Immigration Deal Faces Uncertain Future
Bipartisan Agreement Between White House And Senators Under Fire From Both Sides Of The Aisle
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Play CBS Video Video Immigration Laws Reformed The key to immigration reform will now target those illegal aliens who are real threats, like drug dealers and terrorists, rather than going after housekeepers and landscapers. Bob Orr reports.
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Video Chertoff On Immigration Deal Only On The Web: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tells Bob Orr why the immigration reform package will benefit his department in the war on drugs and terror.
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Video The Citizenship Debate Conservatives contend talks of amnesty simply offer a free pass to millions of illegal immigrants, but supporters say immigration reform is long overdue. Susan Roberts reports as the debate continues.
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Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., sitting, dismissed criticism of a bipartisan immigration deal he helped broker with the White House. Critics say the deal gives amnesty to people in the country illegally. Kennedy said amnesty was just "a slogan and a cliché." (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
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Photo Essay Immigration Rallies Demonstrators demand path to citizenship for estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
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Interactive Immigration And Naturalization Who's coming to America? Find out what's being done to screen for terrorists and take a citizenship quiz.
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Interactive 110th Congress The balance of power shifts and new leadership takes control as the latest session convenes.
A bipartisan immigration deal that would grant legal status to millions of people in the country unlawfully is drawing criticism from across the political spectrum.
The bargain reached between key Democratic and Republican senators and the White House faces an uncertain future in the Senate, which is set to begin debating it Monday.
As CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports, the deal is a big, first step but it is only a first step. The small team of negotiators will now try to sell their plan to the rest of Congress.
"I don't know if the immigration legislation is going to bear fruit and we're going to be able to pass it," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who harbored "serious concerns" about the deal.
Even if it were to survive what's certain to be a searing Senate battle, the measure would be up against long odds in the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., acknowledging deep divisions on immigration among Democrats, says she won't bring it up unless President Bush can guarantee he will produce 70 Republican backers — a tall order given GOP concerns that the bill is too lenient.
The agreement, which also mandates tougher border security and workplace enforcement, marked an extraordinary marriage of liberal and conservative goals that has the potential to bridge stubborn divides and ensure enactment of new laws this year.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tells Bob Orr why the immigration reform package will benefit his department in the war on drugs and terror.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., his party's lead negotiator on the deal, called it an example of the "politics of the possible," while conservative Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said it was the "best opportunity" for a bipartisan solution to the nation's immigration problems.
It was soon under attack, however, from a set of lawmakers and interest groups as diverse as those that united to craft it. Their varying concerns and competing agendas — along with a challenging political environment — could be enough to unravel the painstakingly written agreement.
"It’s a divisive issue, it's an emotional issue," Kennedy admitted on CBS News' The Early Show Friday.
Two of the key players in the talks from each end of the political spectrum, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, walked away from the deal before it was announced.
Conservatives branded it "amnesty," complaining that it would reward the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants with a way of gaining legal status and staying in the U.S. permanently without being punished.
"What part of 'illegal' does the Senate not understand? Any plan that rewards illegal behavior is amnesty," said Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus.
Kennedy dismissed the "amnesty" criticism, saying, "That's sort of a slogan and a cliché."
The deal would allow illegal immigrants to come forward right away, but they could not get visas or begin a path to citizenship until the border security improvements and a high-tech worker identification program were in place.
After that, illegal immigrants could obtain a renewable "Z visa" that would allow them stay in the country indefinitely. After paying fees and fines totaling $5,000, they could ultimately get on track for permanent residency, which could take between eight and 13 years. Heads of households would have to return to their home countries first.
Added late in the negotiations was the Dream Act, reports Attkisson. Immigrants who came illegally as children and are now in college or the military could stay and get a green card in just three years. This would be the fastest path to citizenship.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 462 CommentsWe need to end all reasons for them coming here so they'll migrate back, or treat them like the invaders they are, and lets have a war. Winner take all.
Posted by docpeter at 10:13 AM : May 21, 2007
The law they broke is equivalent to a speeding ticket, even the right wing's hero Bush said so and for one of the few times in this lifetime I agree with him. This constantly screaming that they are criminals is an attempt to put them in the same group with murderers and rapists which is just plain ridiculous! They're no more "criminal" then any American who ever drove 5 miles an hour over the speed limit or who rolled through a stop sign when they could see no one was coming. Let's stop with this stupid branding of them as some sort of crime wave members, when they so clearly are not.
Typical liberal leap! I suggest people actually work for their welfare check. OOOOHHHH how awful..That makes me like Hitler. Well Miss Rosie, Those liberal leaps only show how ignorant you are. That would not be forced labor, that would be voluntary labor. Kind of like the rest of us do, every day. We wake up, decide if we want to work, if we don't we get docked, clocked, or fired! Pretty simple... obviously too much for your feeble mind to comprehend. Forced labor would be would be me showing up at your door, clubbing your ***, and making you go round up the invaders and sending them home. Not a bad idea.
To grant amnesty to people here in the USA ILLEGALLY shouldn't even be considered. They are a drain on the taxpaying citizens. I listened to a talk show the other day where an illegal was crying about not having the $$ to stay here legally. This after she had two children in this country and because she didn't pay a the bill for the hospital she thought it was a free service. She couldn't be convinced that someone paid her hospital bill, and it was us tax payers.
Do I want to see the cheap labor leave? Of course not. Do I want to see American companies sending labor over seas when they can provide jobs here in America? NO. But I do think the employers of illegals should be prosecuted and fined.
Illegals broke USA laws by entering the country illegally, end of discussion!
Reform including the Dream Act must be passed.
Let us all hope that the policy makers today and this week---vote for families and vote to continue the American Tradition of Mulit-culturalism.
Sounds to me like you ought to go back to Latin America and try getting to know the people there, instead of just taking shots at them for the third world condition they live in as if it's all their fault. Of course the fact that the US has consistently scr*ewed over Latin America wouldn't come into your thoughts now would it? Naw. Sounds more to me like you we're raised a poor little rich boy who went down south after college to salve your conscience and to have someone to look down your elitist nose down on. Or maybe you were down there to put in a few years overseeing daddy's plantation or business before he'd let you start back here in the States. Of course you couldn't be bothered to actually get to know and make friends with any of the people of "that class". You know, the "untouchables", the ones beneath you. Either that our your just a lying piece of sh*it who's making this cr*ap up. Guess I'll have to flip a coin to decide the answer to that one because to people like you there's no real difference anyway now is there? Sleep well.
Yes -- it all becomes clear now. A white guy who fancies himself educated and a great protector of the downtrodden. Or in other words, an under-educated, misguided, ultra-liberal. I used to be a little like you until I graduated from university and worked and lived in the third world for a number of years, including in Latin America. After that experience, I can tell you that I don't want all streets to have potholes, all telephones not to work, all public places to have mountains of trash strewn about, all police to be corrupt, and power provided to my home or business only four hours a day. That is what this country will become if the illegal immigrant invasion continues. This debate is not only about people being in the country illegally, but also about those same people perpetrating a cultural invasion and assualt upon our fundamental values, and indeed our sovereignty. Who cares if ultra-lefties take issue with the plain facts and try to twist the issue into one of purported "racism." The overwhelming majority of American citizens see right through such phony arguments. That is why Kennedy's legislation will never become law -- too many ordinary citizens are mad as hornets about it and will not let it stand.
This is straight from the Social Security Website;
"If you are not a U.S. citizen, Social Security must see your current U.S. immigration documents. Acceptable documents from the Department of Homeland Security include your:
* Form I-551 (includes machine-readable immigrant visa with your unexpired foreign passport);
* I-94 with your unexpired foreign passport; or
* Work permit card (I-766 or I-688B)."
If one may register and does register with SSA, they are in the system. Once one is in, they are eligible for benefits.
The link;
And the link is: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10120.html#proof
Also consider the SSA's rules for SSI benefits too.
Once W. signs the new immigration law, the illegals become instantly legal and eligible.
And re-read my earlier post directly from CBS's website please.
Hope that helps.
Posted by lostngone at 10:54 AM : May 20, 2007
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An individual is NOT eligible to retire on SS until they have worked 40 quarters (10 years). Disability shouldn't be a problem, because Bush has promised these are a bunch of hardworking people who wouldn't think of becoming disabled.
Is the slogan: "For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada" ... "For the race, everything. For those outside the race, nothing." "racist?"
Posted by makeafence at 12:07 PM : May 20, 2007
I've seen a couple of the protests personally here in Los Angeles and never saw what you profess they do. No one there ever advocated and kind of "ethnic cleansing" of the Southwest or any other part of the US and that is not the slogan of La Raza. I suppose it's possible someone may have carried a sign like that (though as I said, I've never seen one), but do not confuse the issue by failing to point out that that is NOT a La Raza slogan.
Is the slogan: "For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada" ... "For the race, everything. For those outside the race, nothing." "racist?"
This is straight from the Social Security Website;
"If you are not a U.S. citizen, Social Security must see your current U.S. immigration documents. Acceptable documents from the Department of Homeland Security include your:
* Form I-551 (includes machine-readable immigrant visa with your unexpired foreign passport);
* I-94 with your unexpired foreign passport; or
* Work permit card (I-766 or I-688B)."
If one may register and does register with SSA, they are in the system. Once one is in, they are eligible for benefits.
The link;
And the link is: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10120.html#proof
Also consider the SSA's rules for SSI benefits too.
Once W. signs the new immigration law, the illegals become instantly legal and eligible.
And re-read my earlier post directly from CBS's website please.
Hope that helps.
When is the legislation coming giving the former u.s. citizens an option in this New World order -North american hug?
But despite the generous terms of NAFTA, our neighbors to the north and south are, like us, far more interested in the flow of money than of persons. Canada, in particular, is no longer a paradise awaiting American dissidents: whereas in 1970 roughly 20,000 Americans became permanent residents of Canada, that number has dropped over the last decade to an average of just about 5,000. Today it takes an average of twenty-five months to be accepted as a permanent resident, and this is only the first step in what is likely to be a five-year process of becoming a citizen. At that point the gesture of expatriation may already be moot, particularly if a sympathetic political party has since resumed power.
Mexico's citizenship program is equally complicated. Seniors should know that the country does offer a lenient program for retirees, who may essentially stay as long as they want. But you will not be able to work or to vote, and, more important, you must remain an American for at least five years.
Posted by peter776 at 10:45 PM : May 19, 2007
Actually I'm not Hispanic. I'm as white as the driven snow. My family is of Canadian, Finnish and Croatian background and I couldn't be more white (or American since I was born and raised ion Michigan) if my name was Whitey McWhiteman. I'm just one of those white people who hates to see other white people act racist and then deny it. Makes us all look like the ignorant cracker hillbillies they are.
Another racist statement. No illegal is eligible for neither SSI nor welfare. Why are you so insecure that you have to lie?
You don't know what you're talking about. You think they get away with driving without driver's licences, insurance and minor infractions? What a joke. What a racist statement. They don't get away with it more than anyone else. Do you know how many Americans drive around without driver's licences and insurance?? If you don't, then your statment is completely based on racism.
"# Z-1 %u2014 Illegal aliens present and working in the United States up to Jan. 1, 2007.
# Z-2 %u2014 Parents and spouses of illegal aliens qualifying under the Z-1 category.
# Z-3 %u2014 Children of illegal aliens qualifying under the Z-1 category.
These "Z Visa" holders can stay in the "Z" status indefinitely, which means they never have to pursue "a pathway to citizenship." They also would be able to get Social Security numbers and benefit from some welfare programs. Shockingly, there is no cap on the numbers of amnesty recipients in the draft language. The only thing the Z Visa holder can't do is vote %u2014 until, that is, a liberal judge declares this limitation unconstitutional or until a liberal president can railroad through a "technical corrections" bill."
Please note illegals are eligible for SSI and welfare benefits.
This bill is the financial Armageddon of America.
Here is the link;
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/18/opinion/main2826163.shtml
No it's really about fairness and equity, particularly fairness to the American people. It drives me nuts that illegal aliens aren't being held accountable for many minor infractions like driving without insurance and licenses. It drives me even more nuts that they are eligible for social services designed for Americans and even more than that when I know our citizens suffer not taking services because they either don't know about them or are too proud to sign up for them.
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