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Immigration Reform on agenda for Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist has met with key Republican Senators and has let them know he intends to bring up a bill on the Senate floor by March 27. Prior to that, in early March, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider an immigration reform bill.The starting point is Senator Specter’s “Chairman’s Mark” that is an amalgam of reform legislation authored by Senators Cornyn and Kyl, McCain and Kennedy, and Senator Hagel. Where we are The House bill is not law: Although it passed the House, H.R. 4437 (the Sensenbrenner bill), which would make unlawful presence a felony and make criminals out of countless Americans who have contact with undocumented immigrants, is not law. We had hoped the Senate would act first: But the House went first, and now H.R. 4437 will represent one end of the bargaining table with the Senate bill, whatever it ultimately ends up being, at the other end. While Senator Specter’s “Chairman’s Mark has many positive aspects, for the moment it contains a modified “report to deport” treatment for undocumented immigrants called for in the bill authored by Senators Cornyn and Kyl. Pro-immigrant advocates will have to fight hard to have that bill amended positively, so that the final product is as good as we can possibly have it. At the end of the Senate debate, we need a very strong bill to push back on what the House has done when it comes time for the House/Senate conference committee. This is an election year: Most of the people who are ultimately going to decide what is enacted by the end of this legislative session are going to face voters in November. They are going to be very sensitive to the volume and intensity of constituent mail. Irish America has got to make sure our voice is heard. One staff member for a Democratic senator told the National Immigration Forum that the senator will vote "100% in line with what his constituents tell him". We need to tell him to support McCain/Kennedy (S1033)
Another staffer from another Senator's office said:
These reports drive home several points. Right now, constituent mail is overwhelmingly anti-immigrant in many offices. We have to change this. Don't let the louder voices of the anti-immigration faction win. We can win in the Senate. With political cover from
constituents, many Senators will do the right thing. If you think your
Senator is on your side, don’t stop talking to him or her. Advocacy Is Having An Impact The position of the Senator will be determined by who among their constituents they hear from. Let them hear from Irish America! Timeline The “markup” (when the Senate Judiciary Committee meets to consider a bill), should take place in early March. The Judiciary Committee will have to finish with a bill before a scheduled March 17 recess, because Senator Frist has said he expects to bring an immigration bill to the floor on or shortly after the Senate returns on March 27. If the Judiciary Committee does not have a bill, Senator Frist has indicated he might move his own legislation (which does not exist as yet). In that case, it would likely be some enforcement-only bill.
WHAT YOU CAN DO Between now and the Judiciary Committee markup, and between the markup and consideration of legislation on the Senate floor, Congress will be taking week-long recesses. The week of February 20 and the week of March 20 (St Patrick's Day is on the 17th!) would be excellent times to contact your Senators in their home offices. In February, this is especially important if your Senator is on the Judiciary Committee. You can see the list of Judiciary Committee members here: http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm If your Senator is not on the Judiciary Committee, it is still important to communicate with him or her. It is crucial that at every step of the way, we end up with a bill that is as good as it can possibly get, because what is passed by the Senate will serve as the counter proposal to the Sensenbrenner bill from the House.
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