18 JUN 07 / "Extra Innings on Immigration"

The United States Senate may once again have the opportunity to consider the immigration reform package that failed two weeks ago on a cloture vote that would have moved the legislation closer to another vote on final passage.

Some senators must have taken solace in the cloture vote, as it enabled them to duck an extremely contentious and often misunderstood issue. The bottom line on immigration that many of my fellow Republicans fail to comprehend is that our economy would collapse without the labor of the immigrants currently here illegally. Our immigration laws simply do not reflect the law of supply and demand in the U.S. labor market. My maternal grandfather emigrated legally from Sicily in 1912, but under today's laws he would be considered illegal.

The Senate's schedule this summer is tight, of course, and there are recesses for the 4th of July and the entire month of August with numerous appropriations bills to consider upon return; but Majority Leader Harry Reid can bring the bill back if the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster materialize.

Reid would normally require unanimous consent to reopen debate as he would to limit amendments and the time allotted for debate, but political insiders say that Reid may use a little known procedure known as the Clay Pigeon to resurrect the legislation. Reid is dipping into arcane Senate rules to allow debate to continue again without unanimous consent. He had pledged to bring the immigration reform package back to the floor if it were possible.

The nation needs the Congress to act on the issue. The status quo is unacceptable.

Some proponents of the bill have criticized opponents for failing to understand the dynamics of the issue, namely that our current immigration laws do no reflect the law of supply and demand in the U.S. labor market.

Immigration has been a fundamental characteristic of our collective history. We cannot deny that it will continue in the future.

If the measure fails again, future immigration reform efforts might be easier to achieve incrementally. If the legislation were divided into at least two components -- one that would legalize those currently here and working and the other to better devise the policies that would implement the legalization process -- the reforms might have a better chance of getting through the Congress.

We certainly need to make sure that the infrastructure is in place in order to process millions of Z-visa applications and screen out the potential terrorists and criminals. This has been a criticism of Republicans and one I agree with. It would be extremely difficult to process 12 million immigrants efficiently and wisely.