SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS March 23, 2007 Immigration reform goes before CongressWASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill to jump-start the debate over immigration reform was introduced Thursday in the House, calling for temporary status for millions of undocumented workers who could later apply for permanent residency. The legislation filed by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., was hailed by pro-immigration groups as a first step toward revamping current laws and overcoming the obstacles that killed a reform bill last year. Gutierrez said the bill would "allow us to better protect our borders and reform an immigration system that is hampering businesses, hurting families and harming communities." A bipartisan approach is needed to change current immigration laws, which "are at odds with reality," Flake said. The bill increases interior enforcement of immigration laws and creates a temporary worker program for 400,000 workers "that's enforceable and fair." The legislation mirrors a similar bill that died in Congress last year after the House and Senate failed to reach agreement on how to deal with the 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country illegally. Republican opposition to immigration reform is centered on permanent status and citizenship for workers who entered the country illegally — provisions included in the Gutierrez-Flake legislation. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, which will oversee immigration reform, said the Gutierrez-Flake bill would reward lawbreakers with citizenship. Smith said the bill has good provisions to secure borders and improve employment verification, "but these provisions don't offset giving amnesty to most illegal immigrants in the country." Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., who heads the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said the bill amounts to "nothing more than repeating the failed policies of the past." Despite opposition in his own party, President Bush has called on Congress to pass an immigration bill that includes a guest-worker program, bolsters border security and provides an eventual path to citizenship. A Senate immigration reform bill is being written by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a co-sponsor of last year's bill, has shifted his position on earned legalization. He said he would be open to allowing undocumented immigrants to return to their home country to apply for permanent status. That is included in the House bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he expects the Senate to pass an immigration reform bill by May. House leaders said they expect to pass a bill by August. The House bill includes provisions that would increase the number of Border Patrol agents, allow 400,000 guest workers per year, and increase penalties for document fraud, smuggling and gang activities. It also would create a system for employers to verify immigration status of new hires, and increase the number of family- and employment-based visas. Undocumented workers would have to pay fines, undergo background checks, learn English, and leave the country and return legally to be eligible for permanent status. Undocumented immigrants would also be able to work in the United States for six years under conditional status before leaving the country to apply for permanent residency. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as well as the National Council of La Raza, endorsed efforts to reunify families and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Business groups representing hotels, restaurants, agriculture and other labor-intensive industries applauded the guest-worker provisions. Labor unions gave tacit approval but remain divided on guest-worker and citizenship proposals. "Any provision that requires 12 million immigrants to return home before adjusting their status is bad policy," said Eliseo Medina, the Service Employees International Union executive vice president. Democratic lawmakers in the House looked upon the legislation favorably. The bill would give undocumented immigrant children access to colleges, and make them eligible for financial aid and grants, provisions that would help heavily immigrant areas such as South Texas. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, a House Education subcommittee chairman, said that without the bill, "too many of our nation's talented immigrant students will be forced to forego their pursuit of a higher education." Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, is optimistic Congress can pass comprehensive immigration reform in a nonelection year, but he conceded that harsh political rhetoric has doomed legislation in the past. "It was used as a wedge issue," Rodriguez said. "That ugly aspect still might come out." Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a Republican presidential candidate running on an anti-immigration platform, said Bush and Democrats seem determined "on cramming this mass amnesty down the throats of the American people."
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