WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007
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.
But security officials caution it will take years for the immigration reforms to take full effect if signed. And they concede that's a problem, with an urgent need for change right now.
The sheer scope of the challenge facing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents is staggering: CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that just last month, nearly 106,000 illegal aliens were arrested trying to enter the country, 99 percent of them along the porous Mexican border.
The truth is almost all of those apprehended by agents are not dangerous felons, but rather workers looking for jobs.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who helped broker the immigration deal in secret meetings on Capitol Hill, says immigration reforms will allow border agents to better target real threats like dope dealers, gang members and terrorists instead of "spending a lot of their time chasing housekeepers and landscapers."
"I'd rather get the housekeepers and the landscapers in a visible, regulated program where they have to pay a fine and they have to obey the law, so I can focus all of our energy on the people that everybody agrees is the big threat," Chertoff told Orr.
The key will be the ability to identify alien workers. Those seeking legal status will be issued tamper-proof IDs complete with fingerprints and photos.
Those without IDs will draw extra scrutiny. The current system is overwhelming for border agents who struggle to identify the truly dangerous among the masses.
"There is no practical way that they can actually detect on a regular basis those who might really be a threat to the United States," said CBS News homeland security analyst Paul Kurtz.
However, the plan was bad news for tens of thousands of poor Mexicans who depend on a U.S. guestworker program for temporary jobs in agriculture and other seasonal work, such as landscaping and construction.
Millions of would-be migrants have been holding tight to President Bush's promise that they could one day apply for temporary visas.
At the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, which hands out more temporary visas than any other consulate or embassy in the world, Edmundo Bermudez, a 36-year-old from the northern city of Durango, said the plan rewards those who have already entered the United States illegally, while shutting out those who stayed home hoping to gain legal passage.
He was especially offended by the plan to give preference to migrants with degrees and skills.
"The United States already has enough people with college degrees. Who is going to cut their tobacco?" asked Bermudez, who has been working intermittently in the U.S. for the past eight years. In Mexico, he makes about $10 a day, while in the U.S. he earns almost that — $8 — in an hour.
Liberals, on the other hand, are unhappy with the proposal because it makes a far-reaching change in the immigration system that would admit future arrivals seeking to put down roots in the U.S. based on their skills, education levels and job experience — limiting the importance of family ties.
"We have concerns about the historic shift away from family unification as the backbone of our immigration system," said Kevin Appleby of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Immigrant advocacy and labor groups also oppose the terms of a new guest worker program in which low-skilled immigrants would be forced to leave the country after temporary stints and would have limited opportunities to stay and get on a path to permanent legalization.
"Without a real path to legalization, the program will exclude millions of workers and thus ensure that America will have two classes of workers, only one of which can exercise workplace rights," said John J. Sweeney, the AFL-CIO president.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., announced Thursday that he will move to kill the guest worker program because it would hurt American workers.
Many liberal groups, which revere Kennedy as his party's decisive voice on immigration, reserved judgment on the deal, calling it a good starting point and holding out hope of improving it during next week's Senate debate. But they also voiced substantial worries.
Jorge Mursuli of People For the American Way said the measure "departs radically from America's immigration tradition of putting family reunification first. This bill also includes a future worker program that is destined for failure." Mursuli nonetheless called the plan a "solid start."
Presidential politics could also complicate the deal's chances. Fissures among the candidates started emerging swiftly after it was announced.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who helped shape the deal, called it "long overdue." However, Mitt Romney said it was the "wrong approach," which provided "a form of amnesty" to illegal immigrants. Fred Thompson, who is considering entering the race, said it should be scrapped in favor of a measure to secure the border.
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who is seeking his party's presidential nomination, said the proposal needed more work. "We need to fix our immigration system, but we should not replace one dysfunctional, broken system with another equally troubled system," Obama said.
© 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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