SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL June 9, 2007 Immigration bill takes a step back By William E. Gibson and Ruth Morris
South Florida Sun-Sentinel WASHINGTON · Crops will rot in the fields. Employers will face labor shortages that pinch the economy. And, if Congress fails to overhaul a dysfunctional immigration system, federal authorities will be left to enforce current law without the tools needed to protect the nation's security, Bush administration officials warned on Friday.
In South Florida, home to tens of thousands of illegal residents, the impact of inaction on immigration legislation will be especially intense. Opponents gloated, backers fretted, and both sides mobilized for a new round of lobbying after a Senate bill collapsed in heap of procedural bickering on Thursday night.
The Senate bill -- which offers a path to legalization for 12 million nationwide and nearly one million in Florida -- is not dead yet but was left in critical condition when proponents failed to overcome a filibuster.
"Victory is sweet," said Joyce Kaufman, a Fort Lauderdale radio talk-show host who mounted a grassroots campaign in April to oppose legalization, which she says would reward lawbreakers. Kaufman collected 5,000 shoes during her protest and took them to a national "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" rally in the capital.
Despite bipartisan support and backing from the White House, the bill took fire from all sides, and even some South Florida immigrant advocates said they were relieved it was shelved.
"We're hoping this parenthesis will produce something better," said Elvira Carvajal, an organizer with the Farmworker Association of Florida. She said the bill's penalties on undocumented immigrants were so steep - about $5,000 in fees and fines -- they would put legalization out of reach for many residents.
Others said they would forge ahead with lobbying campaigns. On Wednesday, local activists plan to kick off a rally for immigrant rights, including a train journey next weekend from Miami to Washington to demonstrate.
"This was a frayed, delicate lifeline for people, but it was a lifeline," said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, who hopes the Senate takes the legislation up again soon.
After meeting with key senators, two members of President Bush's Cabinet said they remain optimistic the bill will be revived.
``We are going to pay a heavy price for not having the workers available to grow our economy,'' Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez told reporters.
Detentions, deportations and raids of worksites will continue, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. But he said the intensified enforcement tactics of the past two years are not fully effective because officials lack tools contained in the Senate bill, such as requirements for tamper-proof identity cards and a verification system to determine the legal status of workers.
After failing to limit debate and force a final vote on the bill late Thursday, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pulled it off the Senate agenda to turn to other matters, but he indicated a willingness to try again in coming weeks.
One of the main framers of the comprehensive bill, Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said he plans to keep pushing for passage.
He said he was disappointed the Senate has missed an opportunity to overhaul a system that all sides acknowledge is broken. Enrique, a 33-year-old construction worker in West Palm Beach, said the bill's derailment was devastating for millions like him who had folded their hopes of legalization into its pages. Enrique, who came from Bolivia seven years ago, said he hasn't seen his parents in all that time, afraid that if he left to visit he wouldn't get back in.
"Once this law was put on the table, we started thinking differently. We started to make certain plans. The first is to go back home and see your family," said Enrique, who asked to be identified by his first name because of his undocumented status.
"There was light at the end of the tunnel," he said of the Senate bill. "Now it's a heavy feeling." |