(October 29) On October 24, the Senate failed to obtain cloture on the DREAM Act amnesty (S. 2205) by a 52-44 vote, for which 60 YES votes were needed to prevent a filibuster. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were attempting to bring this nightmarish amnesty bill to the floor under Senate Rule XIV without it ever having been debated in committee. S. 2205, which is cosponsored by long-tenured Republicans Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), is, essentially, the same amnesty offered up for consideration by Durbin as an amendment (SA 2919) to H.R. 1585, the Defense Department (DoD) authorization bill for fiscal year 2008. The Senate passed that bill October 1 without ever taking up the DREAM Act amendment or amendments concerning increased worker importation. At that time, Leader Reid announced he would push for passage of the DREAM Act before the Senate is scheduled to adjourn for the year (i.e., on or about November 16). [CLICK HERE to read a Washington Times article detailing Reid's comments on the DREAM Act.] In this most recent iteration, the DREAM Act authorizes DHS to cancel removal for, or adjust to lawful permanent resident status (in other words, grant amnesty to), an alien who is inadmissible or deportable in cases where the alien demonstrated that he/she:
This ill-conceived proposal, which would grant amnesty to illegal aliens who satisfy these criteria as of enactment, also would be a rolling amnesty drawing more illegal aliens here in the future to apply for amnesty. More recent versions of the nightmarish DREAM Act have made two notable changes from earlier attempts: (1) a provision repealing existing statutory provisions barring illegal aliens from being eligible for in-state tuition unless a U.S. citizen or legal resident is eligible regardless of state residence has been removed; and (2) the age limit for amnesty applicants has been added. This latter revision would narrow, but would not close, a gaping loophole in this amnesty because any illegal alien up to age 30 can still walk into any U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, declare that he is eligible, and be granted amnesty with minimal documentation of eligibility. That 30-year-old could claim that he illegally entered the United States when he was 15, but there is no requirement that the alien prove that he entered the United States at the claimed time by providing particular documents. The proposal would merely require him to "demonstrate" that he is eligible, which in practice could mean simply making a sworn statement to that effect. Thus, it would be an invitation for just about every illegal alien 30 and under to fraudulently claim the amnesty.
Guestworker Additions, Fixes Sought on DoD Authorization Beyond the DREAM Act, open borders senators had introduced other amendments to the DoD authorization bill that would have vastly increased foreign worker importation in both the high- and low-skill categories. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced amendments which, if adopted and enacted into law, would undermine U.S. workers and feed Big Business' insatiable hunger for cheap, foreign labor. SA 2143 would have allowed the "recapturing" of "unused" employment-based (EB) visas from fiscal years 1996 and 1997 (even though visas not allocated in a certain category in any given year are made available for other categories, so there really is no such thing as an "unused" visa). In addition, the amendment would have raised the H-1B visa cap from 65,000 per year to 115,000 per year, more than double the number of EB immigrants admissible per year (from 140,000 to 290,000), and created exemptions from the EB visa cap for: (1) U.S.-educated scientists and engineers; (2) H-1Bs who have been working in science, technology, engineering, or math in the United States for three years preceding their application for an EB immigrant visa; (3) aliens with "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics"; (4) "outstanding professors and researchers"; and (5) aliens granted "national interest waivers." Other senators were expected to introduce an amendment to increase the number of seasonal nonagricultural workers through exemptions to existing limitations on H-2B visa issuance. |
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| Victory! Rule of Law and Voice of People Prevail as Amnesty/Guestworker Bill Falls Following Rejection of Cloture | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(June 29) Shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday, by a 46-53 margin, the Senate rebuffed amnesty when they failed to invoke cloture on S. 1639, the so-called "grand compromise" on immigration. Subsequently, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who – along with Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and others – had sought to ram the bill through using an arcane procedural method instead of by subjecting the proposal to committee and public scrutiny, indicated that he would pull the bill from further consideration.
Not only did 18 senators bravely change their positions from their "yes" votes on June 26, which brought this bill to the floor, but this vote also proved a stark rejection of fatally-flawed legislation and of denying the voice of the American people. Sen. Kennedy and other proponents of the "comprehensive" measure had made it clear that any provisions in the final bill with which they disagreed would simply be stripped out during conference committee negotiations anyhow; in other words, just as this bill began in closed-door meetings, it would have ended in closed-door meetings. Yesterday, senators began voting on amendments brought up through Leader Reid's use of the "clay pigeon," a little-known procedural tool created as a way to protect the minority party's rights, but which the majority tried to abuse to ram the bill through. These votes were not on adoption of amendments, however, but on whether to table (i.e., kill) them. Amendments sponsored by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Jim Webb (D-Va.), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) were tabled, while an amendment sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) just escaped being tabled. These sham votes served only to further demonstrate the absurdity of the way in which this measure's proponents hoped to skirt the legislative process in their ill-conceived attempt to get this amnesty passed.
On June 7, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look. He also started a campaign to convince the public that the bill was “the best way to enforce our border.”
On June 6, the Senate engaged in a marathon of voting during which:
In that evening’s last vote, an amendment (SA 1316) sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D), which sunsets the Y-1 “temporary” nonimmigrant nonagricultural worker program five years after enactment, was adopted, surprisingly, by the slimmest of margins (49-48). Prior to its adoption, many of the senators who coalesced to draft the “grand compromise” argued that the Dorgan amendment’s adoption would be a “deal breaker” and would cause them to reject the proposal in its entirety. Earlier on June 6, another amendment considered a “deal breaker” by the so-called “masters of the universe” – notably, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) – SA 1250, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), was adopted by a vote of 57-39. The amendment allows information provided on illegal aliens’ applications for amnesty to be shared with intelligence and law enforcement officials at all levels, thus encouraging real enforcement of our immigration laws. See Finished Votes below for more information on amendments to the Senate amnesty bill.
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| Background Information on S. 1639, formerly S. 1348 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
This page describes Senate floor action on S. 1639 (formerly 1348). If you have any questions or comments, please CLICK HERE.
BACKGROUND: On May 17, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), and other Senate and White House negotiators announced that they had reached agreement on a “compromise” immigration bill. The final text of the bill was made available to Senators and their staff on Monday, the same day the Senate began debating the proposed legislation. Under the proposal:
So the triggers do NOT require that DHS have operational control of the border; they do NOT require that DHS comply with the law and build the all of the fence; they do NOT require that DHS implement the exit system that would allow us to know if "guest workers" actually leave, even though it has been in the law since 1996; they do NOT require work site enforcement; and they do NOT require that DHS increase its apprehension rate or its alien absconder removal rate.
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FINISHED VOTES for S. 1348:
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Cloture Vote (Reid [Sens. Boxer, Leahy, Levin, Reed, Durbin, Inouye, Mikulski, Menendez, Klobuchar, Akaka, Cantwell, Bingaman, Salazar, Feinstein, Dodd, and Kennedy joined with Leader Reid in moving that cloture be invoked]): Procedural motion that allows S. 1348 to be considered on the Senate floor. |
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Bingaman SA 1169 (for himself and Sens. Feinstein, Obama, Dodd, and Durbin): Reduces the annual importation of workers under the new guestworker programs proposed by this bill to 200,000 workers per year and eliminates the “escalator” clause that allows that cap to be “adjusted” as per “market” factors. |
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Graham SA 1173 (for himself and Sens. Chambliss, Isakson, McCain, Martinez, Kyl, and McConnell): Creates mandatory minimum sentences for re-entry following prior removal. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take A Position on This Amendment While, in general, NumbersUSA supports strong enforcement measures – particularly as they relate to “repeat” immigration offenders – we are unable to take a position on this amendment because we have not seen the language being proposed by Sen. Graham, who has been a prime mover in the negotiation of the so-called “grand compromise.” |
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Feinstein SA 1146 (for herself and Sens. Martinez, Cantwell, and Hagel): Enables unaccompanied alien children to apply for special immigrant juvenile status, which is a pathway to permanent residence, if they cannot make a persuasive case for asylum and are deemed to be a dependent of the state as a result of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote The current system of adjudicating cases concerning unaccompanied alien children, while not perfect, would not be fixed by providing them an easier path to permanent residence without respect to the merits of each case. |
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Gregg SA 1172 (for himself and Sens. DeMint, Cornyn, and Dole): Requires DHS, before implementing the bill’s provisions granting Z nonimmigrant status to illegal aliens and provisions establishing new guestworker programs, to certify that it has: (1) established and demonstrated operational control of the entire U.S.-Mexico border; (2 ) hired and trained 20,000 Border Patrol agents (up from 18,000 in the underlying bill); (3 ) put up 300 miles of vehicle barriers (up from 200 in the underlying proposal); ( 4) erected additional radar and camera towers along the U.S.-Mexico border; and (5 ) resources to detain up to 31,500 aliens per day on an annual basis (up from 27,500 in the underlying bill). Maintains other “triggering” mechanisms (e.g., processing of amnesty applications, mandatory workplace verification, etc.). Requires DHS to consult with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) during the certification process, after which GAO must report to Congress on the accuracy of the certification. Eliminates the provision providing a sense of Congress claiming that all “triggers” can be implemented within 18 months. |
NumbersUSA Urged A YES Vote While NumbersUSA remains adamantly opposed to the mass amnesty and guestworker provisions, this terrible bill can only be improved by putting some teeth in its enforcement measures. Unfortunately, the amendment does not delay the granting of “probationary” Z nonimmigrant status, the point at which – contrary to popular belief – mass amnesty under this bill is actually granted. |
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Leahy SA 1165 (for himself and Sens. Kohl, Casey, and Schumer): Establishes guidelines for admission of aliens employed as seasonal dairy workers. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote This amendment provides for the unnecessary importation of foreign workers for jobs that Americans will do if they are paid a decent wage. |
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Akaka SA 1186 (for himself and Sens. Reid, Durbin, Inouye, Boxer, Murray, and Cantwell): Exempts children of Filipino World War II veterans naturalized pursuant to the Immigration Act of 1990 from numerical limits on worldwide immigration. |
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McCain SA 1190 (for himself and Sens. Graham, Burr, and Specter): Requires illegal aliens to pay back taxes upon the granting of “probationary” Z status (i.e., amnesty). |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take A Position on This Amendment While NumbersUSA strongly believes that back taxes should be paid in the unfortunate event that amnesty is granted to illegal aliens, we are unable to take a position on this amendment as we have not seen the language proposed by Sen. McCain, long a champion of amnesty and a “prime mover” in the so-called “grand compromise.” |
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Sanders SA 1223: Raises the fees employers who wish to import H-1B high-skill nonimmigrant workers from $1,500 to $10,000, with the funds going to scholarships for American high tech students. |
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Durbin SA 1231 (for himself and Sen. Grassley): Eliminates provisions authorizing the Department of Labor to waive requirements that employers in "labor shortage areas" offer jobs to U.S. workers before seeking to import foreign workers. |
NumbersUSA Urged A YES Vote All American jobs should be made available to U.S. workers first, regardless of the industry, occupation, or location of the job. |
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Feingold SA 1176 (for himself and Sens. Inouye and Lieberman): Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans to review U.S. government wartime treatment (from September 1, 1939, through December 31, 1948) of European Americans and European Latin American. Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees to review the U.S. government's refusal to allow entry into the United States of Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution in Europe between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1945. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment The amendment is not likely to significantly change overall immigration numbers |
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Grassley SA 1166 (for himself and Sens. DeMint and Dole): Prohibits judicial review of visa revocation following admission into the United States in instances where revocation is the sole reason for an alien’s removal. |
NumbersUSA Urged A YES Vote Currently, judicial review is prohibited in cases of visa denial by consular offices abroad. This amendment would treat visa revocations similar to visa denials because the right of that person to be in the United States is no longer valid. As such, it would reduce unnecessary court appeals as well as serve as an important anti-terrorism tool. |
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Alexander SA 1163: Establishes an award for companies and organizations making “extraordinary efforts in assisting their employees and members to learn English and increase their understanding of American history and civics.” |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Doesn't impact overall immigration numbers. |
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Cantwell SA 1167 (for herself and Sens. Levin, Murray, Craig, Crapo, Baucus, and Snowe): Directs the Attorney General to implement the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative to provide funds to reimburse eligible border states (or their local governments) for costs incurred for handling dispositions of criminal cases that are Federally initiated but in which a decision has been made in a criminal case by a U.S. Attorney or a Federal law enforcement agency during a Federal investigation to no longer pursue Federal criminal charges against a defendant and to refer the investigation to a state or local jurisdiction for possible prosecution. Authorizes an appropriation of $28 million for fiscal year 2008 and appropriations as may be necessary in subsequent fiscal years to implement this program. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Doesn't impact overall immigration numbers. |
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Cornyn SA 1238: Doubles the amount of annual appropriations authorized – from $50 million to $100 million per year, fiscal years 2008 through 2012 – for a new DHS program that awards grants to state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies located in counties within 100 miles of a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico, or in counties beyond 100 miles that have been certified by DHS as “high impact areas,” to provide assistance in addressing: (1) criminal activity that occurs by virtue of proximity to the border; and (2) the Federal government’s failure to adequately secure its borders. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Doesn't impact overall immigration numbers. |
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Kennedy SA 1333: a “side-by-side” amendment with SA 1184 (Cornyn) that is said to expand the list of crimes making illegal aliens ineligible for legalization. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote This counterproposal to Sen. Cornyn’s amendment is an attempt by the open borders champion, Sen. Kennedy, to make it appear he is addressing the same critical problem with the bill. Although the text of the amendment has not been made public, it is certain to be less effective then the Cornyn amendment. |
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Cornyn SA 1250: Prohibits illegal aliens seeking amnesty under this bill (in this case, “probationary status “) from submitting “sworn affidavits from nonrelatives” as proof of unlawful work or unlawful presence in the United States. Eliminates provisions protecting the confidentiality of the information contained in amnesty applications and, instead, requires the sharing of application-related information upon the request of a law enforcement agency, intelligence, or national security agency, or DHS component when requested in connection with a duly-authorized investigation of a civil violation. |
NumbersUSA Urged a YES vote on this amendment If adopted, this amendment would not only serve as a disincentive for illegal aliens to seek amnesty, but it also would encourage cooperation between the Federal government and state and local governments in the effort to do what has not been done enough in recent decades – enforce our immigration laws. |
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Reid SA 1331: Prohibits any provision of this bill from impacting the Internal Revenue Code's treatment of illegal aliens' eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Neither "temporary" workers nor illegal aliens should be permitted to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, but even if a prohibition on granting illegal aliens the EITC were to be adopted, it is unlikely that it would have a significant impact on the numbers of people admitted under this measure. |
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Sessions SA 1234: Prohibits foreign workers imported through this bill’s new Y “guestworker” program and illegal aliens granted “probationary status” (i.e., amnesty) from claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit unless their status is adjusted to lawful permanent resident. Adopted 56-41 |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment We agree with Sen. Sessions that neither illegal aliens nor “temporary” workers should be permitted to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, thus increasing the amount by which U.S. taxpayers must subsidize cheap labor for big business. It is unlikely, however, that this amendment would have a significant impact on the numbers of people admitted under this bill. |
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Thomas SA 1182 (for himself and Sen. Cornyn): Authorizes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in the five years following enactment, to establish new units of Customs Patrol Officers (often referred to as "Shadow Wolves"). Requires such units to: (1) operate on Indian reservations located on or near an international border (or any other Federal land DHS determines appropriate); (2) investigate and prevent the entry of terrorists, illegal aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband into the United States; and (3) carry out other duties DHS deems necessary. Authorizes appropriations as may be necessary for fiscal years 2008 through 2013. |
NumbersUSA Urged a YES vote on this amendment The original "Shadow Wolves," operating solely along the part of the border occupied by the Tohono O’odham Nation, has been greatly successful in pursuing smugglers and maintaining order along the border, so more units like this – if money is truly appropriated for their establishment – would be welcome. |
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Schumer SA 1272: Requires DHS and the State Department, within six months of enactment, to review existing guidelines and regulations regarding issuance of B-1 visitor/tourist visas and to determine whether modifications regarding issuance, admission, and length of stay are necessary to ensure decisions relative to issuance are made consistently "while ensuring security." Requires the agencies: (1) if any modifications are found to be warranted, to make such modifications within the six months following enactment; and (2) to consult with appropriate stakeholders in making any such modifications. Requires, within 18 months of enactment, the establishment of State Department and DHS "aggregate data" tracking systems to guarantee consistent application of issuance, admission, and length of stay guidelines. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote This amendment gives DHS and the State Department a "blank check," so to speak, in terms of how they actually choose to enforce and implement the immigration laws already on the books. |
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Kyl SA 1460: A "side-by-side" amendment with SA 1194 (Menendez) that addresses concerns related to the family-sponsored immigration backlog. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Without text of this amendment being available, NumbersUSA is unable to truly gauge the numerical impact of this proposal. |
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Salazar SA 1384: Text is not yet available, but thought to negate the impact of Inhofe SA 1151 by declaring that English is the common language of the United States, and requiring the Federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Doesn't impact overall immigration numbers. |
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Inhofe SA 1151 (for himself and Sens. Alexander, Sessions, Enzi, Chambliss, Burr, Isakson, Bunning, Coleman, Corker, Dole, Coburn, DeMint, Gregg, Shelby, Martinez, and Vitter): Establishes English as the national language of the U.S. Government. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Doesn't impact overall immigration numbers. |
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Hutchison SA 1415: Prohibits the granting of Social Security credit for wages earned by illegal aliens prior to their being granted amnesty under this bill. |
NumbersUSA Didn't Take a Position on This Amendment Although NumbersUSA agrees that illegal aliens should not be granted any public benefits based on unlawfully-obtained employment, this amendment would not change the fact that an amnesty is, in fact, being granted. |
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Dorgan SA 1316 (for himself and Sen. Durbin): Sunsets the Y-1 "temporary" nonimmigrant nonagricultural worker program five years after enactment. |
NumbersUSA Urged A YES Vote New guestworker programs are unnecessary because the importation of additional cheap foreign workers depresses wages in many sectors of the economy and causes even higher levels of unemployment and underemployment for native-born workers. |
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Lieberman SA 1191: Requires DHS officers exercising expedited removal authority to carefully and accurately record the statements of people who may have a legitimate fear of returning to their native countries. Authorizes the release of an alien who is awaiting a final determination on removal on the alien’s own recognizance and authorizes such an alien to be placed in a setting that provides a “secure alternative” to standard detention. Requires DHS and the Justice Department to ensure that all detained aliens in immigration and asylum proceedings receive legal orientation and requires DHS to expand public-private partnerships that facilitate pro bono counseling and legal assistance for asylum seekers awaiting a credible fear of persecution interview. Requires DHS to construct or use “secure but less restrictive detention facilities,” in which detainees would, among other things: (1) “have ready access to meaningful programmatic and recreational facilities”; (2) not be required to wear prison-style uniforms or jumpsuits; and (3) have minimal restriction on movement within and between indoor and outdoor areas of the facility. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote This amendment would make it more attractive to aliens seeking to game our already broken immigration apparatus by encouraging refugee and asylum fraud. |
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FINISHED VOTES for S. 1639:
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Cloture vote (Reid [Sens. Kennedy, Feingold, Inouye, Carper, Whitehouse, Leahy, Durbin, Cardin, Salazar, Lautenberg, Lieberman, Feinstein, Kerry, Schumer, Ben Nelson, Mikulski joined with Leader Reid in moving that cloture be invoked]): Procedural motion that allows S. 1639 to be considered on the Senate floor. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote NumbersUSA believes that there are no circumstances under which the so-called “grand bargain” could be improved enough to be worthy of support. In other words, a “YES” vote on cloture is the same as a “YES” vote on amnesty. |
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Cloture vote (Reid [Sens. Kennedy, Feingold, Inouye, Carper, Whitehouse, Leahy, Durbin, Cardin, Salazar, Lautenberg, Lieberman, Feinstein, Kerry, Schumer, Ben Nelson, and Mikulski joined with Leader Reid in moving that cloture be invoked]): Procedural motion that limits further floor debate on S. 1639 to 30 hours. |
NumbersUSA Urged A NO Vote NumbersUSA believes that the "grand compromise" immigration proposal is fatally flawed and under no circumstances could the measure be improved enough through amendment to be worthy of support. As a result, a "YES" vote on cloture was the same as a "YES" vote on amnesty. |
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for a full summary of this bill}].)
