Posted by
Defend America on Friday, April 30, 2010 7:15:39 PM
Democrats unveil immigration-reform proposal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 29, 2010; 8:12 PM
Senate Democrats officially unveiled a proposal to reform America's
immigration system on Thursday, looking past the fact that no
Republican has offered support for the effort and President Obama a day earlier played down the chances of legislation passing this year.
Seeking to woo Republicans, the 26-page framework, which has not yet
been written into a formal bill, emphasizes first taking steps to limit
illegal immigration before offering new rights for those here
illegally. But the REPAIR (Real Enforcement with Practical Answers for
Immigration Reform) proposal, as Democrats dubbed it, also would create
a pathway to legal status for an estimated 10.8 million people who are
already in the country illegally, an idea opposed by many
conservatives.
Under the proposal, illegal immigrants currently in the United
States would be eligible for legal status in eight years, as long as
they learned English, had not committed a crime and paid their taxes.
The federal government would increase funding for border security and
require all American workers get a new version of their Social Security
card that would include a biometric identifier to protect against the
creation of counterfeits.
"I say to my Republican colleagues, work with us to fix this broken system, don't just say no," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a Thursday evening press conference.
In a statement released by the White House, Obama called the
proposal "a very important step in the process of fixing out nation's
broken immigration system."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042904512.html