WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to meet behind closed doors to construct an immigration bill that would include provisions from S. 1033, introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), which includes amnesty for illegal aliens, a massive "guest" worker program that leads to citizenship and an estimated increase of additional permanent immigrants of a million a year.

"With each step the Senate takes on immigration reform, it proves that it is more out of touch with the American people on this issue," said NumbersUSA Executive Director Roy Beck. "Not only has the Judiciary Committee gone from bad to worse on coming up with an immigration 'reform' proposal, it has decided to concoct this disastrous plan for amnesty and betraying vulnerable American workers behind closed doors where they can hide their misdeeds from the American people. "

In today's Executive Business Meeting, committee members indicated that they intend to draft a bill based in part on the McCain-Kennedy bill, introduced last year. It also would include provisions from Senator Larry Craig's (R-ID) AgJOBS bill (S. 359) and proposals from Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Although border security and enforcement provisions are also expected to be included, McCain-Kennedy and Chairman Arlen Specter's (R-PA) working proposals are very weak in those important areas. Kennedy claimed that his proposal does not constitute amnesty for the estimated 12 to 20 million people currently in the United States illegally because it would require them to wait for their citizenship until after people who are following the law and currently waiting on green cards are allowed to enter.

"Senator Kennedy is rewriting the definition of the word 'amnesty' in order to dupe the American public, who polls have shown to be overwhelmingly opposed to amnesty," said Beck. "Any proposal that does not require those here illegally to return to their home countries is an amnesty. Allowing them to remain in the United States rewards them with exactly what they broke the law to obtain, undermines the rule of law, and most importantly encourages more illegal immigration." 

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