Hagel/Martinez Amendment
Background:
The Hagel/Martinez Substitute contains all the provisions of the Specter Amendment - including the border security, interior security and employer enforcement provisions from the Frist bill - but makes the following 3 changes: 1. It proposes an alternative to Title VI, Subtitle A of the Specter substitute (which deals with the illegal population living in the U.S.) 2. It temporarily increases the number of employment based green cards from 290,000 (as in the Specter Substitute) to 450,000. This increase from 290,000 to 450,000 would sunset after ten years. 3. It would give mid-term illegal immigrants (defined below) priority in applying for green cards over future immigrants entering as temporary workers. The Hagel/Martinez Amendment is based on legislation (S.1919) introduced by Senator Hagel in October 2005. Provisions for Long-Term Illegal Immigrants:
The Hagel/Martinez Amendment provides an opportunity for illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. more than 5 years to adjust to legal status without leaving the country. Any illegal immigrant seeking to adjust to legal status under this program must first meet all of the following 8 requirements: 1. Passed national security and criminal background checks
2. Resided in the U.S. for at least 5 years;
3. Worked a minimum of 3 years of the last 5 in the U.S.;
4. Paid all federal and state taxes;
5. Registered for Military Selective Service;
6. Demonstrated knowledge of English language and American civics requirements;
7. Paid a $2,000 fine, in addition to required application fees.
8. Work for an additional 6 years after enactment to ensure that their status is not adjusted before those who are already in line. Provisions for Mid-Term Illegal Immigrants:
 The Hagel/Martinez Amendment also provides an opportunity for illegal immigrants who have been here less than 5 but more than 2 years to obtain a temporary work visa.
These individuals would be subject to the visa requirements under current law (background checks, fees, paid taxes) and the requirements of the new temporary worker program created in the Specter substitute.
Under the Amendment, these individuals would be required to exit the country.
These immigrants would be fingerprinted and processed through the US-VISIT program at a land port of entry.
Qualified individuals would be able to adjust to legal status over time and would be subject to the annual cap on green cards as increased in the Specter substitute. As noted above, they would be given priority in applying for green cards over future immigrants entering as temporary workers.
Provisions for Short-term Illegal Immigrants:
The Hagel/Martinez Amendment would bestow no benefits on any illegal immigrant who arrived in the last 2 years.
Those here less than two years would be required to return to home and only then could apply for a temporary worker visa once back in their home country.
This is the same treatment as provided under the Specter Substitute amendment. Line-jumping:
Like the Specter substitute, the Hagel/Martinez Amendment requires illegal immigrants to go to the back of the line. Key Differences between Hagel/Martinez and the Specter Substitute: 1. The Specter substitute allows almost all of the 11-12 million illegal who are here illegally to stay in the U.S. and adjust to legal status (green cards). The Specter substitute does not take into consideration how long these individuals have been in the U.S. The Hagel/Martinez Amendment only allows the illegal who have been here more than 5 years to stay in the U.S. and adjust to legal status. Those who have been here less than 5 years but more than two years would be required to exit the country and return through the a land port of entry with a visa. 2. The Specter substitute provides a direct path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant living within our borders. The Hagel/Martinez Amendment creates a separate path for illegal immigrants who have been here less than 5 but more than 2 years. These individuals would have to meet the requirements of the new temporary worker program first. Over time, qualified individuals would have the chance to become citizens. The annual cap for green cards as defined in the Specter bill would apply. Analysis of Senate's Amnesty and
Visa Giveaway
On March 27, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA; no bill number) and sent it to the Senate floor for action. Click here to go to the Battle of the Senate VoteDay Action page and see a detailed vote tally. The Committee replaced the amnesty and temporary worker provisions in the Specter bill with even worse provisions contained in a bill (S. 1033) introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA). The Committee plan incorporates: (1) a new "temporary" agricultural worker program (as proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]); (2) another "guestworker" visa program "capped" at 400,000 per year (as proposed by Sen. Ted Kennedy [D-MA]); and (3) an amnesty for illegal aliens who have worked in the United States for six years and who wait another five before applying for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence, provided the illegal alien pays $2,000 in fines, has a background check done, and demonstrates a working knowledge of English (as proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]). Other bad "reforms" include a measure by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to de-criminalize illegal presence and another by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) to open up more visas for alien nurses as long as related shortages exist.
CLICK HERE  to see the incredible numerical impacts of the bills the Senate has been considering |
|
One only has to look at the effect of S. 1033 to begin to understand how American communities and occupations will be flooded with gigantic new flows of foreign workers and dependents. Our analysis of the McCain-Kennedy bill finds that a minimum of 25 million permanent immigrants would be allowed into the United States over the next 10 years. Under an unusual procedure, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) planned to have his bill — S. 2454, the Securing America's Borders Act — considered on the Senate floor along side the Committee’s bill. Although Sen. Frist's bill did not include amnesty and temporary worker provisions like in the Committee’s bill, it did include the same permanent immigrant visa increases, more H-1B visas, and increases from "unused" family-based and employment based visas as the Committee-passed plan.
CLICK HERE to see a side-by-side comparison of the main Senate bills under consideration |
|
Our analysis of the Frist bill found that a minimum of 20 million permanent immigrants would be allowed into the United States over the next 10 years. Floor action on the bills soon bogged down as Democrat leadership resisted allowing amendments to the Committee’s bill. During the first week of floor debate, Senators only adopted one non-controversial amendment by Sen. Frist that called for a study on illegal alien deaths at the border. On April 3, the Senate adopted non-controversial amendments sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), which authorizes grants to underwrite the cost of state and local immigration enforcement, and by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), which encourages applicants for citizenship to learn English and better under U.S. government and history. On April 4, proponents of the Committee-passed bill used more delaying tactics to stall votes on amendments and filed a motion to invoke cloture on April 6. Late on April 5, Sen. Frist said an agreement was reached with (most) fellow Republicans on a new plan negotiated by Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Me Martinez (R-FL). It would allow illegal aliens who have been in the United States for more than five years to remain in the country working while applying for U.S. citizenship. Those who were here between two and five years would have to apply for citizenship at a point of entry, but could remain working. Anyone here for less than two years would have to leave the country, but they could still apply for citizenship from their home country. Initial estimates by NumbersUSA suggest that the Hagel-Martinez plan would allow a minimum of 32 million permanent immigrants into the United States over the next 10 years. On April 6, Republican held together to vote against cloture on the Committee-passed bill, which effectively killed it. But soon thereafter, Republicans and Democrats held a press conference to announce a compromise had been reached along the lines of the Hagel-Martinez plan. By late that evening, the compromise fell apart due to the continued refusal of Democratic leadership to accept amendments to the plan. On April 7, the Senate voted against cloture on the Hagel-Martinez plan and voted to re-commit Frist’s bill (S. 2454) to the Judiciary Committee. NumbersUSA is still reviewing the 525-page Hagel-Martinez amendment. However, a description of the initial Hagel-Martinez plan, as provided by their offices, is included below. The language is theirs, not ours. We do not know how discussions between Republicans and Democrats leading up to the April 7 vote have altered the plan. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has said his committee with take up the Hagel-Martinez plan when it convenes on April 27, and will report an amended version to the Senate floor by May 5. |
