Chicago Tribune Editorial - The Senate's better vision
Chicago Tribune Editorial - The Senate's better vision
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published May 26, 2006
Tapping into Americans' frustration and disgust with our failed immigration system, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in December aimed at stopping illegal immigrants, both at the border and in the workplace. The 12 million undocumented immigrants already in this country would have to go. It's not clear whether the House wants to deport them all or simply make their lives so difficult that they deport themselves. Let's hope we don't find out.
The Senate on a 62-36 vote Thursday approved a far better plan.
It is chock-full of enforcement. Like the House bill, it calls for increased security at the Mexican border, including hundreds of miles of fence and thousands of new guards. Also like the House bill, it calls for more accountability in the workplace, including a reliable electronic system through which employers would be required to verify the immigration status of job applicants.
But it wisely goes beyond the House measure by attempting to resolve the status of those 12 million immigrants. In doing so, the Senate bill recognizes the country's dependence on immigrant labor as well as the utter futility of trying to send home all illegal immigrants.
The Senate proposes a guest-worker program to ensure a supply of immigrant workers and a path to earned citizenship for most of those who have been working here illegally for some time.
In crafting its bill, a divided Senate confronted obstacles that loom even larger in coming negotiations with the House. Conservatives insist that any provision that leads to legalization for undocumented workers is amnesty, the ugliest of words in the immigration glossary. Congress extended amnesty to 3 million illegal workers in 1986 as part of an immigration overhaul, but the government's failure to police workplace violators after that only encouraged more illegal immigration.
Senators tinkered with the offending provisions but left them in, despite constant background static emanating from the House. Soon to be ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), for example, continues to call earned citizenship "a non-starter," and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) insists that it "will not fly."
House Speaker Dennis Hastert has threatened to demonstrate his disregard for bipartisan compromise by blocking any bill from a floor vote unless it is supported by a majority of Republican House members.
This issue is too important for such heavy-handed partisanship. If the House fails to compromise to get an immigration law, it will reinforce the broad public impression that this GOP-led Congress can't get anything done.
Against long odds, the Senate has produced a comprehensive immigration bill that looks beyond the House's one-dimensional solution. It deserves to be considered in good faith in conference committee. Building on the lessons of 20 years of failed immigration policy, the Senate bill represents our best chance yet to finally set things right. It's time for negotiation, not noise.
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published May 26, 2006
Tapping into Americans' frustration and disgust with our failed immigration system, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in December aimed at stopping illegal immigrants, both at the border and in the workplace. The 12 million undocumented immigrants already in this country would have to go. It's not clear whether the House wants to deport them all or simply make their lives so difficult that they deport themselves. Let's hope we don't find out.
The Senate on a 62-36 vote Thursday approved a far better plan.
It is chock-full of enforcement. Like the House bill, it calls for increased security at the Mexican border, including hundreds of miles of fence and thousands of new guards. Also like the House bill, it calls for more accountability in the workplace, including a reliable electronic system through which employers would be required to verify the immigration status of job applicants.
But it wisely goes beyond the House measure by attempting to resolve the status of those 12 million immigrants. In doing so, the Senate bill recognizes the country's dependence on immigrant labor as well as the utter futility of trying to send home all illegal immigrants.
The Senate proposes a guest-worker program to ensure a supply of immigrant workers and a path to earned citizenship for most of those who have been working here illegally for some time.
In crafting its bill, a divided Senate confronted obstacles that loom even larger in coming negotiations with the House. Conservatives insist that any provision that leads to legalization for undocumented workers is amnesty, the ugliest of words in the immigration glossary. Congress extended amnesty to 3 million illegal workers in 1986 as part of an immigration overhaul, but the government's failure to police workplace violators after that only encouraged more illegal immigration.
Senators tinkered with the offending provisions but left them in, despite constant background static emanating from the House. Soon to be ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), for example, continues to call earned citizenship "a non-starter," and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) insists that it "will not fly."
House Speaker Dennis Hastert has threatened to demonstrate his disregard for bipartisan compromise by blocking any bill from a floor vote unless it is supported by a majority of Republican House members.
This issue is too important for such heavy-handed partisanship. If the House fails to compromise to get an immigration law, it will reinforce the broad public impression that this GOP-led Congress can't get anything done.
Against long odds, the Senate has produced a comprehensive immigration bill that looks beyond the House's one-dimensional solution. It deserves to be considered in good faith in conference committee. Building on the lessons of 20 years of failed immigration policy, the Senate bill represents our best chance yet to finally set things right. It's time for negotiation, not noise.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:09 AM
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