This won’t make conservatives happy:
Senators negotiating a bipartisan immigration reform bill have settled on the details of a plan that would immediately grant legal status to all illegal immigrants currently in the United States.
The deal on “Z visas” for illegal immigrants is one of several issues where Democrats and Republicans have reached broad agreement.
[…]
The plan to award legal status to all illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications would occur only after other “triggers” are met. These triggers would require that certain border security and work-site enforcement measures be in place before other aspects of the overhaul go forward.The Z visa plan would start with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States going on a probationary legal status. If the triggers are met — a process that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) estimated would take 18 months — then illegal immigrants who qualify could get Z visas. Those who have committed felonies would not be eligible, Graham said, and all participants would have to pass security checks, pay a fine and a processing fee and pass an English proficiency test.
Z visa holders would be able to apply for legal permanent resident status, a step toward citizenship. But at some point, the heads of households with Z visas would have to return to his or her home country and then reenter the United States. They would have to take their Z visa to the U.S. Embassy or consulate and would be guaranteed reentry. The Z visa would include a photo and fingerprints, Graham said.
What’s the first thing one does when one reads news like this? That’s right, one visits conservative blogs to see what they are saying:
– Ed Morrissey: “conservatives could have done worse… Conservatives don’t get everything they want, of course, but we don’t control Congress any more, either. While one could argue that no bill beats a bad bill, this compromise does not look all that bad. Its focus on border security and identification of illegals as part of the process of normalization addresses two significant national-security concerns, and it still penalizes illegals — just not to the extent desired by conservatives.”
– Hot Air: ‘Not a word is mentioned in the piece about border enforcement, but you will be pleased to know that they’ve agreed to let illegal aliens attend state colleges at in-state tuition rates as part of the deal… I fear we need a miracle, my friends — a savior, like Bruce Campbell in “Evil Dead 2,†to deliver us from the amnesty demon.’
– Red State: “as the immigration deal comes together, Senate conservatives are growing uneasy about the state of the negotiations, fearing that Republican leadership will sell out to the Bush Administration and liberal Democrats to give amnesty to illegal aliens.”
– The Politico: “this shouldn’t necessarily be taken as a sign that a deal is imminent.”
Probably more reactions to come, for now that’s it.
What do you all think? Happy? Unhappy? Make illegal immigrants legal, or should they not be rewarded for, essentially, breaking the law?
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.