CONGRESS DAILY

May 21, 2008

SENATE SUPPLEMENTAL REIGNITES PASSIONS OVER IMMIGRATION

By Chris Strohm

Senate debate over the Iraq war supplemental spending bill has fired up a
long-simmering dispute over rewriting the nation's immigration laws, with
opposing sides ready to do battle on the Senate floor.

As debate began Tuesday, senators and interest groups were mobilizing
allies and resources in response to immigration provisions appropriators
added to the bill last week. Both sides appeared to be setting up a
confrontation reminiscent of major battles fought last year over
comprehensive immigration legislation.

The prospect of a prolonged floor fight appeared to have led Senate
Majority Leader Reid to abruptly strip out the most controversial
immigration provisions dealing with farm workers late Tuesday. The
provisions would have created a program for about 1.3 million temporary
farm workers.

Other provisions affecting seasonal nonagricultural workers remain in the
bill.

Meanwhile, the White House threatened Tuesday to veto the Senate bill
because of its inclusion of domestic spending provisions.

"I think this will open up to a full-fledged debate on immigration
issues," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said of the Appropriations Committee's
inclusion of immigration provisions. "We're going to do everything we can
to remove that language."

Sessions led an effort this year to introduce a series of bills that would
beef up border security and crack down on illegal immigrants.

The immigration provisions, added to the spending bill when appropriators
marked it up last week, have strong backing from business groups such as
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which usually are aligned with Senate
Republicans on other issues.

"What we are doing is we are calling our allies on all of these different
amendments and trying to make sure that, if there is a vote, they stick
with us," said Angelo Amador, director of immigration policy at the
Chamber.

Senate opponents, such as Sessions, contend the provisions amount to
amnesty for illegal immigrants. They are backed by interest groups that
want to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"There's not one word of enforcement in this bill. It's all amnesty,"
Sessions said. "This is not acceptable."

He said GOP senators will want to offer amendments dealing with border
security and the enforcement of immigration laws.

Lawmakers and aides were not sure how debate would play out procedurally
this week.

Senate Democratic and Republican leaders continued to plot strategies late
Tuesday for handling the massive bill. That brought floor action to a
standstill at presstime.

In a procedural move Tuesday, Reid called up the second section of the
House version of the bill, which includes provisions on domestic spending.
Reid then offered an amendment to replace the House provisions with the
domestic spending section backed by Senate appropriators.

But late Tuesday, Reid decided to drop from the amendment a section from
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, that included
language to create a program granting temporary immigration status to 1.3
million experienced farm and agriculture workers for up to five years. The
workers would not have been guaranteed a green card or a path to become
citizens, under the section.

Also dropped was language stipulating that the program would apply to
workers who can prove agricultural employment for at least 150 days or show
they earned at least $7,000 working in U.S. agriculture during the past 48
months. Workers would have had to pay $250 and processing fees, and would
have been required to work at least 100 days a year in agriculture over the
next five years.

Reid deleted other immigration-related provisions, including one that
would "recapture" unused green cards.

In an interview before Reid's action, Feinstein acknowledged that her
measure was problematic in the context of the war spending bill and
acknowledged a point of order might be raised against it.

If the Senate begins debating the amendment, it is likely a final vote on
it would not occur until Thursday.

Reid is still expected to offer another amendment that contains spending
for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Democratic-backed language
on war policy.

That amendment still includes an immigration measure backed by Sens.
Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Judd Gregg, R-N.H., that exempts temporary,
nonagricultural seasonal workers who were employed in the United States
during the last three years from being counted against the cap on H-2B
visas.

The measure would exempt returning seasonal workers from the national cap
of 66,000 H-2B visas.

But it remains unclear if Reid will get a chance to offer the second
amendment before Congress adjourns Friday for the Memorial Day recess.