Immigration Reform Bill - Dead - 6/28/2007

Today the tables turned once again, and the Senate voted to kill the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill with only 44 voting in favor.

On one hand this is good, as it will prevent some seriously restrictive measures from being enacted, but on the other hand, it cuts off the potential for legalization for what is clearly many more than 12 million people living in the United States illegally.

Yesterday, the USCIS announced that it will no longer accept premium processing for I-140 petitions. This is devastating to many people's timing estimates, but follows an announcement recently that the EB-3 employment based immigrant category is current. This is good news, but will undoubtedly wreak havoc on the system as people scramble to file before it retrogresse once more. Moreover, fees increase by 66% on July 30, 2007. July will prove to be a busy month for all involved.

Immigration Bill - Revived for Now

WASHINGTON - The Senate killed a Republican proposal today requiring ALL adult illegal immigrants to return home temporarily if they want to qualify for permanent lawful status in the U.S.

The Senate also killed a Democratic bid to only confer legal status to those who have been in the U.S. for four or more years.

The vote was 53-45 to stall an amendment by Senator Hutchison (R- Texas), to require that illegal immigrants go home within two years in order to qualify for a renewable Z visa to live and work legally in the United States.

The bill could grant status to as many as 12 million illegal immigrants and now requires only heads of household seeking U.S. status to return to their home country to apply for green cards.

The Senate also killed a proposal by Senator Webb (D- Virginia), to allow only those who had been in the country for at least four years to gain lawful status. The bill would make illegal aliens physically present in the U.S. by Jan. 1, 2007 eligible for legalization.

The revived immigration measure would toughen border security and institute a new system for turfing illegal immigrants from U.S. workplaces.

Conservatives call the measure too lenient, but liberals say it will separate families and subject guest workers to abject exploitation.

A test vote on the entire bill S 1639 is set for Thursday.

Immigration Bill - Undead and kicking.

Final Immigration Vote Friday

Senate Majority Leader Reid intends to file a second cloture petition Tuesday on a sweeping immigration measure, setting up a Thursday vote to limit debate. If that motion is approved, a final vote would occur Friday, possibly after a "vote-a-rama" on amendments, Democratic leadership aides said today. The Senate will vote on a separate cloture motion Tuesday and -- assuming it passes, and several insiders predict it will -- the next step for Reid would be to offer his omnibus amendment that contains all the Democratic and Republican proposals that will receive votes this week. Aides said the timing and order of the amendment votes is being negotiated. Republicans want to vote on several amendments before Thursday's cloture vote. Many of their decisions on whether to support the second cloture motion depends on whether certain amendments pass.
Immigrant advocates are reviewing an enforcement amendment that is considered critical to Republican support. The amendment by Senate Republican Conference Chairman Jon Kyl of Arizona and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mel Martinez, R-Fla., would require illegal immigrants seeking a "Z" visa to return to their home countries and receive certification at a U.S. consulate.
The earlier "touchback" raises questions about whether the legalization program would work. Angela Kelly, deputy director of the advocacy group National Immigration Forum, said illegal immigrants must have confidence in the program for it to work.
"If there's one thing that rattles people's nerves, it's dealing with their consulates," she said. Still, immigrant advocates know that keeping the immigration bill alive depends on attracting enough Republican support. NIF has yet to take a position on the amendment.
Negotiators are still attempting to determine how to handle two amendments on H-1B visas -- one from Majority Whip Durbin that would tighten restrictions on employers using the high-tech guestworker program and another from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Kyl that would increase the number of annual H-1Bs.
Durbin and the high-tech industry have been trading proposals for over a week on how to meld the two H-1B amendments into one proposal, but they might not have succeeded. A Durbin aide said this afternoon that Durbin's proposal would receive a separate vote from the Cantwell-Kyl proposal. The Cantwell-Kyl proposal will be folded into the broader Kyl-Graham-Martinez enforcement amendment.
The Durbin amendment would bar employers from hiring more than 30 percent of H-1B visa holders at the lowest of four skill levels. A counterproposal from Compete America, a coalition lobbying for access to H-1B workers, would give the Labor secretary authority to investigate any employer whose H-1B workforce exceeds 30 percent in the lowest skill level. "Thirty percent is an artificial barrier," said Oracle President Robert Hoffman. While Compete America is troubled by some of Durbin's proposal, it is lobbying heavily for the adoption of the Cantwell-Kyl amendment. "If Cantwell-Kyl is adopted, we're urging members to support the bill," Hoffman said. -- by Fawn Johnson