New York Times
By Ashley Parker
June 10, 2013
The
Senate Judiciary Committee considered more than 300 amendments to
immigration legislation last month before sending it to the full Senate,
which is expected to begin debate on the bill on Tuesday.
But
even as they begin a floor fight that is likely to last until the
Fourth of July recess, senators from both parties are readying dozens
more amendments in an effort to shape the most significant overhaul of
the nation’s immigration laws in a generation. Though amendments will
continue to roll in during the debate, below are some of the more
complicated, controversial and important provisions expected to be
offered — including some considered to be “poison pills.”
“RESULTS”
Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, has signaled that he plans to
introduce a measure that would require several border security triggers
— including a 90 percent apprehension rate of illegal crossings — to be
met before undocumented immigrants could transition to lawful permanent residence, or green card, status. His amendment also would require
putting into place a biometric exit system and a nationwide
electronic-verification system, to ensure employers are not hiring
workers who are in the country illegally.
Democratic
senators in the bipartisan group of eight that drafted the legislation,
as well as immigration advocates, seized on the provisions as
logistically unfeasible hurdles that could delay indefinitely a path to
citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the
country. Speaking Sunday on Univision, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the
majority leader, warned that Mr. Cornyn’s amendment was “a poison
pill.”
Speaking
on the Senate floor Monday, Mr. Cornyn said, “The true poison pill
would be the failure to take sensible measures by adopting measures like
mine which are designed to solve the problem.”
“TRUST
BUT VERIFY” Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, intends to offer
an amendment that would require Congress to write and enforce a border
security plan, rather than delegating that responsibility to the
Department of Homeland Security. In addition, as Mr. Paul explained in
an e-mail statement, his provision “requires Congress to vote every year
on border security” for the first five years after the legislation
takes effect.
“If
Congress votes that the border is not secure, elements of immigration
reform will cease to go forward and visa programs will be slowed,” he
said.
Immigration
advocates and many Democratic senators, however, argue that requiring
Congress to vote every year would create an inherently partisan process
that could derail the path to citizenship.
“That’s
extremely problematic,” said Marielena Hincapié, the executive director
of the National Immigration Law Center. “You’re leaving it up to chance
whether or not a future Congress wants immigration reform.”
EARNED-INCOME
TAX CREDIT When the Judiciary Committee debated the legislation last
month, Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, offered several
provisions that would have blocked millions of immigrants from receiving
certain tax credits. One amendment would have required families to
provide a valid Social Security number — for each qualifying child as
well as for the filing parent — in order to receive a child tax credit,
and another would have denied the earned-income tax credit to immigrants
while they had temporary legal status.
Both
amendments failed in committee on a party-line vote, but Mr. Sessions —
or a fellow Republican — is expected to offer them on the floor.
BACK
TAXES Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, is expected to offer
an amendment that would require immigrants to prove they have paid back
taxes and are staying current with them as they proceed toward legal
status, and another that would create a five-year ban for immigrants who
are legal permanent residents before they can receive Affordable Care
Act subsidies, both of which are viewed as controversial.
Members
of the bipartisan group who wrote the bill worked with Mr. Hatch to
amend the bill in committee to address his concerns involving the
high-tech industry and visas for high-skilled immigrants, and they hope
to work out a similar compromise on the Senate floor.
GUN
AMENDMENTS Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, is
considering offering two amendments that would restrict access to guns
for undocumented immigrants. One of his provisions would close a
loophole that allows certain immigrants, including those who entered the
country through the Visa Waiver Program, to buy firearms. The other
would require the attorney general to alert the secretary of homeland
security when an unauthorized immigrant or visitor on a temporary visa
tries to buy a firearm, something they cannot do legally.
Mr. Blumenthal said he is still discussing with his Democratic colleagues whether, and how, he should proceed.
“The
priority is immigration reform and I think gun violence prevention
issues belong in the debate about immigration reform, but I would not
press them if the result is to doom immigration reform,” he said.
SAME-SEX
PARTNERS Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and the chairman
of the Judiciary Committee, is considering filing an amendment that
would add protections for same-sex couples — a provision that he
ultimately declined to offer in committee, “with a heavy heart,” he
said.
Mr.
Leahy’s amendment would allow United States citizens who are in
state-recognized marriages to apply for a green card on behalf of their
same-sex partners, something citizens in traditional marriages can do
relatively easily.
Though
many gay rights advocates are hoping Mr. Leahy will offer his amendment
on the Senate floor, Republicans — including members of the bipartisan
group that wrote the bill — have said that it would be a deal-breaker
that would cause them to abandon the entire overhaul.
BORDER
FENCE AND SECURITY Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, has said
that he does not think he can support the current legislation, which he
helped draft, unless border security provisions are strengthened. To
that end, Mr. Rubio and Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, are
considering offering an amendment in which Congress would take over from
the Department of Homeland Security the responsibility for drafting a
border security plan, which the department would then carry out.
Several
of the bill’s authors — including Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of
South Carolina, and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York —
showed early signs of support for Mr. Rubio’s plan. Mr. Schumer said he
was willing to strengthen border security provisions as long as any
trigger is “both achievable and specific.”
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