Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has allowed additional hearings on S. 744, the Gang of Eight’s “comprehensive immigration reform” bill. First, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the border security provisions in the bill Tuesday, May 7 at 10:30 a.m., and will feature five witnesses from the Department of Homeland Security. (See HSGAC Committee Website) The other hearing will be held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday, May 8 at 2:30 p.m. entitled “The Role of Immigrants in America’s Innovation Economy.” (See Commerce, Science, and Transportation Website) That hearing will focus on “implications for the U.S. technology sector and universities offering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees,” and is expected to be used to shore up support for the legislation’s provisions increasing the number of H-1B visas and STEM green cards.
Despite the addition of these two last-minute hearings, the Judiciary Committee still intends to begin amending the roughly 850-page bill the morning of Thursday, May 9 at 9:30 a.m. (See Senate Judiciary Committee Website) Stay tuned to FAIR for details….