Senate to try again on immigration overhaul
262837
The Senate is headed for a showdown over immigration reform on Tuesday when lawmakers vote on whether to revive a bill that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants.
538503
The day after the Senate failed to move on a proposal for a broad change in immigration law, it was a time to take stock of the debate.
146476
Senate leaders vowed Thursday night to revive stalled immigration legislation as soon as next week, capping a furious rescue attempt led by President Bush.
104516
The plan to overhaul the nation's immigration system survived its most serious challenges yesterday, when the Senate defeated amendments to disqualify hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from legalization and to extend visas to hundreds of thousands more relatives of U.S. citizens and...
119916
The Senate is expected to vote this morning on a delicately crafted immigration reform bill that survived a day of legislative wrangling on Wednesday that one lawmaker likened to "trench warfare."
340567
The day after the Senate failed to move on a proposal for a broad change in immigration law, it was time to take stock.
13917
Senate leaders battled to hold together a fragile compromise on an overhaul of the immigration system on Thursday as President George W. Bush, in an impassioned plea for the bill, insisted 12 million people could not be sent home.
600669
(InfoWorld) - Three major technology trade groups urged the U.S. Senate on Friday to resurrect a wide-ranging immigration reform bill that would expand a controversial skilled-worker visa program. The Senate late Thursday failed to gain enough votes to close debate on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act and bring the bill to a floor vote. The bill, which critics said provided amnesty to illegal aliens living in the U.S., also would have expanded exemptions to the cap on high-skilled H-1B visa programs, a move supported by many tech vendors. [ Analysis:Â Immigration reform's high-tech impactÂ ] The bill would increase the annual H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000 and exempt foreign students who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. university from the annual cap. Right now, 20,000 students are exempted from the cap. U.S. tech vendors don't want to lose those workers, especially because many of them have their education supported by U.S. tax dollars at public universities, said David LeDuc, director of public policy for the SIIA (Software & Information Industry Association). "We don't want to export our seed corn," he said. "We don't want [those students] leaving and working for our competitors." The bill also sets preferences based on merit, instead of family connections, for clearing multiyear backlogs for employment green cards, another provision supported by many tech groups. Tech vendors want to keep high-skilled workers in the U.S. under the long-term green card program but often face delays, LeDuc said. The SIIA, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the ITIÂ (Information Technology Industry Council) all urged the Senate to try again to pass the legislation. Negotiations on the bill will continue, and ITI is optimistic the bill will still move forward, said James Ratchford, communications director there. The fate of the bill should become clearer by early next week, he said. LeDuc agreed, saying SIIA is confident the bill can still pass. Many large tech vendors have in recent years urged Congress to expand the H-1B program. In March, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called for more H-1B visas during a visit to Washington, D.C. Gates said then he had "deep anxiety" about the ability of the U.S. to compete globally. SIIA's position is similar to Microsoft's. "Companies need to be able to hire the best and brightest workers regardless of where they're born," LeDuc said. The H-1B program isn't generating controversy during the congressional debate on the bill. Instead, provisions to allow illegal aliens to become permanent citizens have raised major concerns among many Republicans. But U.S.-based tech worker groups such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA have opposed a higher H-1B cap, arguing that companies use the program to hire foreign workers for less money than unemployed U.S. workers would receive.
222205
A sharply divided U.S. Senate on Thursday threw into doubt the fate of the plan backed by President George W. Bush to revamp U.S. immigration laws and left lawmakers scrambling to salvage the fragile deal.
53481
Both bills will likely need to be combined into one and then reconciled with similar bills that have originated in the Senate before they can start to make their way through both houses again.
192909
The Senate moved toward a showdown vote Tuesday on giving 45,000 federal airport screeners the same collective bargaining rights that border patrol, immigration and customs agents have.
227859
A sharply divided Senate on Thursday threw into doubt the fate of a White House-backed plan to revamp immigration laws.
73606
President George W. Bush's effort to overhaul the country's immigration laws got a last minute reprieve in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, giving a boost to millions of immigrants who hope to legalize their status.
766163
Three major technology trade groups urged the U.S. Senate on Friday to resurrect a wide-ranging immigration reform bill that would expand a controversial skilled-worker visa program.
292857
Lawmakers are bracing for political blowback from liberal and conservative critics of a broad immigration reform measure that's on hold as they head home for a weeklong break
38829
US senators fail to proceed to an early vote on a landmark immigration bill, in effect scuppering the measure.
556624
President Bushâs effort to overhaul the nationâs immigration policy collapsed in the Senate.