Reuters report, and a place for us to rant vent discuss today. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators reached agreement on Thursday on an immigration reform bill that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants and establish a merit-based system for future migrants, lawmakers said. The agreement sets the stage for what is expected to be a passionate Senate debate over immigration and lead the way for what would be one of the most significant accomplishments of President George W. Bush's final term.
Details of the agreement were set to be released at a news conference the group scheduled for 1:30 p.m (1730 GMT). Negotiators, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, worked out the final details on Thursday morning.
When asked after the meeting whether lawmakers had reached a final agreement, Kennedy replied "yes." Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who attended the morning session, confirmed the group reached agreement.
The legislation would create a temporary worker program that would require laborers to return home after a period of time.
| That's good. The workers would be legal, they'd pay taxes, and we'd know who they are. All to the good. |
Tough border security and workplace enforcement measures would go into place before the temporary worker program, congressional aides said.
Proof's in the pudding -- I want to see the fence go up, the checkpoints manned, and the workplace enforcement a reality before proceeding with any amnesty regularization of the existing illegals. No fence = no amnesty. |
The proposal would limit family-based migration to immediate family members and establish a merit-based system by which future migrants could earn points for skills, education, understanding of English and family ties.
Which gets at, at least somewhat, the issues raised yesterday about assimilation.
I won't belabor my points from yesterday, but on balance -- if the fence is built and built first, and if the employer verification is real and has teeth -- this is as good as we're going to get from the Congress. There is little real support in this country for rounding up and deporting 12 million people who for the most part keep their heads down and their noses clean. Ain't gonna happen. So fix the mess, prepare for the future, and provide some way to make the current illegals part of the country in some reasonable way.
A detailed outline of the deal is at Big Lizards blog. While the outline isn't authoratative, it does seem as though the bill is better than the abomination that the Senate passed last year. The requirement for the fence and verification first appears to be firm and real. The language on preferences appears to be limited. I respectfully disagree with those who stated yesterday that the bill would open the floodgates. The devil is in the details, of course, and we need to see the whole, final, printed bill.
As for the people who want to be here legally (e.g. SB's beloved Tsar), it does look as though the bill is going to make headway in that immigration will be predictable, something the system hasn't had in a long time. Again, devil is in the details. |
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