PenceBlog: <b>Rep. Pence, Sen. Hutchison to make immigration announcement this morning</b> - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence : 6th District Of Indiana

Mike Allen of Time.com offers an update on Congressman Pence's role in the immigration debate in this article.

Here are key excerpts:

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the chairman of the House's conservative caucus, plan to announce a plan Tuesday that fits the broad parameters of what Bush has proposed — border security plus a temporary worker program, without amnesty. But it includes several constraints aimed at appealing to the hard core of House Republicans who had been insisting on a security-only approach.

A novel element of the plan would encourage holders of the guest visas to return to their home countries by returning their Social Security contributions to them in a lump sum when they left. (Employer contributions would remain in the Social Security system.) Their Medicare contributions would go to a fund to reimburse hospitals for uncompensated emergency medical expenses, which are often cited by people arguing that illegal immigrants are burdening communities. Participants in the guest worker program would be granted what the authors call a "Good Neighbor SAFE Visa," with that acronym standing for "Secure Authorized Foreign Employee."

The first two years of the program would be dedicated to border security. Then, under a mechanism known as a trigger, the President could certify to Congress that the borders were secure and the temporary worker program would begin.

A House Republican leadership aide said members "are looking for a safe landing zone as far as a guest worker program that can't be defined as amnesty," and that the plan appeared to provide just that.

On the Senate side, a Republican leadership aide said that senators "are looking for an alternative" and that the Hutchison-Pence proposal "might be another way to keep the conversation on immigration moving forward." However, he said some senators were contemplating attaching a border-security measure to an appropriations bill, and said that might have a better chance of passing before the midterm elections in November.

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Hutchison and Pence tried to appeal to all the major factions by declaring in a joint comment accompanying their proposal: "Our plan puts border security first and cracks down on those who knowingly hire illegal workers, but it also recognizes the need for a temporary worker program that operates without amnesty and harnesses the power of the private sector to avoid creating a huge new government bureaucracy."

The new plan includes most of the major provisions of a plan that Pence, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, had proposed in May. That plan, which contemplates privately run worker placement agencies called "Ellis Island Centers," got a major pat on the back on Sunday from House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who said on "Fox News Sunday": "I'm prepared to bring some agreement if we can secure the border first." One change from the earlier Pence plan is that people would only be eligible if they were from countries that were parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central Americans Free Trade Agreement — Canada. Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

A major difference with Bush's original idea is that applicants would have to return to their home countries to apply for the visas. Critics of this idea say that many illegal immigrants would not take the risk of coming out of the shadows for such a measure. One sticking point between the House and Senate has been whether a guest worker program should provide a path to citizenship. The Hutchison-Pence plan would allow someone to remain permanently and legally after 17 years of steady employment and regular background checks.

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Jim VandeHei and Charles Babington of The Washington Post also offer an update in this article.

Excerpts follow:

Hutchison and Pence consider it the foundation for a possible compromise between the Senate, which voted for a plan that would provide a new path to citizenship, and the House, which has demanded that Congress focus only on securing borders for now. Former House majority leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.), a critic of the Senate bill, said the new proposal could be "a bridge between the two bodies."

Armey, former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie were briefed on the plan in hopes that they would help build pressure on skeptical lawmakers, the aides said. White House officials, including presidential adviser Karl Rove, have been told of the framework but not the details. A Republican close to the White House said President Bush "won't be crazy about it, but I think he would sign it."

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Hutchison and Pence think they can bridge the divide. They will emphasize that immigration laws will not be changed until the president certifies that the borders are secure, the congressional aides said. The plan includes the most popular security measures that have passed the House and Senate, including new border fences, additional enforcement personnel and bigger detention facilities.

The government would spend about two years instituting the security changes. U.S. companies would open Ellis Island-type centers in many countries to process applications for a new kind of work visa, known as the Good Neighbor SAFE (Secure Authorized Foreign Employee) visa. The government would create tamper-proof identification cards that contain personal information and biometric technology designed to minimize fraud. Illegal immigrants would be required to return to their home countries and apply for the SAFE visa. They would undergo criminal background checks and health screenings and would need to prove that a U.S. job awaits them.

The new visa would be offered only to immigrants from countries that are part of trade pacts covering Canada, Mexico and most of Central America. The SAFE visas would be good for two years and could be renewed five times, for a total stay of 12 years. At any point, the holders could return to their home countries and apply for U.S. citizenship without paying a fine or back taxes. But they would have to wait in line.

Illegal immigrants could extend their stay beyond 12 years by applying for a five-year X-Change visa, which requires a job and a clean record. After 17 years in the system, X-Change visa-holders could go through the citizenship process without leaving the United States.

posted by Pence Press Office # 5:53 AM