**OFFICIAL** Illegal Immigration Reform Thread.

[BigRedChief]

You know its coming. As soon as the fiscal cliff is finished, illegal immigration is next.

Sen. Graham and Sen. Shumar have already resumed their illegal immigration talks from two years ago. Both were on the sunday shows talking about the plan. Both are seeing a possible huge bi-partisan deal is now possible based on their earlier work form two years ago.

Main points of the deal:

• Lock down the border. Spend whatever money and political will to truly stop the flow of people over our borders.
• A nationwide verification of employment. The idea is to come up with some kind of non forgeable document. A E-Verify for immigrants.
• Increase legal immigration, especially for scientists, engineers and other fields that benefit America or workers are in short supply, i.e. workers who pick our produce in the fields.
• Stiff and severe penalties for businesses that hire illegals after the "E-Verify type" system is in place.
• The Dream act is part of the total package.
• Every illegal in the country is possible allowed to stay legally in the country. The conditions are:

1. They must enter into that "E-Verify type" system.
2. They are allowed to apply for citizenship but they go to the back of the line of people that already have green cards or have already applied for citizenship.
3. They must pay a fine for entering the country illegally.
4. They are allowed to stay as long until their citizenship paperwork is finalized, as long as they commit no crimes and pay all taxes that everyone else pays. Failure to so that = immediate deportation.
5. What crime is deportable is TBD.
6. Size of the fine is TBD.

The Gang of Six bipartisan proposal.

Today a group of powerful U.S. Senators announced they have agreed to a framework on comprehensive immigration reform. The bipartisan group includes Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John McCain (R-AZ), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The fact that both parties have agreed to the deal gives it much better prospects for passage.

Path to Citizenship

• The bill would include a “tough, fair, and practical roadmap to address the status of unauthorized immigrants in the United States.” At the same time, the framework states that this path to citizenship would be “contingent upon our success in securing our borders and addressing visa overstays.”
• The bill would require those currently living in the United States illegally to register with the government, pass a background check, and settle their debt to society by paying a fine and back taxes. Individuals with a serious criminal background or those who “pose a threat to our national security” would be ineligible and subject to deportation.
• Current restrictions keeping non-immigrants from accessing “public benefits” would also apply to those who are on the path the citizenship.
• Once they have passed the background check and paid their “debt to society”, those on “probationary legal status” will be placed at the back of the line for prospective immigrants. These probationary immigrants will then have to “pass another background check, pay taxes, learn English and civics, demonstrate a history of work in the United States, and current employment” in order to apply for lawful permanent residency.
• Exemptions would be made for minors who did not knowingly violate U.S. immigration laws when they entered the United States and agricultural workers.

Border Security

• The Bill would increase Border Patrol efforts by “providing them with the latest technology, infrastructure, and personnel needed.” The legislation would increase the number of Border Patrol agents and the number of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, monitoring the border.
• The bill would “strengthen prohibitions against racial profiling and inappropriate use of force” by increasing the training of border patrol agents and increasing oversight.
• The bill would create an “entry-exit system” that would track whether all persons entering the United States on a temporary visa leave the country as required by law.
• The bill would create a commission of “governors, attorneys general, and community leaders living along the Southwest border to monitor the progress of securing our border and make recommendations.”

Skilled Worker Immigration

• The bill would develop a “rational legal immigration system” to reduce the backlog of visas which force families to live apart and keep specialized jobs unfilled.
• The bill would also award a green card to immigrants who receive a PhD or Master’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an American university.

Employment Verification

• The bill would implement a “fast and reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States.”
• The bill would place stiff fines and criminal penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.

Low Skilled Workers

• The bill would allow “more lower-skilled immigrants to come here when our economy is creating jobs, and fewer when our economy is not creating jobs.”
• Employers who want to hire lower-skilled immigrants would have to demonstrate that they could not successfully recruit an American and that the hiring of the immigrant will not displace American workers

[Garcia Bronco]

There isn't a legal immigration problem in this country. There is an illegal one. The Citizenship path in this country is of sufficient wait, monetary commitment, and scrutiny. It takes five years of living here and a six month to 1.5 years application process. It's by far one of the easier places to become a citizen compared to a number of 1st world countries. Heck in Greece you have to live there 10 of 12 consecutive years. In France one of your parents have to be French and then you have to pass an interview...IN FRENCH. Britian...Russia...very much the same as ours. You have to live here for 5 years.

Now you may say...They can't get the Visa to live here the 5 years legally. That may be true and is on a case-by-case bases. People we allow to become a Citizen must be able to offer something to this country. That is a fair and just request.

[BigRedChief]

Part of the article from the Wall street Journal. Looks like the Republicans and Obama are going to tackle immigration first.





Republicans feel the way Rubio does, that the GOP needs to tackle immigration reform to be able to speak to Hispanic voters about other issues. And Rubio is taking a lead on the effort, proposing a blueprint for reform in his interview with The Wall Street Journal.



He struck a middle path in the interview, suggesting solutions that will appease some, but not all, on both sides of the aisle.



His most controversial position comes on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rubio believes that there should be a staged process to pursue citizenship; that undocumented immigrants should come forward and go through a process to receive legal status, but should also be able to ultimately achieve citizenship.



"They would have to come forward. They would have to undergo a background check…They would be fingerprinted…They would have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, maybe even do community service. They would have to prove they've been here for an extended period of time. They understand some English and are assimilated. Then most of them would get legal status and be allowed to stay in this country," he said.
"They'd get behind everybody who came before them" in line for citizenship, Rubio adds, but he does believe they should be able to achieve citizenship someday. He also suggested the process should be expedited for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents.
Rubio suggested that the U.S. needs to "move toward merit and skill-based immigration," and raise the cap on skilled and entrepreneurial immigrants.
He also stressed the need to revamp the guest-worker system to make sure that the number and type of guest worker visas is sufficient to fulfill the demand in the nation's farms. But he added that some sort of technological solution, along the lines of the E-Verify system that checks immigration documents, to ensure that those farm workers are following the law.
It seems that Rubio is already going through the planning stages of the reform push; he also suggested the means of getting legislation passed through Congress: Four or five comprehensive bills, rather than one large omnibus, the latter of which has been used to pass health care reform and rankled some Republicans.


Republicans feel the way Rubio does, that the GOP needs to tackle immigration reform to be able to speak to Hispanic voters about other issues. And Rubio is taking a lead on the effort, proposing a blueprint for reform in his interview with The Wall Street Journal.



He struck a middle path in the interview, suggesting solutions that will appease some, but not all, on both sides of the aisle.


His most controversial position comes on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rubio believes that there should be a staged process to pursue citizenship; that undocumented immigrants should come forward and go through a process to receive legal status, but should also be able to ultimately achieve citizenship.



"They would have to come forward. They would have to undergo a background check…They would be fingerprinted…They would have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, maybe even do community service. They would have to prove they've been here for an extended period of time. They understand some English and are assimilated. Then most of them would get legal status and be allowed to stay in this country," he said.
"They'd get behind everybody who came before them" in line for citizenship, Rubio adds, but he does believe they should be able to achieve citizenship someday. He also suggested the process should be expedited for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents.


Rubio suggested that the U.S. needs to "move toward merit and skill-based immigration," and raise the cap on skilled and entrepreneurial immigrants.


He also stressed the need to revamp the guest-worker system to make sure that the number and type of guest worker visas is sufficient to fulfill the demand in the nation's farms. But he added that some sort of technological solution, along the lines of the E-Verify system that checks immigration documents, to ensure that those farm workers are following the law.


It seems that Rubio is already going through the planning stages of the reform push; he also suggested the means of getting legislation passed through Congress: Four or five comprehensive bills, rather than one large omnibus, the latter of which has been used to pass health care reform and rankled some Republicans.

[BigRedChief]

From the sunday talk shows it looks like it's going to happen. The R's are on board with pretty much everything. The only disagreement is how the path to citizenship is paved.

Obama supposedly to lay out specifics in the State of the Union.

[BigRedChief]

Looks like Tuesday is the day when Obama announces his immigration plan.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,5303860.story

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Looks like Tuesday is the day when Obama announces his immigration plan.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,5303860.story

CNN is reporting that the Latino cacus went to Obama and asked him to not give out the details of his immigration plan in tomorrows speech. They want to see if this bi-partisan Senate deal can make it through both houses.

[BigRedChief]

Added to the opening post

Today a group of powerful U.S. Senators announced they have agreed to a framework on comprehensive immigration reform. The bipartisan group includes Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John McCain (R-AZ), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The fact that both parties have agreed to the deal gives it much better prospects for passage. If the package were to pass through the Senate with significant support from both parties it would put tremendous pressure on House Republicans to pass the bill as well. Here is a summary of what the bipartisan group has agreed to according to the Huffington Post.
Path to Citizenship

• The bill would include a “tough, fair, and practical roadmap to address the status of unauthorized immigrants in the United States.” At the same time, the framework states that this path to citizenship would be “contingent upon our success in securing our borders and addressing visa overstays.”
• The bill would require those currently living in the United States illegally to register with the government, pass a background check, and settle their debt to society by paying a fine and back taxes. Individuals with a serious criminal background or those who “pose a threat to our national security” would be ineligible and subject to deportation.
• Current restrictions keeping non-immigrants from accessing “public benefits” would also apply to those who are on the path the citizenship.
• Once they have passed the background check and paid their “debt to society”, those on “probationary legal status” will be placed at the back of the line for prospective immigrants. These probationary immigrants will then have to “pass another background check, pay taxes, learn English and civics, demonstrate a history of work in the United States, and current employment” in order to apply for lawful permanent residency.
• Exemptions would be made for minors who did not knowingly violate U.S. immigration laws when they entered the United States and agricultural workers.

Border Security

• The Bill would increase Border Patrol efforts by “providing them with the latest technology, infrastructure, and personnel needed.” The legislation would increase the number of Border Patrol agents and the number of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, monitoring the border.
• The bill would “strengthen prohibitions against racial profiling and inappropriate use of force” by increasing the training of border patrol agents and increasing oversight.
• The bill would create an “entry-exit system” that would track whether all persons entering the United States on a temporary visa leave the country as required by law.
• The bill would create a commission of “governors, attorneys general, and community leaders living along the Southwest border to monitor the progress of securing our border and make recommendations.”

Skilled Worker Immigration

• The bill would develop a “rational legal immigration system” to reduce the backlog of visas which force families to live apart and keep specialized jobs unfilled.
• The bill would also award a green card to immigrants who receive a PhD or Master’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an American university.

Employment Verification

• The bill would implement a “fast and reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States.”
• The bill would place stiff fines and criminal penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.

Low Skilled Workers

• The bill would allow “more lower-skilled immigrants to come here when our economy is creating jobs, and fewer when our economy is not creating jobs.”
• Employers who want to hire lower-skilled immigrants would have to demonstrate that they could not successfully recruit an American and that the hiring of the immigrant will not displace American workers