"goodies" in Senate and House Immigration bills

Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 7:44 PM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1698 -- 5/29/2007 >>>>>

The last several days haven't been quiet when it comes to the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform (CIR) bill in the Senate. Every day amendments and changes
are being proposed -- some good and some bad. Expect more newsletters on these
recent developments but until then pay close attention to a short commentary
on the Immigration Lawyers Website because I think it's fundamental to every
thing going on.

In short, don't put too much weight into anything you see going into the bill
at this time. It's all subject to change and that will be especially true when
the House takes up the bill. Negotiations will happen behind closed doors and
you can bet that whatever they come up with will have nothing to do with
whatever is in the best interests of the American middle class. The ILW is
making the assumption that some kind of immigration bill will pass the Senate
and then the House will take up the issue. They are probably right because
it's unlikely that the Senate will go home for summer without passing
something.

***** BRACE YOURSELF FOR THIS ONE! *****

Don't feel bad if you haven't heard about a House immigration bill because
nobody in the media seems to know that one is in the works already.
Immigration lawyers and insiders seem to all know, even though the public is
being kept in the dark. Check this out:

The House's bill, the first glimpse of which should be
available during markup in the week of June 4th (the
same week that the Senate will finalize its bill). , will
likely have so much good news that the bar will likely
drop its collective jaw! A Conference is, therefore, very
likely on this bill even if the Senate bill fails.

So now we know -- a concurrent bill is being drafted in the House at this very
moment -- and the immigration lawyers think it will be packed with "good
news". There isn't much hint what the good news will be, but count on it being
bad news for us.

I became curious about the House immigration negotiations but couldn't find
much on it with a cursory search of Google News. Something is brewing though -
- as this Bloomberg article hints:

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&issue=20070523

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called the compromise
"pretty controversial" in a meeting with reporters Tuesday.

"We have a different bill here" in the House, Hoyer said.

A point of significant interest is the following comment:

This time, Senate Republicans can be certain that no matter how
harsh a bill they craft, the bill will be significantly
liberalized in a two step process. First, the House's bill will
likely be STRIVE, or something even more generous (and bear in
mind that STRIVE is more liberal than McCain-Kennedy in the
number of its beneficiaries, in addition to having SKIL, AgJOBS,
DREAM, and other goodies).

As the CIR bill stands, the H-1B and green card increases bear more
resemblance to the Hagel/Lieberman bill than to the far more damaging and
virulent bills called SKIL and STRIVE. That comment seems to indicate that
there are backdoor negotiations going on to bring these two bills back into
the CIR. Their only concern is to get a Senate bill passed because what it
contains can and will be changed to favor their open-border agenda.

Folks -- don't be fooled by cheap rhetoric and so-called reform amendments to
the Senate CIR bill. Everything that happens from here until the bill is
either passed or defeated could be a huge smokescreen to hide amendments that
will unleash the SKIL and STRIVE bills on the American public.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/digest/2007,0529.shtm

May 29, 2007
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Comment
This Is Not A Drill

Some in the bar are misreading the Senate's debate on Comprehensive
Immigration Reform (CIR). The Senate is not engaged in idle debate, it is
determined to pass a bill.

This should not be news. The Senate was determined to act last year also, and
despite setbacks the Senate did pass S. 2611, the McCain-Kennedy bill (some of
the setbacks were severe, remember the Martinez-Hagel compromise which cut the
legalization beneficiaries in half?). What has changed from last year to this
year, is political control in Congress. And this affects CIR's language, and
its legislative twists and turns, decisively. Last year, the Republicans were
in control of the House, and chose the path of confrontation rather than
compromise. This was a political decision, and one which backfired on the
Republican Party, being responsible in part for the GOP's losing both Chambers
of Congress. This year the Democrats are in charge of both Chambers - with
consequences to CIR's language which we spell out below.

In 2006, Senate Republicans could be certain that in passing a liberal bill
like S. 2611, loaded with benefits (SKIL, AgJOBS, DREAM, etc), these benefits
would be significantly watered down in a two step process. First, the House's
bill would have none of the generous benefits - as indeed, the Sensenbrenner
bill H.R.3347, which the House had already passed, clearly showed. Second, the
Conference to reconcile these widely different bills would be controlled by
Republicans from both chambers. The likely result would be a middle ground
with fewer benefits, and harsher language all around, than the Senate's bill.

In 2007, the reality could not be more different than last year. This time,
Senate Republicans can be certain that no matter how harsh a bill they craft,
the bill will be significantly liberalized in a two step process.
First, the House's bill will likely be STRIVE, or something even more generous
(and bear in mind that STRIVE is more liberal than McCain-Kennedy in the
number of its beneficiaries, in addition to having SKIL, AgJOBS, DREAM, and
other goodies). Second, the Conference to reconcile the Senate's tough bill
with the House's liberal bill will be controlled by Democrats from both
chambers, probably Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Conyers. The likely result will be
something far more generous than anything the Senate will pass.

That is why Sen. Kyl has to get all the concessions from Sen. Kennedy in the
bank now, while the issue is still in the Senate. This way, Sen. Kyl is
assured that the final Act will be slightly tougher on enforcement than
otherwise. And that is why Sen. Kennedy continues to make concession after
concession necessary to move the bill along, knowing full well that during
Conference, the CIR bill will become more generous.

To the great credit of the politicians of both parties, they are moving the
legislative process forward in the Senate despite strong opposition from both
ends of the political spectrum. And the House is doing more than waiting in
the wings. As Rep. Hoyer, the House Majority Leader, has already let slip, the
House is determined to act on immigration regardless of what the Senate does.
The House's bill, the first glimpse of which should be available during markup
in the week of June 4th (the same week that the Senate will finalize its
bill), will likely have so much good news that the bar will likely drop its
collective jaw! A Conference is, therefore, very likely on this bill even if
the Senate bill fails.

The bar should face up to the undeniable fact that our immigration law is
broken, and badly in need of a total re-write. That is the process that the
Senate has so courageously begun. Those who cannot see the trees of the Senate
bill's language for the wood of the legislative process would be well
counselled to heed Bismarck's admonition that Laws are like sausages, it is
better not to see them being made. Lets make improvements to the extent that
is possible as the process unfolds, and prepare for a feast at the end. Bon
Appetit!

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to
editor@ilw.com.

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