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Immigration reform would grant citizenship to millions

The Senate will vote on an immigration bill Friday. It's expected to pass, but the Senate bill is much different than the bill approved by the House late last year. It could take months to resolve the differences.

By WES ALLISON and ANITA KUMAR
Published April 6, 2006

In a deal brokered overnight, with the help of Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, the Senate's only immigrant, a bipartisan group of senators announced they had reached a compromise that would increase border security, regulate the flow of future immigrants into the country and settle the fate of the 11-million immigrants already here, including 500,000 in Florida.

If approved, it would mark the most sweeping immigration reform in two decades. It comes after contentious debate in the Senate that galvanized immigrants nationwide, leading to massive rallies and protests from Los Angeles to New York.

The deal was still being tweaked late Thursday and will face some opposition from conservative Republicans, but Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said they hope the Senate can pass it as early as today, before leaving for a two-week recess.

President Bush, who has been pressing for immigration reform for more than year, said he was pleased with the apparent deal and hopeful for approval.

But passage would set up a showdown with the U.S. House, which last year passed a much tougher immigration bill - with broad support from Florida Republicans - that would increase border security and deport illegal immigrants.

"I'm just immensely pleased for the potential outcome that we can have here and how much good it's going to do," Martinez, a Republican, said at a news conference with Frist, Reid and a dozen other colleagues. "Not just for a lot of people who desperately want to see this happen, but also for the good of this country, the good of bringing this country together ... allowing all Americans and all who want to be Americans to join in the American dream."

The journey to compromise was difficult. Last Friday, as hopes for meaningful immigration reform in the Senate began to die, Martinez and his staff began looking for a deal that might bridge warring factions, or at least resuscitate negotiations.

Martinez had taken a lead role in trying to convince businesses, Latino groups and his fellow senators of the need for comprehensive reform, from improving border security to realistically accommodating the illegal immigrants already living here.

He and his staff quickly seized on a bill that Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., had been shopping since last fall, which would put longtime illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship and force newcomers to return home. It wasn't as generous as Martinez had wanted, but it was a start.

Martinez, Hagel and their staffs worked through the weekend on a plan. Early Monday morning, Martinez took it to a small bipartisan group of senators, including Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican John McCain, who have been meeting daily to strategize on passing a bill that would offer a route to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

By Wednesday morning, with the Senate clearly at odds over several existing proposals, the group was ready to embrace it. The senators took what they now called the Hagel-Martinez Amendment to Frist and Reid, who haggled over it through the night.

By Thursday morning, Martinez was on the phone with President Bush, telling him he believed Senate leaders had reached a workable compromise.

"I did feel a little emotional about it. Because I know a lot of people pin their hopes and dreams on what I'm doing here," said Martinez, who is regularly greeted in Spanish and embraced by Capitol vistors. "It is a huge and awesome responsibility. I felt it, and... I hope I've done it well."

Many Republicans opposed anything that would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, favoring a harder line toward border security and immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, most Democrats and a handful of key Republicans including Martinez and McCain, favored a bill by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., that would fortify borders but also allow illegal workers to eventually win citizenship if they keep working, learn English and stay out of trouble.

Senators said the key to the breakthrough was Martinez and Hagel offering a plan that would treat illegal immigrants differently: Those here at least five years, about 7-million, could stay and apply for citizenship. Those here two to five years, about 3.5-million, must return to their home country briefly, then re-enter as temporary workers, and eventually perhaps become citizens.

Those here less than two years, about 1.5-million, must return home and take their place in line with others seeking entry. The bill calls for no mass round-up, but assumes many will leave as the work for them dries up or they are caught in raids on businesses that employ them.

Critics quickly seized on the complexity, and said it will be difficult to determine which undocumented workers should stay and who should go.

"Any solution is difficult to implement, but they certainly prefer it to 11-million people washing around America who are here illegally," McCain said. "So, sure, there's some complexities associated with it, but as compared with the status quo it's Nirvana."

Florida's other senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, said he was still waiting to see the final details before pledging his support. "But we think the still-emerging compromise will meet our country's needs for tougher border enforcement and tougher penalties for employers that hire illegal workers, while also dealing with the issue of undocumented immigrants in a pragmatic way," Nelson said through a spokesman.

An immigration deal would mark Martinez's biggest legislative victory since he took office last January, and his most high-profile bill since he sought congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo end-of-life case last spring.

His insistence on giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship put him at odds with many in his party. But he had support from several senior Republicans, and the party's business wing, which worried that a crackdown on immigration would result in labor shortages and higher prices.

"This is a huge, huge thing he did," said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute. "He is the person who had the guts to say we had to have a compromise. He gets the credit for the compromise."

Martinez has been all immigration, all the time for the past two weeks. He cleared his schedule to sell comprehensive, immigrant-friendly reform on talk shows, to senators and to immigration groups, often recalling his own experience of leaving Cuba for Orlando, without his parents, at age 12.

As he prepared to announce the deal, Frist said it's been helpful to hear Martinez's perspective. "He's a powerful voice," he said. "His experience is drawn upon, and his study and knowledge of the issues is so very important."

Frist and Reid said they hoped to pass the bill by Saturday. But it was attacked by several key conservative senators late Thurdsay, and Democratic aides said they believe Bush will have to pressure Republicans to pass it. Even then, winning support in the House will be another matter.

"The House won't go along with any bill with any amnesty," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies. "We're not going to end up with a bill on the president's desk."

While Republican leaders suggested they are open to compromise, many of their members doggedly oppose any bill that hints of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. At the top of the list is Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who ramrodded the House immigration bill.

One thing at a time, Martinez and his fellow senators said Thursday, waving off questions about the House.

"We've got to stand strong, we've got to stand tough for comprehensive reform," he said. "We can't be wedded to the desire to just pander to the lowest common denominator."

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report.

[Last modified April 6, 2006, 20:58:21]