McCain, Kennedy introduce immigration reform bill
12 May 2005 21:20:34 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Alan Elsner
WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy teamed up on Thursday to introduce a bipartisan immigration reform bill that would allow some of the estimated 10-12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to get legal jobs and eventual citizenship.
McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, headed a list of lawmakers from both parties backing the bill, which reflects some of the immigration reform principles put forward by U.S. President George W. Bush.
But the proposed legislation faces an uncertain future because of strong opposition to any concessions to illegal immigrants from a sizable group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"For far too long, our nation's broken immigration laws have gone unreformed leaving Americans vulnerable. We can no longer afford to delay reform," McCain said.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican who would supports cracking down on illegal immigrants, said the bill offered amnesty to millions of people who had broken U.S. laws by entering the country illegally.
"There is a little more lipstick on this pig than there was before, but it's most certainly the same old pig," he said.
The proposal would allow illegal immigrants to apply for temporary work permits that could last for six years. They would have to clear criminal background checks, pass an English language test and pay a $2,000 fee to qualify.
At the end of the six years, they and their families could apply for permanent resident status, and five years later for citizenship.
The bill would also allow foreign citizens to apply for low-paid jobs that Americans do not want to do from outside the country. If the worker lost his job, he would have 60 days to find a new one or return home.
'ORDERLY AND COMPASSIONATE'
Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois called the bill an "orderly, humane, compassionate immigration policy" that contained incentives for illegal immigrants to enter the legal economy while punishing them for entering the country illegally by forcing them to pay the $2,000.
Nobody knows exactly how many people are in the country illegally. The 2000 Census estimated the number at 8.7 million and said it was growing by half a million a year. Other authorities put the number higher.
Gutierrez said opponents of reform should recognize it was unrealistic to seek to deport the millions of illegal immigrants in the country. McCain said the economy would grind to a halt if anybody tried.
Kennedy said: "This bill does not provide a free pass to anyone. This bill does not give an automatic pardon to anyone. This bill does not put those who have been illegally here in the United States at the front of the line."
The bill, backed by several other senior lawmakers from both parties, would also strengthen controls along the U.S.-Mexico border and create a new electronic work authorization system.
Bush first introduced his guest worker proposal in January 2004 but until now it had not moved forward in Congress, where sentiment against illegal immigrants appears to be strengthening. This week, Congress passed legislation making it harder for immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses. |
