Amendments to disallow immigrants’ Social Security earnings, exclude large numbers of immigrants from earned legalization, and deny temporary workers the ability to become permanent residents FAILED.

As reported in previous updates, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has been encouraging the Senate to move an immigration bill forward and has been working with coalition partners to improve it, as well as to defeat amendments which would weaken it. So far, the basic architecture of the bill has held, though there have been some significant changes. These are summarized in the list of amendments and their outcomes below.

Two amendments passed Thursday evening. The first, and perhaps the most potentially damaging, is the “English-only” amendment sponsored by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK). NCLR believes this amendment may threaten the ability of government agencies and local governments to facilitate communication with people who speak languages other than English, threatening public health and safety. NCLR issued a statement on this issue earlier today and is circulating a sign-on letter to express our concerns. The second amendment, by Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), provides a workable alternative to the Inhofe amendment. It is possible that the Senate will reconsider this issue next week.

In addition, we are preparing for consideration of three major amendments early next week. The first, by Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), would undercut the AgJOBS compromise which is an essential feature of this legislation affecting farmworkers (see www.farmworkerjustice.org). This is likely to be followed by an amendment by Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to codify the President's proposal to send 6,000 National Guard troops to support border enforcement personnel, and a positive amendment by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to expand and streamline the legalization program.

Last week we announced NCLR's participation in the We Are America Alliance, a loose collaboration of organizations working together to coordinate message, strategy, and mobilization efforts. We are in regular communication with partners at the national and local levels to share information and coordinate strategy as much as possible. These efforts have been essential to defeating some of the more devastating amendments on the Senate floor, some of which have been defeated by very slim margins.

The following is an update on the amendments that were considered this week:*

1. Isakson Enforcement First: Would mandate that the earned legalization program could not be implemented until the borders are secure. FAILED 55-40.



2. Salazar Side by Side: Provides that the Secretary of Homeland Security must certify that the land borders are secure and that enforcement authorizations are met and operational before a program to legalize unauthorized aliens can come into effect. PASSED 79-16.



3. Dorgan-Stabenow Amendment: Would eliminate the temporary worker provisions of the bill. MOTION TO TABLE PASSED 69-28. (which means that the amendment is dead)



4. Bingaman-Feinstein Reduction of Temporary Worker Visas: Lowers the number of temporary workers from 325,000 to 200,000 and eliminates the market-based cap adjustment in the Senate bill. MOTION TO TABLE REJECTED 18-79. AMENDMENT ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE.



5. Kerry Increased Border Equipment: Would increase border security and related equipment. ADOPTED BY VOICE VOTE.



6. Kyl-Cornyn Bars to Participation: Would make the following categories of individuals ineligible for earned legalization: (a) subject to final orders of removal, (b) failure to depart under voluntary departure, (c) been convicted of a serious crime here or believed to have committed a serious crime abroad, danger to national security, etc., and (d) 3 misdemeanors or one felony. Includes a limited discretionary waiver. PASSED 99-0.



7. Obama-Feinstein-Bingaman Guestworker Proposal on Prevailing Wage and Protecting Unemployed Americans: Would establish a prevailing wage for all occupations and directs the employer to use Department of Labor data for calculating a prevailing wage in cases where neither a collective bargaining agreement exists nor the Service Contract Act governs. ACCEPTED ON VOICE VOTE.



8. Sessions Border Fence: To construct a fence along approximately 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. PASSED 83-16.



9. Stevens Amendment: Would extend the deadline given to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the implementation of a new travel document plan for border crossings to June 1, 2009. PASSED BY VOICE VOTE.



10. Santorum: Would allow additional countries to participate in the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act if they meet certain criteria. PASSED BY VOICE VOTE.



11. Vitter-Grassley to Strike Earned Legalization and AgJOBS: Would strip the heart of this bill's provisions which deal with undocumented immigrants. FAILED 66-33.



12. Kyl-Cornyn: Strike Self Petition: Would prevent temporary workers from petitioning for legal permanent residency on their own. PASSED 50-48



13. Kennedy-McCain-Graham Side by Side to Cornyn Amendment Striking Self-Petition: This amendment would restore most options for temporary workers to self-petition for lawful permanent resident status. PASSED 56-43.



14. Ensign Social Security: Would prevent lawfully-present immigrant workers from claiming Social Security based on earnings credited before they were authorized to work in the United States. MOTION TO TABLE AGREED TO 50-49 (the amendment is dead)



15. Inhofe English Language Amendment: This amendment makes English the national language of the United States and would potentially deny a wide range of information and services to millions of U.S. citizens who are not completely English proficient. PASSED 63-34.



16. Salazar English Language Amendment: Reaffirms that English is our common and unifying language and reasserts support for language rights. PASSED 58-39



17. Kyl-Cornyn: Strike Path to Green Card for Temporary Workers: Would strip any opportunity for a temporary worker to adjust to a permanent residence. MOTION TO TABLE PASSED 58-35. (the amendment is dead)



18. Clinton Amendment on State Impact Assistance: Would establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to states and local governments for the costs of providing health care and educational services to noncitizens, and to provide additional funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. FAILED 43-52.



19. Cornyn Amendment on State Impact Assistance: Would require aliens seeking adjustment of status to pay a supplemental application fee, which shall be used to provide financial assistance to states for health and educational services for noncitizens. PASSED 64-32.



20. Vitter Amendment on Document Requirements: Would modify the document requirements for showing employment eligibility under earned legalization; would strike the “intent of Congress” clause that takes into account the difficulty in obtaining and providing documents. PASSED ON VOICE VOTE.



21. Nelson Amendment on Detention: Increases detention bed space by 20,000. PASSED ON VOICE VOTE.



22. Akaka Veteran-Related Amendment: Would exempt certain children of Filipino WW II veterans from the family immigration visa cap. PASSED ON VOICE VOTE.

*Thank you to the National Immigration Forum for providing amendment vote information.