Today’s blog will focus on the results of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the Immigration Reform bill.
After yesterday’s session, the bill’s provisions dealing with the future hiring of unauthorized workers remained fundamentally unchanged. Among the most contentious amendments considered was a proposal by Senator Grassley to have E-Verify in place 18 months after the date of enactment. Senator Schumer noted that the proposed timeline was unrealistic, and the amendment failed by a vote of 5-13. Senator Grassley also proposed to substantially increase the 5-year maximum penalty for document fraud to a 20-year sentence. The amendment failed by a slim margin of 8-10.
Among the amendments to the interior enforcement provisions that made it out of Committee were a proposal to require annual accuracy audits to prevent a high rate of legal workers who get turned down by the system; a proposal to allow parents to limit the use of their children’s social security numbers to protect them against identity theft; and a proposal requiring USCIS to provide weekly E-Verify non-confirmation reports to ICE.
We will continue our commentary on these debates as the Committee reconvenes next Monday, May 20th.
Mooers Immigration has long been engaged in Comprehensive Immigration Reform, responding to Congressional inquiries on policy and law issues. We are regularly asked to assist elected officials and their staff to understand both the benefits and consequences of various proposals for reform.
