Despite weeklong activity, members of the House of Representatives are still wrangling over the future of various immigration proposals. Efforts to merge the SAVE Act with legislation to increase the caps for H-1B and H-2B guest worker visas into a bi-partisan comprehensive bill have yet to yield a compromise. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus continues to insist that any compromise bill grant amnesty to the more than 13 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S. (Washington Post, April 4, 2008) Meanwhile, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), insists Republican leaders will not accept amnesty provisions. (Roll Call, April 3, 2008)

Despite the impasse, House Leadership remains under pressure from various factions in the House to take up certain immigration measures. The SAVE Act (H.R. 4088), the enforcement-only bill introduced by Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC), is currently stalled in committee, even though the bill has overwhelming bi-partisan support. The discharge petition filed for the SAVE Act already has 185 signatures, with only 33 signatures needed to force a floor vote. In an attempt to maintain control of the hot-button issue, House Majority Leadership is pressuring Democrats — including co-sponsors of the legislation — not to sign the petition and is beginning to signal it will hold a series of hearings to address support for the enforcement-only measures in the Act. (CQ Today, April 2, 2008; Congress Daily, April 7, 2008) To see which members of the House have signed the discharge petition, click here.

To see an analysis of the SAVE Act, click here. 

In addition, proponents of expanding guest worker programs are pressuring House Democratic Leadership to take up additional measures. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) confirmed Wednesday she is negotiating with key players in both parties to increase the cap for so-called "high-tech" H-1B guest workers. (CQ Today, April 2, 2008) Members on both sides of the aisle have offered legislation that would increase H-1B workers, and business leaders and powerful lobbyists from industry organizations have been lobbying Congress hard to push them forward. FAIR Legislative Update, March 24, 2008. However, House efforts to increase the H-1B visa cap are already the subject of scrutiny by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who have long protested abuse of the H-1B program. This week, Senator Grassley sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging them to reform the program before making "irresponsible commitments" to expand it. To read Senator Grassley's letter in full, click here.

To read more about problems in the H-1B program, click here.

Finally, other factions are urging House Leadership to increase the number of unskilled H-2B guest workers. Last Tuesday, Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA) filed a discharge petition on legislation authored by Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) that would increase the H-2B visa cap by reinstating the returning worker exemption, which expired last fall (H.R. 1843). The H-2B visa program allocates 66,000 visas each year for temporary unskilled workers, but in recent years the returning worker exemption has allowed that number to grow dramatically, to the point where the cap has doubled. So far, however, the discharge petition has languished, receiving only 20 signatures. (Discharge Petition for H.R. 1843)

SOURCE: FAIR

Stay tuned to FAIR for more information on immigration-related activity in the House…
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest. FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest—more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.