The immigration fix-it-up legislation that stalled in the Senate on Thursday may have gained a new lease on life on today.
Sponsors said they were determined to push an immigration deal through, somehow, despite deep and perhaps intensifying resistance to any proposal that would afford a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States already.
"The borders have to be protected. We have to deal with the 12 million. We have to have employers reject illegals. We have to have a sensible worker program so that there will not be an influx of illegal immigrants," U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said at a news conference today.
The Pennsylvania Republican has played a central role in negotiating a compromise bill with Senate Democrats. Now he must forge a deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that will get more Republicans on board.
The immigration proposal ground to a halt Thursday, when the Senate, 45-50, voted against cutting off unlimited debate. Sixty votes were required to limit amendments and end the filibuster, but 38 Republicans and 12 Democrats voted to keep the delay tactics rolling.
"It didn't seem like anybody wanted to leave the chamber after the vote was taken," said U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "It was well after an hour, because there seemed to be a sense that it couldn't end with that vote."
Audrey Singer, an immigration policy expert with the Brookings Institution, said lawmakers were facing pressure from constituents to address immigration issues because economic opportunities had lured immigrants, legal and otherwise, into the suburbs for the first time.
In past decades, the majority of immigrants were clustered in five border-states, Singer stated. Now they were living throughout the United States, taking advantage of the economic opportunities available to people in booming suburban economies, Singer stated.
"I support an earned legalization program" for illegal immigrants, Singer said. "It's unimaginable for us to round up 12 million or so people. It would mean a lot of social and economic stress, for sure. So we have to do something."
Congress could help states and localities cope with illegal immigration by creating an Impact Aid program that would drive federal dollars to regions hardest hit by the costs associated with rising demand for public services, Singer added.
The Senate proposal would create a six-year temporary worker program, authorizing not-yet-legal immigrants to work in the United States for three terms of two years each. But they would be required to return to their country of origin for one year in between each labor tour they performed in the United States.
The Senate on Wednesday defeated an amendment, 48-49, that would have shut down the temporary worker initiative after five years.
But lawmakers adopted a proposal, 56-41, to deny the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal subsidy for low-income workers, to any temporary aliens who work in the United States under the bill's new Y-1 visa.
The now-stalled bill would allow illegal aliens already living in the United States apply for what the White House called probationary status. But applicants for the new Z visa would be required to pass a criminal background check, stay employed, and pay a $1,000 fine.
At least eight years later, if not longer, the Z visa recipients would be permitted to apply for permanent residency. But they would be required to pay an additional $4,000 fine, demonstrate English language proficiency and return to home country to file for a green card.
The Senate nixed a proposal by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., that would have required Z visa holders to maintain private health insurance coverage during their wait in the United States for a green card. The vote, 43-55, came as a disappointment to DeMint and others concerned about the costs immigrants impose on public institutions like schools and hospitals.
"This is a small token of what the real costs are, not only for health care but education, daycare, and other services that are often used by these immigrants," DeMint said Tuesday.
Ironically, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat, led the opposition to DeMint's health care proposal. Kennedy may have feared than any health care mandate upon employers would nix support for the immigration bill from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.
"It is important to get health care and health care coverage for all who do not have it. The real issue is the best way to pursue that," Kennedy said.
The Senate measure, endorsed by President Bush, also would try to end chain migration, which occurs when one member of a family obtains a green card, or citizenship, and then tries to obtain permanent residency rights for a number of family members as well.
The Senate bill would block chain migration with a merit-based system awarding points to applicants. For instance, the system would award priority status to people with training in math, science and high-technology fields, rather than to people with relatives in the United States.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat and presidential hopeful, and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat, proposed to end the merit-based immigration system after five years. Their amendment went down to defeat on Wednesday.
"The fact is that Republicans overwhelmingly voted to block the bill, so it's clear that we won't pass legislation if they don't come around," Menendez said today. "This bill is on life support, and if we are to have comprehensive immigration reform this year, the president needs to get his party behind it. Along with the (Senate) majority leader, I do think that this bill can be revived, but only if the Republicans come back to the table with an honest, good faith effort instead of obstructionist demands. I, for one, have been consistently committed to tough, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, and I would love to continue working to help us achieve that goal."
Also on Wednesday, the Senate rejected a proposal drafted by Menendez and U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. They would have allowed immigration authorities to consider family-unification petitions submitted by people up through January 1, 2007, rather than before the earlier deadline in the existing bill, May 1, 2005. The change would have allowed an estimated 833,000 people seek permanent residency.
"You are a U.S. citizen, you have paid your taxes, you have served your nation, you attend church, and you make a good living," Menendez said in floor debate. "You are a good citizen. You petition to have your adult child come to America, but you did so after the arbitrary date of May 1, 2005. Under this bill, that U.S. citizen would lose their right. However, those undocumented in the country after May 1, 2005, get a benefit. It is hard to imagine, but it is true."
Menendez and Hagel got 51 votes for their proposal. But they were thwarted by Kyl, the Arizona Republican, who used Senate budget procedures to challenge the amendment. Under Kyl's maneuver, Menendez needed 60 to waive congressional budget rules.
The fate of any broad immigration bill, given the complexity of the issues at stake and the passions involved, depends upon "the president getting his own party behind comprehensive reform," Menendez said in a statement Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also said it was essential for President Bush to get involved.
Democrats who have been working with the White House have at least one significant card to play: Business groups, not just advocates for immigrants' rights, want to see lawmakers get a bill passed. Employers want Congress to come up with a workable system for bringing more immigrant workers into the United States.
"The Senate's inability to move forward with the comprehensive and bipartisan immigration reform bill is bad news for American agriculture. Farmers, livestock producers and produce growers will feel severe pressure during those times of year when the need for labor is at a peak.
This is perhaps most stressful to producers of perishable commodities, such as fruit and vegetables for America's dinner tables," Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau, said in a statement. He said his organization would continue pressing Congress for action.