Public Policy
Senate Judiciary Committee Votes on Immigration Reform
On Monday, March 27, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-6 in favor of sending an immigration reform bill to the Senate floor for consideration. Reflecting the contentiousness of the issue, only 4 of the 12 votes in favor were Republican and all of the votes against were Republican. The Committee debate on Chairman Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) proposal was heated, and higher education received its own share of negative attention during the debate on amendments. Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced an amendment to strip higher education’s exemptions from the H-1B cap. Current exemptions are for higher education institutions or related affiliated non-profit entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations, and 20,000 H-1Bs who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. university. Senator Grassley’s amendment would also raise the H-1B cap to 200,000 annually and increase the fee from $1,500 to $2,000. Fortunately, this amendment failed to pass the committee.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) expressed concern for the creation of the F-4 visa category for those seeking advance degrees in the STEM disciplines, and asked the Chairman for an explanation of a lack of cap on this visa. Senator Feinstein also expressed concerns with international students taking the limited slots available at public universities from American students, citing increases in the number of these students studying in the United States between 1995 and 2000. Chairman Specter, very concerned about meeting the deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) for reporting a bill out of committee, struck a quick deal with the Senator Feinstein to end the discussion by agreeing to raise the fee an F-4 would pay when filing for an adjustment of status from $1,000 to $2,000. This increase was voted for by the committee.
Of broader concern for immigration reform, the committee voted to eliminate the provision in the proposal that would make it a crime to be in the country illegally. It also voted in favor of an amendment that would protect from prosecution individuals and organizations that provide humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants. Regarding the much discussed temporary worker program, a compromise was struck whereby a temporary worker would be required to work for 6 years before becoming eligible to apply for a green card. Green card holders are eligible to apply for citizenship after 5 years.
Next Steps
Senator Frist (R-Tenn.) has been insisting that an immigration reform bill be debated on the Senate floor in the next couple of weeks. He also has stated previously that he would be willing to substitute a bill voted out of the Judiciary Committee in place of the immigration bill he introduced in the Senate on March 16. We should have more information today on whether or not this will occur.
It is very likely that there will be an immigration bill debated by the entire Senate in the next couple of weeks. If this happens, it is quite likely that a myriad of amendments will be introduced. And those amendments probably will include similar amendments to those introduced by Senator Grassley and Senator Feinstein.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) expressed concern for the creation of the F-4 visa category for those seeking advance degrees in the STEM disciplines, and asked the Chairman for an explanation of a lack of cap on this visa. Senator Feinstein also expressed concerns with international students taking the limited slots available at public universities from American students, citing increases in the number of these students studying in the United States between 1995 and 2000. Chairman Specter, very concerned about meeting the deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) for reporting a bill out of committee, struck a quick deal with the Senator Feinstein to end the discussion by agreeing to raise the fee an F-4 would pay when filing for an adjustment of status from $1,000 to $2,000. This increase was voted for by the committee.
Of broader concern for immigration reform, the committee voted to eliminate the provision in the proposal that would make it a crime to be in the country illegally. It also voted in favor of an amendment that would protect from prosecution individuals and organizations that provide humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants. Regarding the much discussed temporary worker program, a compromise was struck whereby a temporary worker would be required to work for 6 years before becoming eligible to apply for a green card. Green card holders are eligible to apply for citizenship after 5 years.
Next Steps
Senator Frist (R-Tenn.) has been insisting that an immigration reform bill be debated on the Senate floor in the next couple of weeks. He also has stated previously that he would be willing to substitute a bill voted out of the Judiciary Committee in place of the immigration bill he introduced in the Senate on March 16. We should have more information today on whether or not this will occur.
It is very likely that there will be an immigration bill debated by the entire Senate in the next couple of weeks. If this happens, it is quite likely that a myriad of amendments will be introduced. And those amendments probably will include similar amendments to those introduced by Senator Grassley and Senator Feinstein.
