 PM |
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JP wrote:
(This is only part of the process of the whole immigration deal before the
government. The core immigration issues themselves will be discussed
starting tomorrow)
Disgusting display of ethical bankruptcy and political cowardice..
All for the sake of a few hoped-for votes and short term bottom rung
payroll savings for the ever faithful and unpatriotic business boys.
Both the dems and (neo)repubs are playing 'how low can you go' in a
national giveaway.
...Never mind that the legal citizenry will have to endure the
subsequent loss in living standards as their wages go down and their
taxes go up to pay for additional societal costs (and changes) as
millions more illegals set their sights on the 'Reconquista'.
We might as well have had Caligula's horses as our senators.
"No one should claim that immigrants are a burden on our economy because the
work and enterprise of immigrants helps sustain our economy," the president
said. "We should not give in to pessimism. If we work together, I am
confident we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver a
bill that protects our people, upholds our laws and makes our people proud."
Did someone say "Laws"?
What good might they be - when they are not enforced (or even noticed)
anyway?
om/id/12034586/
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