Senators Offer a New Blueprint for Immigration

[ElNono]

- A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas expire.

- According to a five-page draft of the plan obtained by The New York Times on Sunday, the eight senators — including Mr. McCain; Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York; and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — have agreed to address the failings of the immigration system in one comprehensive measure, rather than in smaller pieces, and to offer a “tough, fair and practical road map” that would eventually lead to a chance at citizenship for nearly all of the immigrants here illegally.

- Among the plan’s new proposals is the creation of a commission of governors, law enforcement officials and community leaders from border states that would assess when border security measures had been completed. A proposal would also require that an exit system be in place for tracking departures of foreigners who entered the country through airports or seaports, before any illegal immigrants could start on a path to citizenship.

- Under the senators’ proposal, border security would be immediately strengthened with new technology, including aerial drones, for border patrol agents, while the Department of Homeland Security would work to expand the exit control system. The United States currently has some exit controls to track departures of foreigners at most airports and seaports, but it does not track exits by land.

- At the same time, immigrants here illegally would “simultaneously” be required “to register with the government.” After passing background checks and paying back taxes and fines, those immigrants would receive a “probationary legal status” that would allow them to live and work legally in the United States. Immigrants with that status would not be eligible for most federal public benefits.

- The senators also called for a mandatory nationwide program to verify the legal status of new hires, although the details of whether that would include some form of iden y card remained vague.

- The senators would require that “our proposed enforcement measures be complete before any immigrant on probationary status can earn a green card,” according to the draft principles. The group also includes Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, both Democrats, and another Republican, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona.

- The proposals would offer major exemptions from the requirements for citizenship to young immigrants here illegally who came to United States as children, giving them a faster path to become Americans. Immigrant farmworkers would also be given a separate and faster path to citizenship, according to the principles.

- Senator Marco Rubio was also a sponsor of the bill to offer more visas to highly educated technology workers, along with Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Senator Klobuchar, also a sponsor, said on Sunday that she expected the bill would become part of the comprehensive measure the other senators were preparing.

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/us...migration.html

Immigration Reform Draft (PDF): http://s3.do entcloud.org/do ent...enatefinal.pdf

[Wild Cobra]

Well, I initially did a quick scan, and it looks like they are on the right path.... I reserve the right to change that initial assessment.

That said, I will still maintain that I dislike any talk of "amnesty" until after we make it extremely hard to come here illegally.

- A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas expire.

Nice, appealing pla udes.

- Among the plan’s new proposals is the creation of a commission of governors, law enforcement officials and community leaders from border states that would assess when border security measures had been completed.

Oh great... More bureaucracy...

A proposal would also require that an exit system be in place for tracking departures of foreigners who entered the country through airports or seaports, before any illegal immigrants could start on a path to citizenship.

I don't think most illegals want to be citizens. I think they are just here for better jobs and the government teat.

- Under the senators’ proposal, border security would be immediately strengthened with new technology, including aerial drones, for border patrol agents,

Now I do like this as a practical use for passive drones. Their ability to detect infrared will reduce not only illegals, but drugs and other contraband crossing the borders both ways.

- At the same time, immigrants here illegally would “simultaneously” be required “to register with the government.” After passing background checks and paying back taxes and fines, those immigrants would receive a “probationary legal status” that would allow them to live and work legally in the United States. Immigrants with that status would not be eligible for most federal public benefits.

This would need to be accompanied with a one time amnesty for businesses knowingly hiring illegals, and extremely still penalties after the amnesty period expires.

- The senators also called for a mandatory nationwide program to verify the legal status of new hires, although the details of whether that would include some form of iden y card remained vague.

I really don't see the difficulty of this. I know some people will not be readily able to show legal citizenship, but really now... That would be rare, and I would then also ask.... Why not? Good records of births, etc, have been kept for a very long time now. Besides, if someone is old enough not to have such do entation, how do they expect to collect SS, medicare, etc?

- The senators would require that “our proposed enforcement measures be complete before any immigrant on probationary status can earn a green card,” according to the draft principles.

Still, just the talk of amnesty has the potential of a wave of people coming in to get here before any cut-off date. My primary concern of speaking of amnesty.

- The proposals would offer major exemptions from the requirements for citizenship to young immigrants here illegally who came to United States as children, giving them a faster path to become Americans.

Now I really do feel for the younger ones, brought here by their parents. I am all for immediate citizenship for all who enter and live here as children. But the talk of such things is wrong. Again, the potential numbers of people who come in trying to beat a given deadline...

Immigrant farmworkers would also be given a separate and faster path to citizenship, according to the principles.

I still can't help but say, we should put able bodied people to work that are unemployed first. Make them work, else lose their benefits.

[boutons_deux]

tea bagger, xenophobic, sociopathic, Randian Repug extremists in the House will gut, defund, if not completely block all immigration reform to deny Dems any victory going into 2016.

[LnGrrrR]

Droooooonnneeess!!!!!!

[Wild Cobra]

ElNono...

I have not been feeling well these last few fays. It appears I caught the flu this season. Anyway, I started to read the link, but couldn't focus. I may read it later, but for now, I'm staying with the simple stuff. It is now 2:18 AM here on the Pacific Coast. I'm normally awake after my swing shift till about 5 AM, but may be turning in early.

[Wild Cobra]

Droooooonnneeess!!!!!!

At least it's a practical use for drones on US soil.

[ElNono]

ElNono...

I have not been feeling well these last few fays. It appears I caught the flu this season. Anyway, I started to read the link, but couldn't focus. I may read it later, but for now, I'm staying with the simple stuff. It is now 2:18 AM here on the Pacific Coast. I'm normally awake after my swing shift till about 5 AM, but may be turning in early.

I didn't ask you to do anything. You do as you please, you don't have to justify to me.

Get well.

[Latarian Milton]

shameless s will still infiltrate into this country one way or another no matter how much efforts you make in securing the borders, and such paths for illegals to gain legal status will only encourage more of them foreign s to come illegally. the government should open fire at all them immigrants, no matter illegal or not, rather than give them more humanity care tbh

[mavs>spurs]

no matter how many times they try to repackage this and force it down our throats, the american people don't want it. we don't want the north american union that follows in 50 years either, we didn't even have an immigration problem before the last amnesty. reagan opened up the floodgates.

[Wild Cobra]

I didn't ask you to do anything. You do as you please, you don't have to justify to me.

Get well.

I feel like today. Called in sick for the first time in 11 years.

[Borat Sagyidev]

The US is far better off deporting trash like m>s and WC at the very least into the Gulf.

You´ll notice a significant amount of conservative s complaining about things like this, sure do like cheap produce, clean hotel rooms, car washes and other products produced with typically avoided labor required.

them. them in the ass with a big rubber dildo then beat them with the rest of it. There is simply no point in discussion with these social darwinists. Many of them come from families that have avoided any type of labor since slavery.

In an ideal world, many of them would be getting skin burned and picking their own food. Only to get melanoma at a later date.

[ElNono]

no matter how many times they try to repackage this and force it down our throats, the american people don't want it. we don't want the north american union that follows in 50 years either, we didn't even have an immigration problem before the last amnesty. reagan opened up the floodgates.

brah, I wanna know if you can buy guns with the Amero, tbh...

[Dirk Oneanddoneski]

[DMC]

- A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas expire.

- According to a five-page draft of the plan obtained by The New York Times on Sunday, the eight senators — including Mr. McCain; Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York; and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — have agreed to address the failings of the immigration system in one comprehensive measure, rather than in smaller pieces, and to offer a “tough, fair and practical road map” that would eventually lead to a chance at citizenship for nearly all of the immigrants here illegally.

- Among the plan’s new proposals is the creation of a commission of governors, law enforcement officials and community leaders from border states that would assess when border security measures had been completed. A proposal would also require that an exit system be in place for tracking departures of foreigners who entered the country through airports or seaports, before any illegal immigrants could start on a path to citizenship.

- Under the senators’ proposal, border security would be immediately strengthened with new technology, including aerial drones, for border patrol agents, while the Department of Homeland Security would work to expand the exit control system. The United States currently has some exit controls to track departures of foreigners at most airports and seaports, but it does not track exits by land.

- At the same time, immigrants here illegally would “simultaneously” be required “to register with the government.” After passing background checks and paying back taxes and fines, those immigrants would receive a “probationary legal status” that would allow them to live and work legally in the United States. Immigrants with that status would not be eligible for most federal public benefits.

- The senators also called for a mandatory nationwide program to verify the legal status of new hires, although the details of whether that would include some form of iden y card remained vague.

- The senators would require that “our proposed enforcement measures be complete before any immigrant on probationary status can earn a green card,” according to the draft principles. The group also includes Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, both Democrats, and another Republican, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona.

- The proposals would offer major exemptions from the requirements for citizenship to young immigrants here illegally who came to United States as children, giving them a faster path to become Americans. Immigrant farmworkers would also be given a separate and faster path to citizenship, according to the principles.

- Senator Marco Rubio was also a sponsor of the bill to offer more visas to highly educated technology workers, along with Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Senator Klobuchar, also a sponsor, said on Sunday that she expected the bill would become part of the comprehensive measure the other senators were preparing.

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/us...migration.html

Immigration Reform Draft (PDF): http://s3.do entcloud.org/do ent...enatefinal.pdf

I'm going to miss you El.

[DMC]

1st: Our ancestors came here looking for a better living. Some of us have ancestors who took advantage of the homestead act.
2nd: Many of us have ancestors who were part of organized crime or just a gang. Gangs didn't just start when rap music was invented.
3rd: Not like the brazen greek of Greek fame.
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

We love to be the best country in the world, but we don't want anyone to know it. Yes I agree with immigration over mass exodus from their homelands, but our immigration system is broken. If I lived in Mexico and I could come here, even illegally, to find a better life for myself and my family, I would. You cannot blame the rats for fleeing a sinking ship, however, with the rats come the plague, and that's just how the game goes. I do though dislike the nationalists who flee and wave their nation's flag from the other side. Get on or get off.

[ElNono]

I'm going to miss you El.

why is that?

and you gotta be honest, all you're gonna miss is the law of thermodynamics 'proving' the god of the gaps exists... good times

[admiralsnackbar]

I feel like today. Called in sick for the first time in 11 years.

Should've skipped that salad, tbh.

Get well.

[DMC]

why is that?

and you gotta be honest, all you're gonna miss is the law of thermodynamics 'proving' the god of the gaps exists... good times

You're going to get deported. lol

Isn't that the 2nd law?

[ElNono]

You're going to get deported. lol

lol, this stuff is one of the reasons why I did the long citizenship process a while ago. I figured the rules would be changed sooner or later.

Isn't that the 2nd law?

That's correct, tbh...

[Wild Cobra]

why is that?

and you gotta be honest, all you're gonna miss is the law of thermodynamics 'proving' the god of the gaps exists... good times

Maybe DMC will have to go back?

[TeyshaBlue]

The Insurgent? srsly?

[boutons_deux]

immigration reform is dead, if it exits the Senate, as soon as it hits the House:

House Immigration Hearing Is Stacked With Reform Opponents

Julie Myers Wood, head of ICE under President George W. Bush: Wood’s controversial track record, for instance, includes awarding a costume prize to someone who appeared as a “Jamaican detainee” in “a striped prison uniform, wearing a dreadlock wig, and his face darkened with makeup.”


Jessica Vaughan, the Center for Immigration Studies: Center for Immigration studies is a group founded by anti-immigration activist John Tanton, and has earned a label as an intolerant group. In 2007, it was part of the successful network that fought against comprehensive reform. CIS’ claims of the costs of immigration have been thoroughly debunked by other groups.


Christopher Crane, Immigration Customs Enforcement President: Crane is head of the group that filed a suit against the Obama administration on so-called lenient policies they claim undermine officers from “enforcing many laws enacted by Congress.” However, deportation has gone up under the Obama administration.


Michael Teitelbaum, fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Teitelbaum is a long-do ented skeptic of increased legal immigration. The president of ImmigrationWorks USA told Talking Points Memo Teitelbaum is a worrying witness because he maintains there is no need for more worker visas.


The stacked hearing comes as little surprise since House Republicans come from districts that are typically much whiter and less Latino than Democratic members. 131 House GOP hail from districts that are more than 80 percent white.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/20...orm-opponents/

[Winehole23]

The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system.

Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation (.pdf) is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID.


Employers would be obliged to look up every new hire in the database to verify that they match their photo.


This piece of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act is aimed at curbing employment of undo ented immigrants. But privacy advocates fear the inevitable mission creep, ending with the proof of self being required at polling places, to rent a house, buy a gun, open a bank account, acquire credit, board a plane or even attend a sporting event or log on the internet. Think of it as a government version of Foursquare, with Big Brother cataloging every check-in.
“It starts to change the relationship between the citizen and state, you do have to get permission to do things,” said Chris Calabrese, a congressional lobbyist with the American Civil Liberties Union. “More fundamentally, it could be the start of keeping a record of all things.”


For now, the legislation allows the database to be used solely for employment purposes. But historically such limitations don’t last. The Social Security card, for example, was created to track your government retirement benefits. Now you need it to purchase health insurance.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...ntent=My+Yahoo

[boutons_deux]

House Tea Baggers will kill any imm. bill coming out of the Senate, even if Cruz, Cornyn, and other Senate scrotum sucking Repug retrogrades allow anything to pass the Senate.

Repugs overwhelming strategy is to obstruct all progress and deny Barry/Dems ANY success.

[boutons_deux]

...