PenceBlog: <b><i>WSJ</i>: Hutchison-Pence plan shows "there's still a chance" of immigration reform this year</b> - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence : 6th District Of Indiana

The Wall Street Journal editorial page published this column on the Hutchison-Pence plan in Monday's print edition.

Here are key excerpts:

"GOP Representative Mike Pence of Indiana has been pushing an immigration compromise that he hopes will end the stand-off between the House, which has passed a bill focusing entirely on enforcement, and the Senate, whose bill combines more security with a guest-worker program.

"Last month Mr. Pence announced that Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas would co-sponsor the proposal, which combines most of the security provisions of the House bill with a more stringent guest worker program than what's currently in the Senate version. Recall that the Senate legislation would allow most of the estimated 11 million or so illegal immigrants in the U.S. to remain as guest workers and pursue permanent residency if they pass criminal background checks, pay fines and back taxes, and learn English."

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"We like the idea of involving private entities and introducing market incentives to the process. The private sector could hardy do worse than the overburdened and bureaucratic Citizen and Immigration Services (formerly the INS) that currently handles newcomers.

"And to its credit, the Pence-Hutchison proposal also includes a realistic path to citizenship, even if the path is too lengthy. Under the plan, a guest-worker visa would be renewable for up to 17 years, at which time the visa holder would have the option of remaining a guest worker indefinitely or becoming a full U.S. citizen. Even better, the number of available visas would be determined by market demand. This is important because a major driver of illegal immigration is the dearth of U.S. visas dispensed each year.

"A path to citizenship is also vital. Other proposals allow immigrant workers to remain in the U.S. indefinitely but keep them in a sort of permanent second-tier status while waiting for a green card that will never come. Pence-Hutchison implicitly acknowledges that it's wrong to demand that these mostly Latino immigrants assimilate but then deny them any realistic chance of becoming full-fledged participants in U.S. society."

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"And thanks to Representative Pence and Senator Hutchison, there's still a chance that might happen. First, however, they must convince their GOP colleagues that voters would prefer a solution to divisive rhetoric. That will be a tough sell, especially without the help of Democrats who are only too happy to use the stalemate as a campaign issue in November."

posted by Pence Press Office # 8:46 AM