Democrats Pledge To 'Move Toward' 2010 Vote On Immigration Reform

Senate Democratic leaders said Thursday that they are serious about having a vote on immigration this year.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democrats made that pledge as they unveiled their outline of an immigration reform plan, which has been widely viewed as a political exercise to help Reid and other Democrats with Hispanic voters, a growing electoral bloc.

Democratic strategists say the issue is not a clear winner like the Wall Street reform bill; Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the plan’s primary author, acknowledged that dealing with an estimated 10.8 million illegal residents is “morally complex” and “politically explosive.”

Even so, Democrats see it as more divisive for the Republican Party, which is under pressure from Tea Party conservatives to be tough on illegal immigrants but also does not want to lose Hispanic voters.

In a bid to win GOP support, Democrats say they have made securing the nation’s borders the top priority in the bill.

[We've heard this before-- the laws are already in place. Just go ahead and DO IT.--Editor]

The bill focuses on three areas: It would tighten security along the nation’s northern and southern borders; register illegal immigrants with the federal government and set them on a path to citizenship if they pay fines, learn English and stay out of criminal trouble; and crack down on employers who hire illegal workers.

“Our proposal will require the government to secure the border first before we adjust the status of a single person here illegally — just what many of our colleagues are saying on the other side of the aisle,” said Schumer, who insisted the border security proposals he is advancing are tougher than those considered during Bush’s tenure.


Schumer also highlighted a proposal to implement a nationwide worker-verification program, which would require every worker to carry a national identification card with biometric information within six years.


That proposal has already drawn fire from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), but Schumer said it is essential to stem the tide of illegal workers.

“Our proposal recognizes that no matter what we do on the border, we’ll only succeed in dramatically reducing future illegal immigration by creating an employment verification system that holds employers accountable for knowingly hiring illegal workers,” he said.

The ACLU panned the proposal in a press statement earlier in the day, saying it would “usher government into the very center of our lives.”

Read more about this-- no national ID card, no job.