> The power of real mass protest...
>
> March 27, 2006
Senate Panel Approves Broad Immigration Reform Bill
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sweeping
> election-year legislation Monday that clears the way for 11 million
> illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship, a victory for demonstrators
> who had spilled into the streets by the hundreds of thousands
> demanding better treatment for immigrants.
> With a bipartisan coalition in control, the committee also voted
> down proposed criminal penalties on immigrants found to be in the
> country illegally. It approved a new temporary program allowing
> entry for 1.5 million workers seeking jobs in the agriculture
> industry.
> "All Americans wanted fairness and they got it this evening,"
> said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who played a pivotal role in
> drafting the legislation.
> There was no immediate reaction from the White House, and Sen.
> Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said he hoped President Bush would
> participate in efforts to fashion consensus legislation. "The only
> thing that's off the table is inaction," said Graham, who voted for
> the committee bill.
> The 12-6 vote broke down along unusual lines, with a majority of
> the panel's Republicans opposed to the measure even though their
> party controls the Senate.
> Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., seeking re-election this fall in his border
> state, said the bill offered amnesty to illegal immigrants, and
> sought unsuccessfully to insert tougher provisions. He told fellow
> committee members that the economy would turn sour some day and
> Americans workers would want the jobs that now go to!
illegal
> immigrants. They will ask, "how could you have let this happen," he
> added.
> Committee chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was one of four
> Republicans to support the bill, but he signaled strongly that some
> of the more controversial provisions could well be changed when the
> measure reaches the Senate floor. That is "very frequently" the case
> when efforts to reach a broad bipartisan compromise falter, he noted.
> In general, the bill is designed to strengthen enforcement of U.S.
> borders, regulate the flow into the country of so-called guest
> workers and determine the legal future of the estimated 11 million
> immigrants living in the United States illegally.
> The bill would double the Border Patrol and authorizes a "virtual
> wall" of unmanned vehicles, cameras and sensors to monitor the U.S.-
> Mexico border.
> It also allows more visas for nurses and agriculture workers, and
> shelters humanitarian organizations from prosecution if they provide
> non-emergency assistance to illegal residents.
> The most controversial provision would permit illegal aliens
> currently in the country to apply for citizenship without first
> having to return home, a process that would take at least six years
> or more. They would have to pay a fine, learn English, study
> American civics, demonstrate they had paid their taxes and take
> their place behind other applicants for citizenship, according to
> aides to Kennedy.
> "Well over 60 percent of Americans in all the polls I see think
> it's OK to have temporary workers, but you do not have to make them
> citizens," said Kyl.
> "We have a fundamental difference between the way you look at them
> and the way I look at them," Ken!
nedy observed later.
> Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, a potential presidential contender
> who worked with Kennedy on the issue, told reporters the street
> demonstrations had made an impact. "All those people who were
> demonstrating are not here illegally. They are the children and
> grandchildren" of those who may have been, he said.
> The committee met as several thousand demonstrators rallied at the
> foot of the Capitol. Many were members of the clergy who donned
> handcuffs and sang "We Shall Overcome," the unofficial anthem of the
> civil rights era.
> After a weekend of enormous rallies -- a crowd of as many as
> 500,000 demonstrators in Los Angeles -- thousands of students walked
> out of class in California and Texas to protest proposals to crack
> down on illegal immigrants.
> "Do you see the community? Do you see how many people didn't go to
> work today," asked Janet Padron, attending a rally in Michigan.
> Her remark underscored one of the issue's complexities.
> Senators on all sides of the issue agreed that illegal workers
> hold thousands of jobs that otherwise would go unfilled at the wages
> offered.
> The agriculture industry is "almost entirely dependent on
> undocumented workers," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
> In purely political terms, the issue threatened to fracture
> Republicans as they head into the midterm election campaign -- one
> group eager to make labor readily available for low-wage jobs in
> industries such as agriculture, construction and meatpacking, the
> other determined to place a higher emphasis on law enforcement.
> That was a split Bush was hoping to avoid after a political career
> spent building support for himself and his party from!
the fast-
> growing Hispanic population.
> "America should not have to choose between being a welcoming
> society and being a lawful society," Bush said at a naturalization
> ceremony for new citizens. "We can be both at the same time."
> Bush has said he favors a guest worker program, but it is unclear
> whether the administration would insist on a provision to require
> illegal immigrants already in the country to return home before they
> are allowed to apply for citizenship.
> At several critical points, committee Democrats showed unity while
> Republicans splintered. In general, Graham, Sen. Sam Brownback of
> Kansas and Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is seeking re-election this
> fall, voted with the Democrats. That created a majority that allowed
> them to shape the bill to their liking.
> Feinstein won approval for the five-year program to permit as many
> as 1.5 million agriculture workers into the country. "It will
> provide the agriculture industry with a legal work force and offer
> agriculture workers a path to citizenship," she said. The vote was
> 11-5, with Republicans casting all the votes in opposition.
> Kennedy prevailed on a proposal to allow an additional 400,000
> green cards for future immigrants, regardless of the industry where
> they find jobs.