Democrats in Senate returning to immigration

Some in Congress are working on the DREAM act again. It is a shame that immigration reform might only come in pieces, but perhaps it is better than ignoring the issue. DP

By Nicole Gaouette

baltimoresun.com: WASHINGTON - Months after Congress failed to pass a broad immigration overhaul, lawmakers are quietly returning to the issue, discussing narrower measures dealing with illegal immigrants and low-skilled laborers.

As early as this week, Senate Democrats are to introduce an amendment that would give conditional legal status to young illegal immigrants.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, is expected to propose a visa program for farmhands that eventually would allow them to gain citizenship, while Republican senators are discussing a short-term guest worker program for laborers.

"We may be heading for another immigration battle," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, said of the measures headed for the Senate floor.

Some of the measures now in the works do not have much bipartisan support, limiting their chances of success. And some lawmakers express doubts that it is possible to restructure the immigration system through separate bills.

"I'm personally very skeptical of a piecemeal approach," said Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, a member of the bipartisan coalition that tried to pass the overhaul earlier this year. "The minute we start doing the easy things, like taking care of agribusiness interests because they need the workers, ... we're leaving the hard things."
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