U.S. immigration legislation in the 110th Congress

During the 110th Congress, many were optimistic that a comprehensive immigration policy could be enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush. Efforts had failed in the 109th Congress, largely as a result of a Republican-dominated House that refused to consider a comprehensive bill which included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.


 * For previous congressional action on the issue, see the Congresspedia page on U.S. immigration legislation prior to the 110th Congress

Comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate
From February to June 2007, the Senate went through an extensive effort to pass bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1348), also known as the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007. After months of debate and multiple revivals of the bill, the process ultimately failed as no agreement could be reached.

Comprehensive immigration bill in the House
On March 22, 2007, Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) introduced a comprehensive bill similar to the McCain-Kennedy proposal passed in the Senate in 2006, called the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007 (H.R.1645). The bill called for a more expansive “guest-worker” program, something heavily advocated by President George W. Bush.

Specifically, it would allow all illegal immigrants to be eligible for legalization if they arrived in the U.S. before June 1, 2006. In order to become legal, they would have to pay a $2,000 fine and back taxes, and pass background and security checks. If after six years they had learned English and civics, kept a clean record, and the head of the household had left and reentered the U.S. legally, they could become legal permanent residents, and ultimately citizens.

The bill would increase penalties for crimes committed by immigrants, including human smuggling, gang activity, and visa and document fraud. It would also institute a new biometric system that employers would use to verify that workers have legal status.

The bill would incorporate a previous legislative proposal allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state rates for college tuition and giving those brought to the United States as youngsters a way to gain citizenship.

The “guest worker” program would allow up to 400,000 low-skilled workers into the country a year to fill jobs that employers were unable to fill with Americans. The Department of Homeland Security would have to certify that it could accurately verify those workers’ documents before launching the program. These workers would be guaranteed the same wages and working conditions as Americans, and could change jobs. The visas would be good for three years, and renewable for another three years. After that, workers would be eligible to apply for permanent residency through an employer petition or, after five years, by petitioning on their own.

The "guest worker" program is something for which President Bush had long advocated. On February 28, 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez confirmed that the administration’s policy was geared at offering only temporary legal status, rather than citizenship, to illegal immigrants. This, they argued, would be enough to persuade illegal immigrants to “emerge from the shadows” and register with the government. Gutierrez stated, “What people want first and foremost is legal status...I’m not sure everybody wants to be a U.S. citizen. Many just want to be able to work. And if they can work legally, one day they would like to go back home.”

Reaction to the legislation was mixed, even within the parties. Many conservative Democrats, particularly those elected for the first time in 2006, had expressed opposition to any plan designed to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country. Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), who defeated incumbent Jim Ryun (R) in 2006, stated "I've been respectful with my leadership, but I have been very firm on where I stand...I think they know I will be voting to represent my district, and they want me to do that."

CLEAR Act of 2007
Some members of Congress, including many conservative Republicans, opposed any measure that allowed illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. These members instead focused on legislative efforts designed to deter illegals from entering the country and businesses from hiring them.

The Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2007, or the CLEAR Act, was introduced by Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) on February 6, 2007, just a week before his death. The bill would create strict penalties for illegal immigrants and push law enforcement to enforce immigration law more throughly.

Housing bill amendment
On July 12, 2007, in a procedural tactic, House Republicans added an amendment to the Housing bill that would make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to receive housing assistance. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), was successfully added to the Democratic bill through a "motion to recommit," which passed 233-186. The procedure "essentially amended the bill by sending it back to committee, changing it, and instantaneously bringing it back to the floor." The underlying bill, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (H.R.1581), passed the House 333-83. The added provision would "require recipients of public housing assistance to provide proof of legal residency, such as a Social Security card or passport."

  

Efforts to attract highly skilled immigrants
The Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership Act, or the SKIL Bill, is targeted at increasing legal immigration of scientific, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers into the United States by increasing the quotas on the H-1B visa, eliminating green card caps for certain advanced degree holders, and streamlining the processing of employment-based green cards.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the Senate version of the SKIL Bill (S. 1083) on April 10, 2007. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) introduced the House version (H.R.1930) on April 17, 2007.

As of April 2007, both versions of the SKIL Bill were referred to their respective Judiciary Committees.

Efforts to eliminate discrimination in immigration
The Uniting American Families Act, or UAFA, is a bill aimed at eliminating discrimination based on sexual orientation in immigration laws, by providing "permanent partners" the same rights as married couples for obtaining permanent residency status. The bill was introduced in both the House and Senate on May 8, 2007, but no subsequent action has been taken.

Bush administration crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants
After the failure of the Bush administration's immigration to make it out of the Senate in June of 2007, it appeared that there would be no more substantial efforts to tackle immigration reform in the 110th Congress. During August's Congressional recess, however, the Bush administration unveiled a plan to increase enforcement of the immigration laws on the books.

Part of the plan, unveiled by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff would require federal contractors to use an electronic system known as E-Verify to confirm that employees were indeed authorized to work in the United States.

The Bush administration also took measures to punish employers of illegal immigrants by requiring them to fire workers with fake Social Security numbers as well as stepping up measures to verify citizenship. The plan included a raise in the hiring of Border Patrol agents in order to facilitate raids of employers that traditionally hire more illegal immigrants.

The crackdown was viewed as a response to opponents of the comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate, most of whom were Republicans, who argued that the bill's offer of amnesty was the wrong direction for reform, and that current immigration laws should be enforced instead. In following that suggestion, many saw dire economic consequences.

Michael Chertoff commented on the crackdown, saying "There will be some unhappy consequences for the economy out of doing this." Some sources suggested that the Bush administration expected that the crackdown would create an outcry large enough to respark the immigration debate in Congress. Continuing later, he hinted that the plan might result in pressure on Congress, stating, "I'm not a lawmaker, but I presume, at some point, somebody's going to take a look and say, 'We've got to find a way to address this problem,' and that's probably going to require some legal changes," he said. But he stressed that "this is not an effort to punish Congress."

External resources

 * Thomas page on S.2611
 * Thomas page on H.R.4437
 * Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

External articles

 * Jonathan Weisman, "House Votes to Toughen Laws on Immigration," Washington Post, December 16, 2005.
 * Jonathan Weisman, "President Renewing Efforts on Immigration," Washington Post, April 8, 2007.