Los Angeles Times
By Lisa Moscaro
June 5, 2013
A
senior Senate Republican has proposed a new $6-billion border security
amendment for the Senate immigration bill, a measure designed to appeal
to conservatives that is likely to face resistance from Democrats and
immigrant advocates.
The
plan from Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has drawn interest from Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.) as a way to toughen the border provisions and potentially
make the bill more acceptable to the Republican-controlled House.
Cornyn's
measure would add an additional $1 billion a year for six years to the
job of securing the border with Mexico beyond the $4.5 billion already
in the bill for drones and other safety measures. His measure would also
double the number of new Border Patrol and Customs officers to 10,000.
The
proposal would also slightly toughen the 10-year path to legal status
for those who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.
They would not be able to receive green cards until both the Homeland
Security secretary and the comptroller general jointly certify that
certain standards for border security have been met, according to a
summary.
"The
biggest problem with the legislation is its failure to improve public
safety and guarantee results on border security and national security,"
Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, wrote Wednesday in an
editorial in the Dallas Morning News. His proposed changes, he said,
"are complements to the kinds of sensible reforms that members of both
parties have endorsed."
Cornyn
also wants an exit visa system installed at all airports where customs
officers are stationed -- not just the 30 busiest, as the bill currently
provides. The exit visa system is designed to track those who stay once
their visas have expired.
The
Texas senator did not support the bill as a member of the Judiciary
Committee, which approved it last month. The changes he wants would be
needed to gain his vote now, he said, as the bill moves to the Senate
floor.
Beefing
up the border security provisions has been to top concern of
Republicans in the Senate, and Rubio has been working to do so.
Democrats have signaled a willingness to alter the border strategy. But
any changes risk upsetting the bipartisan balance achieved by the bill's
authors.
Democrats
are particularly worried the path to legalization and eventual
citizenship could become impossible to complete if Republicans insist on
measures of border security that never could be met.
Another
Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, has proposed a "Trust but
Verify" amendment that would allow immigrants to continue on a path toward citizenship only if Congress annually votes that the Department
of Homeland Security is making progress on border security.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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