US:Senators have begun debating a sweeping immigration reform that would allow an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, including thousands of Irish citizens, to remain in the United States legally.
The Bill was drafted by a bipartisan group of senators and has the backing of the White House, but it faces fierce opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Conservatives have condemned what they characterise as an amnesty for illegal immigrants, calling for better border security and tougher penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
Some trade unions and immigrants' rights groups object to a proposed temporary worker programme and a points system for future immigrants that would favour those with skills and qualifications over those with family ties to people already in the US.
Democrat Byron Dorgan yesterday proposed an amendment that would scrap the temporary worker programme, arguing that it would depress wages and create a new class of workers with few rights.
"It is just a fiction that these are jobs Americans aren't willing to do. The main reason that big corporations want a guest worker programme is that it will drive down US wages," he said.
Mr Dorgan's amendment is the first of many the Senate will debate over the next few weeks but supporters of the immigration Bill are determined to resist any changes to the draft legislation, which was the product of weeks of heated negotiations.
Arlen Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, said the Bill's only hope of success lay in keeping the "grand bargain" agreed during negotiations intact.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday that President George Bush hoped that senators would approach the Bill with an open mind. "We're inviting everybody to take a good, hard look at it. The president thinks it's a good, strong piece of legislation," said Mr Snow.
Under the Bill, undocumented immigrants who entered the US before January 1st, 2007, could apply for a new "Z" visa after they pass a background check. Z visa applicants would have to pay a $1,000 (€744) fine for heads of households and an additional $500 fine for each dependant, as well as a processing fee of up to $1,500 and a $500 state impact assistance fee. If they want to become permanent residents, Z visa holders would have to pay a further $4,000 fine and return to their country to make the application.
The most controversial element in the new Bill is the proposal to introduce a two-year guest-worker visa that could be renewed only twice and would require the workers to leave the US for a year in between.
"This Bill will dehumanise workers, short-change employers and lead to widespread undocumented immigration as many workers inevitably overstay their visas rather than return home," said Rosa Rosales, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Anti-immigration groups have bombarded senators with faxes and phone calls, demanding they vote against the bill on the grounds it would encourage immigrants to come illegally.
Republican senator Jim Bunning said the Bill would reward people who broke the law.
"Each low-skilled immigrant household that gets amnesty costs the American taxpayers nearly $20,000 each year if we consider only the illegal aliens given amnesty," he said.