News Update - June 15, 2007

By Alan Lee, Esq.

Senate Leaders Agree to Return to Stalled Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Senate leaders have agreed to return to debating comprehensive immigration reform (S. 1348 and all its amendments) before Congress adjourns for its Fourth of July Recess. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY) issued a statement that the issue will return to the Senate Floor upon completion of the energy bill.

President Bush has also spoken with members of Congress to push for legislation and leverage the debate toward compromise, citing his support for increases in border security spending.

The “grand bargain” as the initial agreement has been termed includes provisions for border security, establishment of a guest worker program and path to legalization of illegal aliens and punishment of employers who employ illegal aliens. It is subject to amendment and debate with a number of conservative Republican Senators who have stated they will not vote for a package containing the legalization program. It appears that the bill’s direction will veer to the right if at all to obtain Republican support. If the bill is passed in the Senate, it will up to the House to come up with companion legislation for Mr. Bush to sign.


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2007 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.