H-1B Cap Battle Expected
“A battle over expanding the H-1B visa cap is looming in the debate over high-skilled immigration. A bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators this week—called the Immigration Innovation Act, or I-Squared for short—includes a measure that would increase the H-1B visa cap to 115,000 from the current cap of 65,000,” The Hill reports.
“Lawmakers and some labor groups have criticized the H-1B temporary worker visa program in the past. Proposals to expand the visa cap were a sticking point the last time Congress tried to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2007. That fight is expected to be revived as the Senate begins its work on crafting a comprehensive immigration bill.”
Schumer Confirms Enforcement Not a Pre-Condition to Amnesty
“All things equal, when preparing to compromise on a policy issue, it is better for conservatives to first work together to craft a statement of principles, conditions, and red lines before signing onto a plan enthusiastically backed by the left. That is why it is so disconcerting that the statement of “conservative principles” on the issue of immigration was first crafted with Chuck Schumer,” says Daniel Horrowitz at RedState.com.
“We’ve already noted that the legal status for illegal immigrants would be granted immediately and unconditionally upon passage of the bill. Once they obtain that status, it will be very difficult to stop the momentum of citizenship for enforcement benchmarks, which were left very ambiguous in their draft proposal.”
Post Editors Favor National ID for Immigration, Voter Fraud
“An effective solution would be to issue tamper-proof, biometric ID cards — using fingerprints or a comparably unique identifier — to all citizens and legal residents. Last week, both President Obama and a bipartisan group of eight senators seeking immigration reform urged something along those lines, without calling it a universal national identity card. That’s a major step forward,” says the Washington Post.
“A phased-in, reliable ID might have other benefits — for instance, to safeguard voting. That should satisfy Republicans who insist that IDs prevent fraud at the ballot, as well as Democrats who believe Republicans want to suppress voting.”
Krauthammer: Getting Immigration Wrong
“Immigration reform is coming. Let’s get it right. What counts as getting it wrong? The 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act, signed by Ronald Reagan. It granted amnesty to the then 3 million illegal immigrants and promised border enforcement. Amnesty came. Enforcement never did. Reagan was swindled,” says Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post.
“When I heard McCain talk about (among other measures) new high-tech border control with advanced radar and drones, my heart sank. We’ve been here. In 2006, Congress threw a ton of money at a high-tech fence. Five years, $1 billion and a pathetic 53 (out of 2,000) miles later, Janet Napolitano canceled the program as a complete failure.”
“That was predictable. And some of us predicting it were pleading for something infinitely cheaper and simpler: a prosaic, low-tech fence. Of the kind built near San Diego (triple-layered) that resulted in an astounding 92 percent drop in apprehensions. Like the Israeli fence built along the West Bank that has reduced terrorist infiltration to practically zero.”