Legislation
Experts from Left and Right Agree on Economic Power of Immigration Reform
In recent years, study after study has demonstrated a simple yet economically powerful truth about broad-based immigration reform: workers with legal status earn more than workers who are unauthorized—and these extra earnings generate more tax revenue, as well as more consumer spending, which creates more jobs. As a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) points out, this fact implies that states with appreciable unauthorized populations stand to gain economically from immigration reform that includes a legalization program for the unauthorized. Moreover, a new open letter to Congressional leaders released by the conservative American Action Forum illustrates that it is not only liberal advocacy groups like CAP which recognize the economic potential of immigration reform. Read More
What Does the Success of the Mark-Up Tell us About the Coming Full Senate Vote on Immigration?
One year ago, with the presidential race in full swing and proponents of self-deportation making the headlines, it would have been difficult to predict the extraordinary vote that took place Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ten Democrats and three Republicans voted to pass S. 744 out of committee and send a comprehensive immigration bill to the Senate floor. This could never have happened without the overwhelming support for immigration reform that the public has shown, particularly since the November 2012 election. Even with that support, however, there was no guarantee that the long, slow process of negotiating and drafting a bipartisan bill that could succeed in committee (and then the Senate floor) would ever come to fruition. And once a bill is introduced, getting it through committee requires a mix of political acumen to keep the bill alive. Read More
Senate Judiciary Committee Reaches Agreement on Immigration Reform Bill
After three weeks and hours of debate over five days, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” on a bipartisan 13-5 vote, with GOP Senators Lindsey Graham (SC), Orrin Hatch (UT), and Jeff Flake (AZ) voting with the Democrats. Advocates in the hearing room burst into applause and cheers of “Si se puede” after the bill’s passage. During debate of the immigration reform measure, the committee considered many of the 300 amendments that were filed. Read More
Senate Judiciary Committee Votes to Pass Immigration Bill on to Full Senate
Today, on a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, out of the committee and on to the Senate floor for a full vote in the coming days. The Senate… Read More
How the Senate Bill Seeks to Deter Future Waves of Unauthorized Immigration
The Senate Judiciary Committee continues to consider amendments to Title II of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act’’ (S.744) today. For many, Title II is the bill’s core as it deals with the legalization of the undocumented population already living here and lays out the rules concerning future immigration, among other issues. Read More
Day 4 of Senate Immigration Mark-up Goes Late into Night
Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee began its fourth day—and likely last week—of the immigration reform bill’s mark-up. After spending most of the day finishing the Title 3 (interior enforcement) amendments, the senators began on the last part of the bill, Title 2 (legalization), which includes the path to citizenship. They considered 50 amendments and approved 30 of them; five were withdrawn. Read More
Will Due Process Protections Be Preserved in Senate Mark-Up?
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee began its mark-up of Title III of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. When the mark-up continues on Monday, Senators are likely to vote on amendments addressing immigration courts. These amendments will be crucial in determining whether the full Senate receives a bill that provides due process protections to immigrants in removal proceedings. Read More
Subtle but Dramatic Progress on Immigration Reform
Yesterday was day 3 of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s mark-up on S. 744, the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill. While it wasn’t as exciting as the first two days—no dramatic speeches or vocal disagreement—several important votes were taken to modify the mandatory E-verify program, adding and subtracting protections, safeguards, and reporting requirements. This lack of drama was a good thing, however, because there was far less posturing and far more legislating going on. Read More
Senate Committee Debates W Visas and E-Verify on Day Three of Immigration Bill Mark-up
For the third day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s mark-up of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” committee members continued to work through Title Four (specifically regarding the W visa program) and began debating Title Three (about interior enforcement). The senators considered 21 amendments and passed 11 of them with mostly bipartisan support. Four amendments were withdrawn. The adopted changes included Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) amendment to protect children’s social security numbers from identity theft and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) proposal to help immigrant entrepreneurs. And they approved multiple changes to the E-Verify language in the Senate immigration bill to both strengthen the program and help small businesses comply with the new regulations. Read More
The W Visa: Why the Economy Benefits from A Robust New Worker Program
The Senate Judiciary Committee returns to its task of marking up S. 744 tomorrow, taking up, among other things, possible amendments to the W visa program for new nonimmigrant workers. This new program, blessed by both business and labor, is an effort to acknowledge the need for a more flexible system for meeting the demand for workers in certain occupations and industries that require less-skilled workers. At Tuesday’s hearing, several Senators challenged the idea that the American workforce needed to be supplemented with immigrant labor, but the evidence is overwhelming that there is both a need and an economic benefit to having a flexible and responsive program in place to bring in new workers where they are most needed. Read More
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