Congress Approves 2-Month Amnesty on Green Cards

Illegal immigrants who apply for green cards by Jan. 14 would be able to pay a $1,000 fine and obtain their residency papers while remaining in the United States rather than be forced to return to their home countries, under a bill that cleared Congress on Thursday.

The provision, part of legislation President Clinton has indicated he will quickly sign into law, would take much of the sting out of last year’s sweeping congressional overhaul of the immigration laws by allowing people to circumvent a new rule that bars reentry to the United States for up to a decade by immigrants who have lived here illegally.

“Essentially what Congress has done is undo any positive effects that the 1996 immigration law had,” said Ira Mehlman of the restrictionist Federation for American Immigration Reform. “They’re allowing countless numbers of illegal aliens to stay.”

Illegal immigrants are expected to flood INS offices to file visa petitions in the coming days, as they have during recent temporary extensions of an old rule allowing them to stay in this country to get their green cards. That provision originally was scheduled to sunset in September.

In an example of the anticipated crunch, more than 3,400 people stood outside the INS offices in downtown Los Angeles last Friday, triple the typical number.

Immigration advocates also expect chapels to be crowded as people rush to get married during the 60-day grace period so they can qualify for residency benefits along with spouses who apply by the deadline.

“Anyone who is qualified for a green card should apply now--today, tomorrow, do not wait,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), who suggested that any post-Jan. 14 weddings be moved up. “There is no reason to wait, and if you do, you deserve the consequences. As with everything in life, there are always lines at the end.”

The immigration measure was included in a $32-billion package funding the departments of Commerce, Justice and State that was the last of 13 spending bills Congress approved before adjourning for the year.

Officials estimate that more than 1 million illegal immigrants, many in Southern California, may currently qualify for green cards through employment and family relationships. Any of these people who file applications with the INS by Jan. 14 can now get them in the United States under the 3-year-old provision known as Section 245 (i) simply by paying a $1,000 fine.

The 60-day extension is a compromise hammered out in recent days between the Senate-passed permanent extension of 245 (i) and the desire of some House Republicans to kill it immediately.

Although Becerra and others praised the deal for being compassionate to families that would have been split for years if immigrants were forced to go abroad to obtain residency papers and for helping business retain foreign employees, conservatives denounced it as creating a “magnet” for illegal immigrants.

“We have been talking about enforcement of our laws out of one side of our mouth, and with the other side encouraging them to break our laws. This is what George Orwell called doublespeak,” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) said on the House floor Thursday.

“News of this 60-day grace period has told [illegal immigrants] they need to quickly find a sponsor and go to the nearest INS office,” he added. “It sends a message to prospective illegal aliens around the world that the United States borders are wide open for the next two months.”

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Los Angeles), who helped negotiate the compromise, disagreed, saying it “helps to strengthen the legal immigration system while not undermining our efforts to stop illegal immigration.”

Those who qualify to have their status adjusted under 245 (i) are spouses of U.S. citizens, close relatives of legal permanent residents and people with employer-sponsors. A related provision also passed Thursday that would allow employment-based visa applicants to obtain papers without leaving the country as long as they have not been here illegally for more than six months.

But left out of the deal was a proposed exemption protecting battered women, which angered some congressional feminists.

“These women are often intimidated and afraid to leave [their spouses] as it is,” said Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) “They may be subject to continued abuse if they leave [the country] and even stalking. This is a serious mistake.”

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Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Los Angeles contributed to this story.