Senators to Remember on Real ID

The Real ID Act was a tremendous win for advocates of sane immigration controls.

However, it is worth reviewing some provision introduced into this bill by certain members of the Senate.

The first modification comes as no surprise:

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., added a measure to waive for two years the 66,000-a-year cap on H-2B visas for low-skill seasonal workers.

Can't do much about that.

Next, from one of the leading Republican presidential candidates for 2008, comes:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., inserted a line to give 10,500 visas to Australian guest workers in high-skill jobs.

This is an odd provision. Who was pushing for that reform? Why just Australians?

Next, Kay Baily open the doors to more legal immigration by adding this provision to the bill.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, added a provision to provide permanent residence for 50,000 foreign nurses and physical therapists. Drafting errors have left that provision in doubt.

Could be worse. I also note that Kay Baily has voted well on illegal immigration issues in the past.

And finally, from one of the worst Senators on all aspects of the immigration issue:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., added a measure to allow unlimited immigration from China. Current law limits asylum claims from China's one-child policy to 1,000.

Sure, we can absorb half the population of China. Makes sense to me.

We will just have to grit our teeth on that one as Brownback was just (re)elected in 2004, so he is virtually immune to grass roots pressure for the next four years.