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Senate passes border security bill
Obama is expected to sign the measure, which will add 1,500 troops and
immigration officials to beef up security along the border with Mexico.
By Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau
August 13, 2010
Reporting from Washington
Congress gave final approval Thursday to a $600-million border security
package that President Obama had sought to tighten the border with Mexico — a
move supporters hope will open a broader political discussion on comprehensive
immigration reform.
The Senate gave quick final approval to the measure
in an unusual special session that was arranged to rectify an earlier procedural
glitch. The House had passed the bill without dissent Tuesday, and Obama is
expected to sign it Friday.
Immigration is an important election-year
issue for some voters, and supporters of the measure from both parties hope it
will demonstrate that Washington is capable of addressing border security after
Arizona passed a tough illegal immigration law.
"It's my hope that the
bill we're passing today will break the deadlock that has existed in Congress
and will clear the path for us to finally resume bipartisan negotiations in good
faith on reforming our broken immigration system," Sen. Charles E. Schumer
(D-N.Y.) said Thursday.
Advocates of a comprehensive overhaul of the
immigration system have denounced the package as an election-year stunt that
does nothing to address broader issues, including providing a path to
citizenship for the 11 million people in this country illegally.
But
Congress has stalemated over any such broad immigration legislation.
The
package will pay for deploying an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents along
the Southwest border, hiring 250 new Customs and Border Protection officers and
adding 250 Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to target drug
smuggling.
The funding will also add two unmanned surveillance planes and
boost the Justice Department's resources for investigating and prosecuting
organized drug gangs.
"These assets are critical to bringing additional
capabilities to crack down on transnational criminal organizations and reduce
the illicit trafficking of people, drugs, currency and weapons," said Acting
Deputy Atty. Gen. Gary G. Grindler.
Because Congress has been under
political pressure not to increase deficit spending, the Senate offset costs by
substantially hiking the visa fees for companies that hire foreign workers —
from $320 to as much as $2,750 each.
The fees would be imposed on firms
that hire 50 or more foreign workers or have 50% of their staff on certain
foreign visas.
Some Republicans questioned whether the legislation does
enough to secure the borders. "There remain a number of things that need to be
done to secure the border," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R- Iowa).
The
border-only strategy has political risks for Democrats who are relying on Latino
voter turnout in the November election, especially in swing Southwestern states.
Many Latino voters prefer a comprehensive approach to immigration.
Some
immigration advocates think there will be an endless quest for additional
security measures, putting off a broader debate on overhauling the immigration
system.
But Schumer said that addressing border security would propel the
broader debate forward because it "pulls away their No. 1
excuse."
Congress is considered unlikely to revisit immigration until
next year at the earliest.
"Increased enforcement along our borders is
only one part of a sound, comprehensive solution to fix our broken immigration
system, and more work remains to achieve that ultimate goal," said Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Since the Senate had recessed for its August
break, the border bill was considered under a special agreement that does not
require a vote if all senators agree to the measure. Only two senators were
required to be present to accept the
agreement.
lisa.mascaro@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times