Tougher laws, rising fees drive increase in demand
New York Times Jul 5, 07 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A burgeoning number of legal immigrants are applying for US citizenship—115,000 in May, compared with 65,782 last December. The Times reports immigrants are worried about tougher citizenship tests, rising processing fees, and insecurity in the wake of the furor over the federal immigration bill.
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With the death of the latest immigration bill, the president may have lost his last chance at a domestic legacy
Washington Post Jun 29, 07 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The immigration bill that died in the Senate yesterday was President Bush's last hope to salvage any one of his four domestic policy goals for the second term, the Washington Post reports. The goals laid out after 2004 reelection included Social Security and tax overhauls, a curb upon "excessive litigation," and immigration reform.
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Debate on controversial measure, numerous amendments to resume after 2-week hiatus
New York Times Jun 26, 07 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Senate breathed new life into the stalled immigration bill today, voting to resume debate on the signature legislation of President Bush's second term. With a slew of amendments waiting in the wings, passage is hardly a sure thing, the Times reports, but the bipartisan coalition that crafted the measure took heart.
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Senators launch
PR offensive in run-up to crucial vote
Associated Press Jun 24, 07 1:19 PM CDT
(Newser)
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This week's debate over the immigration bill, which is headed for a nail-bitingly close Senate vote, started on the Sunday talk shows. The improbable coalition behind the legislation—which President Bush supports—faces a tough job, Jeff Sessions made clear. The Alabama Republican vowed to "use every effort to slow this process down and continue to hold up the bill."
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New Republic warns 'draconian' measures will follow if compromise fails
New Republic Jun 15, 07 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Calling the immigration bill currently fighting its way through the Senate "the best that liberals are likely to get," the New Republic 's editors tepidly endorsed the legislation that would bring 12M laborers closer to US citizenship even as they condemned the implications of the bill's proposed guest-worker program.
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President pushes fellow Republicans to push legislation
CNN Jun 12, 07 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush took the unusual step of climbing Capitol Hill today to pressure members of his own party on the stalled immigration bill. After a lunch meeting with GOP senators, CNN reports, the president warned that passing the signature legislation of his second term will take "a lot of effort"—as will persuading 15 senators to change their votes.
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Bill "on life support" - may revive this year
New York Times Jun 8, 07 4:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The hotly contested immigration reform bill collapsed on the Senate floor Thursday, after appearing to survive challenges from detractors in both parties. The measure fell 15 votes short of a move to curtail debate and move toward a final vote. That leaves it stalled, although the New York Times reports it may be revived later this year.
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Senate coalition sees its bipartisan brainchild grow from concept to pending legislation
Los Angeles Times Jun 4, 07 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The "grand bargain"—the compromise on which the proposed immigration bill turns—is the product of a process that saw senators from every point on the political compass unite around a common goal. With the senate scheduled to take up the legislation this week, the LA Times goes behind the scenes to look at the forging of an unusual consensus.
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Critics call for overhaul of inefficient, backlogged operations
Washington Post May 28, 07 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The agency that will have to deal with the avalanche of paperwork generated by immigration reform can't handle it, the Washington Post reports today. With over a million citizenship applications already stalled in the pipeline, Citizenship and Immigration (the former INS) faces the possibility that its workload will nearly triple, and critics are calling on Congress to step in.
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Poll shows support for guest-worker programs, path to citizenship
New York Times May 25, 07 12:52 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Lou Dobbs, take note: A majority of Americans back key immigration reform proposals making their way through Congress, a new CBS News/ New York Times poll finds. Americans across the political spectrum say they support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and two-thirds back a guest-worker program.
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Senate immigration bill is assaulted by amendments from bipartisan critics
Los Angeles Times May 24, 07 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Key provisions of the immigration bill were altered yesterday as the Senate passed a raft of amendments designed to make the bill more palatable to critics from both political parties. Provisions to beef up security at the border were strengthened, while the guest worker program offering two-year visas to 400,000 temporary workers a year was cut in half.
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Businesses call employee verification program an unfair burden
Wall Street Journal May 22, 07 5:42 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The new immigration bill now on the Senate floor puts a massive burden on employers, the Wall Street Journal reports, requiring them to verify the papers of all 146 million workers in the US, and stiffening penalties for violations. "It's like throwing a huge net to catch a few minnows," a Chamber of Commerce VP said.
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Bipartisan compromise tackles citizenship, border security, but faces uphill battle on Capitol Hill
Los Angeles Times May 17, 07 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Illegal immigrants are offered a path to citizenship for the first time under a new Senate immigration reform package unveiled today. A precarious compromise hammered out by Bush administration officials and top senators, the bill trades hard-line border control measures for controversial provisions like a guest-worker program and a system for earning citizenship.
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Foreign companies use 30% of H1B visas to
train workers in US
BusinessWeek May 15, 07 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser)
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H1B visas—intended to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the U.S.—may in fact helping foreign companies to train their workers, two senators argue. Data released by Republicans Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley indicate that nine Indian outsourcing firms use up 30% of the H1B visas granted each year, more than experts had realized previously.
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Los Angeles Times May 1, 07 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Thousands turned out across the country today to rally in favor of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But with immigration reform off the table in Washington, their numbers marked a sharp decrease from the 650,000 who congregated last year in L.A. alone.
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New York Times Mar 12, 07 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
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American employers are systematically exploiting the 120,000 low-skilled guest workers they hire each year, from stealing passports and Social Security cards to consistently underpaying them. “I felt like an animal without claws—defenseless. It is the same as slavery,” says one worker, in a report published today by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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