What is all this about an Immigration Bill?

The poll has been up since yesterday, so it is only fair that we actually post a story about this. The new "bipartisan immigration bill" has finally made its way out of negotiations, and it appears both sides are equally unhappy with it. Sometimes that is the sign of a good compromise. Sometimes that is the sign of a DOA bill. We shall see. What has been hard to find is a good summary of the thing without all of the commentary that is already being flung at it with words like "Amnesty" or "Discrimination" or "Criminalization". The White House has their own summary from their daily press briefings, which you are welcome to read. However, it was long, pedantic, and overly focussed assuming you already know a lot about immigration reform. This summary is a lot more clear to me.

Illegal aliens who "come out of the shadows" by applying for a Z visa would have to pass a background check, remain employed, and avoid criminal behavior, the White House said in a lengthy summary of the legislation released on Thursday.

A Z visa will allow people who sneaked into the country illegally before Jan. 1, 2007, to "live, work and travel freely." But to get a Z visa, illegal aliens will be required to pay a $1,000 fine, "meet accelerated English and civics requirements," stay employed, and renew their visa every four years...

The bill says future immigrants will be selected based on the "skills and attributes" they bring to the United States," including their educational background, their ability to speak English, their job skills, and family ties to the United States.

The bill also ends "chain migration," in which a majority of green cards go to relatives of U.S. citizens....

"To relieve pressure on the border and provide a lawful way to meet the needs of our economy, the proposal creates a temporary worker program to fill jobs Americans are not doing," the White House said.

"Guest workers" would be limited to three two-year terms, and they'd have to spend at least a year outside the United States between each term.

While I applaud Congress and the White House for giving this a try, I have a feeling the bil is DOA at this point in the election cycle. Quite clearly, this Congress is more interested in talking about what the White House does wrong than in making any progress before the 2008 elections. However, this bill may go down in history as the start of the grand debate among the American people - raising the visibility of the issue and forcing the NEXT Congress and President to act.