Washington: A bill to enact dramatic changes to the U.S. immigrationsystem and put some 11 million immigrants here illegally on a path tocitizenship is facing its first congressional test.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday was to begin consideringproposed changes to the 844-page bill, with some 300 amendments pending on awide range of issues that include border security and workplace enforcement,along with Democratic-authored measures to make the legislation more welcomingto immigrant families.
The bill aims to secure the border, provide new avenues forworkers to come to the U.S. legally, crack down on employers who would hirepeople here illegally, and provide eventual citizenship to millions already inthe country.
Although the bill allows citizenship to go forward onlyafter certain border security goals have been met, those "triggers"haven't proven convincing enough for many Republican lawmakers. Early fights inthe committee session are likely to center around that issue, according to theschedule laid out by Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee's chairman.
Even one of the bill's authors, Florida Republican MarcoRubio, has said border measures need to be stronger, so some changes may beaccepted. But measures offered by some Republican senators would dramaticallychange the bill's delicately crafted compromises in a way its authors areunlikely to accept.
For example, Sen. Charles Grassley, the top committeeRepublican, has filed an amendment to prohibit anyone from obtaining legalstatus until the Homeland Security Department has maintained "effectivecontrol" of the border for six months - a potentially arduous standard toreach, depending upon how it is defined.
Such measures are "designed to undermine critical componentsof the bill," Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center,which supports the legislation, told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.