Posted on 12/15/2009 8:46:45 PM PST by Steelfish
Immigration Overhaul Bill Unveiled In House The legislation, which includes a path to legalization, is met with criticism from conservatives and liberals.
By Antonio Olivo and Teresa Watanabe December 15, 2009
Reporting from Los Angeles and Chicago - Raising the curtain on a new round of debate over immigration reform, a group of Democratic congressional lawmakers introduced a comprehensive bill today that, among other provisions, would offer a path to legalization for the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
The bill, championed by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was decidedly more pro-immigrant than the bipartisan legislation House lawmakers defeated two years ago. And the latest version drew immediate fire from the left as well as the right. Groups opposed to legalization derided it as a form of amnesty, and more-liberal factions complained that it relied too heavily on enforcement.
In Los Angeles, immigration activists hailed the measure at a news conference before heading to local lawmakers' offices -- aboard a yellow school bus festooned with banners -- to urge their support.
"This is a big day for us," said Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "Our community has been awaiting this bill for a long time."
Cabrera called Gutierrez's bill the most generous immigration legislation in more than two decades, citing provisions that would allow migrants to legalize their status without returning to their home countries, prohibit separation of families, offer more visas for workers and relatives and eliminate local enforcement of federal immigration law.
The bill also calls for beefing up border security and overhauling the federal detention system for jailed immigrants to provide for better medical treatment and other services.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Using the term “immigrant” is so final. Referring to these pukes as “tourists” clearly denotes that they ought to go back home!
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