[OldDeckHand]

"The bill is being cosponsored by David Vitter in the Senate. The bill would: ..."

They all seem to be very reasonable and effective steps in the fight against illegal immigration. Which is exactly why it's dead-in-the-water. The Dems don't want to stop illegal immigration because that will be their power base in a few years. And, too many Republicans don't want to stop it because their big-business donors want to keep their labor costs as low as possible.

All it will do is bolster the bona fides of Shuler as a moderate, even a "conservative dem" (whatever that is) in his primarily conservative district.

[kabar]

The discharge petition lacked 28 votes last time. As someone who is a member of a grassroots immigration group that lobbies on the Hill and at the state level, I don't share your view that this is DOA. The economy and massive unemployment has put a lot of pressure on Congress to ensure that American jobs go to American workers.

NumbersUSA worked closely with Shuler on this bill. It may very well have a shot. Besides the economy, the Dems who favor amnesty realize that they must show some progress on enforcement. It is the reason why the Sessions amendment on E-verify and the DeMint amendment on the double layer fencing were passed as part of the DHS bill.

FYI: E-Verify passed as part of the House version of the stimulus bill, but it was stripped out of bill in conference. Now we have the opposite taking place with the Senate approving e-verify. It is up to the House to decide what to do on the Senate version of the DHS bill.