[KR: Except for policy wonks, advocates, and Congress scholars, proposed amendments to bills don't get much attention. MALDEF sent out a 'position-paper' email today which is helpful in seeing the kinds of amendments being proposed, and MALDEF's stances and rationales...]

Senate Taking Major Action on Immigration Bill
The U.S. Senate is starting to make action that will determine which way the Immigration Legislation will go. Your voice is needed today! You can reach your Senator via the Capitol Hill Operator at 202-224-3121.

Yesterday, the Senate approved the Bingaman Amendment by a vote of 74-24 that cuts the temporary worker in half from 400,000 workers annually to 200,000. What is left is a program that has fundamental inequities for these workers (cutting off their ability to remain in the U.S.; inadequate labor protections; splitting of families) and for U.S. workers (temporary workers will be less likely to complain about dangerous working conditions or inadequate compensation that hurts all workers) and lacks enough visas to serve legitimate business needs. Passage of the Bingaman Amendment may make it harder for the bill to pass the Senate. Today, the Senate may vote on the Coleman Amendment (#1158) that would outlaw state and local government policies that prevent government employees - including police and health and safety workers - from inquiring about the immigration status of those they serve if there is “probable cause” to believe the individual being questioned is undocumented. There is no exception where such policies are necessary to protect the health and safety or promote the welfare of the community.

MALDEF opposes this amendment because many cities, counties, and police departments have decided that it’s a matter of public health and safety not to ask about immigration status when people report crimes, have been the victims of domestic abuse, or go to the hospital seeking emergency medical care. It will make us all less safe, not more safe. These cities understand that all members of communities are hurt when their residents are afraid that their immigration status will be questioned when they seek refuge at a domestic violence shelter or ask the police for help in escaping an abusive spouse. We are asking Senators to vote No on the Coleman Amendment.

The Clinton/Menendez/Hagel Amendment

Under the current immigration system, spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents are placed in a preference category that caps their annual visas. Senator Clinton’s amendment would remove these spouses and minor children from their preference categories and treat them as immediate relatives, not subject to an annual cap.

Hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents are currently living in the United States separated from their immediate family while their spouse and children wait abroad for a green card. This amendment encourages family unity by enabling legal, tax-paying residents to more quickly be reunited with their immediate family. All other visa categories have provisions that allow the visa holder to bring their spouse or child. The current system of differentiating between spouses and children of legal residents and those of citizens is contrary to family re-unification, which is a fundamental cornerstone of our nation’s immigration system and an American core value.

MALDEF has worked closely with the sponsoring senators of this amendment and is seeking full Senate approval.

The Menendez/Hagel Amendment

Currently, the immigration deal includes a cutoff date of May 1, 2005, for those family visa applicants who are eligible to be cleared through the family backlog. This is inconsistent, arbitrary, and fundamentally unfair.

The Menendez/Hagel amendment will simply provide fairness to those who have played by the rules. It would give U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who apply to bring a family member to the U.S. the same opportunity to be part of the backlog clearance as undocumented immigrants (January 1, 2007).

Applications of those who have applied legally, played by the rules, paid taxes, and petitioned for family members after May 1, 2005, will not be cleared as part of the family backlog, but instead, will be relegated to a new, untested merit-based point system as currently outlined in the negotiated Senate bill.

At its core, this amendment reflects the commitment to family values that has molded our national character as a nation of immigrants and for this reason, MALDEF supports this amendment.

Cornyn Amendment (#1184)

Senator Cornyn filed an amendment that would make anyone who is inadmissible under immigration law, ineligible for the legalization program. It also expands the class of aggravated felony crimes and makes them retroactive. In the case of an immigrant who entered illegally in the past, that individual could be convicted of an aggravated felony and subjected to mandatory detention and permanently barred from any immigration benefit.

MALDEF opposes any amendment that would attempt to gut the legalization program and further criminalizes potential undocumented immigrants who might benefit from the proposed Senate bill.

McConnell Amendment:

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will offer an amendment today that would require voters to present a photo ID before voting in federal elections. If approved, this requirement would disproportionately disenfranchise people of color, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, rural and Native voters, the homeless, and low-income people, who are far less likely to possess a photo ID. Photo ID requirements also build an enormous amount of discretion into the election process, creating opportunities for discrimination at the polls against racial, ethnic, and language minority voters.

MALDEF has long opposed voter ID requirements and is working to defeat the McConnell amendment.