GOP Unveils Revised Immigration Legislation

This is off Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans unveiled revised immigration legislation Wednesday night clearing the way for legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million men, women and children living in the United States unlawfully.

Majority Leader Bill Frist outlined the proposal after efforts at a bipartisan compromise faltered earlier in the day and the Senate teetered between accomplishment and gridlock on the most sweeping immigration bill in two decades.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., listens to a question during an interview with The Associated Press, Tuesday, March 28, 2006, in his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid pledged to review the GOP proposal overnight to see whether "it could be something we could all support." The prospects appeared uncertain, however, since the provisions appeared similar to what he and other Democrats had earlier spurned.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks with the media after making a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of commerce legislative conference on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 in Washington. McCain discussed immigration reform. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The fate of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally hinged on the outcome of election-year maneuvering on an issue that Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., said had generated an unusual amount of emotion.

Protesters hold an US flag in the distress position as they gather to decry pending federal legislation on illegal immigration on 01 April in Costa Mesa, California. Ninety-eight percent of the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States would apply for legal residency if Congress passed a law allowing it, according to a poll.(AFP/Getty Images/File/David McNew)

Hundreds of Phoenix area high school students protest proposed immigration policy at the state capitol in this March 28, 2006, file photo. As hundreds of thousands of protesters astounded the nation with massive immigrant rights demonstrations, a piece of material took the spotlight off their message. Those carried them, and scholars of the immigrant community, say that pride in their culture should not be misconstrued for lack of patriotism in their adopted nation. (AP Photo/Khampha Bouaphanh)

People gather at a rally at the steps of the State Capitol Saturday, April 1, 2006, in Oklahoma City. More than 5,000 people jammed into the state Capitol's south plaza Saturday to protest immigration measures being considered by the Legislature that a coalition of Latino groups and religious organizations say is harsh and discriminatory. (AP Photo/Ty Russell)

Now I haven't really gone into the immigration debate in Congress, of which has caused the explosion of multiple protest movements throughout the country. Immigration has become a very controversial subject, with so many definitions, perceptions and scapegoats. I believe that people who wish to come live in the United States, and to become U.S. citizens, should be allowed to immigrate. I believe that those who also wish to live in the U.S., to become citizens and functioning members of our society, must also satisfy certain requirements. They have to learn how to read, write, and speak English. They need to learn about the workings of the U.S. government, our political and election processes, and our U.S. history. This is the basic information that anyone who wishes to live in the U.S. must know. I don't mind if they satisfy these requirements while living here in the U.S. They have to satisfy these requirements.

Now here is what I don't believe in. I don't believe in guest worker programs, or companies brining in legal or illegal immigrants because they can't people to take jobs that ordinary Americans would not accept--if you can find people willing to work in jobs at wages you want to pay, then tough luck--raise your wage rate until you can find Americans willing to work in those jobs. I don't believe in the H-1B visas, that Congress gives out to companies to bring in skilled Indian or Chinese labor here, to replace higher priced American workers at cheaper wage rates. If you can't find skilled American workers for these jobs, then adjust the education and training so that Americans can fill these jobs. If the skilled Indian or Chinese workers wish to immigrate to the U.S. for these jobs, and to stay to become American citizens, then that is fine with me. My worry is that these immigration laws will continue to provide loopholes for companies to bring in cheap, illegal workers, and to not get caught in their transgressions.

Here are some of the details regarding this legislation:

Republican officials said the GOP plan would divide illegal immigrants into three categories:

• Those who had been in the country the longest, more than five years, would not be required to return to their home country before gaining legal status. They would be subject to several tests, including the payment of fines and back taxes, and be required to submit to a background check, according to these officials.

• Illegal immigrants in the United States less than five years but more than two would be required to go to a border point of entry, briefly leave and then be readmitted to the United States. As with the longer-term illegal immigrants, other steps would be required for re-entry, after which they could begin seeking citizenship, these officials said.

• Illegal immigrants in the United States less than two years would be required to leave the country and join any other foreign residents seeking legal entry.

The officials who described the proposal did so on condition of anonymity, saying the had not been authorized to pre-empt senators.

Frist's move cleared the way for a series of test votes over the next day or two on a pair of rival proposals.

The first showdown was set for Thursday, on an attempt by Reid and other Democrats to advance legislation that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee more than a week ago. While a bipartisan majority supported the bill, it quickly ran into trouble from conservative Republicans, some of whom said it would bestow amnesty on lawbreakers.

"This is a vote that for millions of Americans is a question about whose side you're on," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat, adding that unless legislation clears the Senate this week, it may be doomed for the year.

But it appeared destined to gain far fewer than the 60 votes needed to advance, and perhaps less than a majority that would give political bragging rights to Reid in the event the effort to pass legislation eventually collapses.

Nor was it clear that Frist would be able to muster 60 votes for his revised legislation. In addition to Democratic critics, he faced potential defections from some in his own party.

Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record) of Texas issued a statement late Wednesday that avoided taking a position on the proposal. It said he remains "adamant that we not repeat the mistakes of the 1986 bill, a measure widely viewed as having imposed amnesty on those in the country illegally.

In general, both of the major alternatives would strengthen border security, regulate the flow of future foreign workers and open the way to citizenship for many immigrants who are in the country illegally.

As they have for days, Democrats used their rights on the Senate floor to prevent votes on politically difficult amendments. Republicans criticized them but were unable to thwart the strategy.

Senators discuss the immigration reform measure co-sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) (R) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (C) during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 30, 2006. Also pictured are Senator Barak Obama (D-IL) (top L), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (bottom L) and Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) (middle R). (Larry Downing/Reuters)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, left, discusses immigration legislation during a Capitol Hill new conference on Thursday, March 30, 2006. From second from left are: Specter, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., right, and House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio appear at a new conference on immigration legislation on Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

So we'll have to see in the next couple of days whether this immigration bill is a genuine compromise on the Republican's part, or if this is another dog-and-pony show that Bill Frist is trying to shove down the American people's throats.