Senate makes new try for immigration bill

Key vote expected Friday, but many senators are barred from adding amendments.

from the June 21, 2007 edition

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These amendments range from adjusting the scope of new citizenship and guest-worker programs to beefing up border-security features of the bill and penalties for employers who consistently hire illegal workers.

Freshman Sen. James Webb (D) of Virginia is on the list to offer an amendment to limit the scope of the new Z-visa program, which gives a path to citizenship to at least 12 million undocumented immigrants. A previous amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R) of Louisiana to scrap the program failed by a vote of 29-66.

"People who have put down roots in a community, at a time when our immigration laws were not enforced, deserve a way forward. But to give legal status to people who just happened to be here in December is against most people's notion of fairness," says Senator Webb, who campaigned on this issue. If his amendment is adopted, "I will vote for the bill," he adds.

On the Republican side, Sen. Norm Coleman (R) of Minnesota, who also opposed the bill, will have another crack at his amendment to allow police to question people on their immigrant status, if they have probable cause. That amendment failed by a vote of 48-49 on May 24.

In a bid to attract more votes, Senator Coleman says he has narrowed its scope to police, not school teachers or other public officials – and expects the amendment to pass. "We can't gag police officers from asking people about immigration," he says. "Many folks think we are not credible about enforcement of our borders. Without public trust and confidence, we may get this bill through the Senate, but not further."

But many other Republicans say they have been shut out of a process. Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas, once a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, filed 30 amendments to the bill, and narrowed them to five after Democrats pulled the bill. His amendments, which are not on the list, aim to make a complicated new system more workable, he says.

For example, the proposed law provides a 24-hour period for background checks for Z-visa applicants, at a time when similar background checks for Americans drag on for months and even years. "We know with great confidence that that can't be done, and the default is provisional legal status for 12 million foreign nationals," he says. "That's wrong."

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