Grijalva says House must refine Senate compromise
by Blake Morlock on May. 18, 2007, under Local, Nation/World, SpecialA Senate immigration compromise is unacceptable yet necessary for progress on reform, said U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva.
Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, worked in the House of Representatives this year to reach compromise on its stab at comprehensive immigration reform.
By comparison, the Senate proposal, negotiated largely by U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., more strictly controls illegal immigration. Among other things, it creates a guest-worker program that is temporary and limits the number of visas for family members of immigrants.
Grijalva criticized these provisions, the absence of judicial oversight of who gets visas, and that temporary workers can’t petitions for permanent status.
“The Senate bill is unacceptable,” he said.
However, the Senate must propose something for comprehensive immigration reform to happen.
“The Senate did what they had to do,” Grijalva said. “Now the House needs to do something comprehensive that raises the bar.”
Neither the House nor the Senate has taken a vote on immigration reform this year. The senate could vote on it next week and the House will likely wait until July, Grijalva said.
Even if both pass a bill, they would have to be reconciled with one another in a conference committee to write a compromise bill. That bill would then have to be approved by both bodies.
