Two Senators Team Up on Immigration Proposal

The Senate’s top Democrat joined a Republican colleague Wednesday in offering an immigration plan that would tie work to the prospect of legal residency for millions of people living in the country illegally.

The plan by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Sen. Charles Hagel (R-Neb.) would also increase spending on border security and tackle backlogs of immigrant visas that keep families separated.

The senators proposed that undocumented workers and their families living in the United States be given the chance to become “invested stakeholders” in the country by earning legal permanent residence through work.

Under the proposal, undocumented immigrants must have worked for at least three years in the country and one more year after the legislation is enacted. They also must pass national security and criminal background checks, and they would be required to have lived in the United States for at least five years before passage of the reforms.

They also would be required to have paid federal taxes, know English and U.S. civics, and pay a $1,000 fine for having lived in the country illegally.

In addition, the senators’ proposal would remove limits on the number of spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents who can get visas to come to the United States and apply for residency, treating them like the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens.

Hagel and Daschle said they are not offering amnesty for undocumented immigrants.

“Amnesty is: We forgive, we forget and we move on,” Hagel said. “These are earned rights, earned green cards and earned status.”

This month, President Bush proposed setting up a temporary worker program open to foreigners and people working illegally in the United States.

They could work for three-year renewable periods, but once their jobs are completed they would have to return home. However, they could apply for legal permanent residence from their native countries if they qualify.

The Hagel-Daschle plan would limit the number of temporary workers that could come in from abroad to 350,000. Bush did not set a limit on temporary workers, allowing the number to be determined by the marketplace.