Congressman Patrick McHenry today released the following statement in response to the U. S. Senate beginning debate on their comprehensive immigration reform / amnesty legislation:

“The Senate’s proposal is nothing more than amnesty wearing make-up – it's easier to look at, but just as ugly underneath. The simple truth is that if you break the law to come to this country, you will not respect it once you’re here. Providing amnesty to illegal immigrants is a slap in the face to law-abiding immigrants who came to our nation and faced head-on the process of becoming legal citizens.”

WHAT'S IN THE SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL?

The estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who arrived in the US before 2007:

Can immediately receive a probationary card, which allows them to legally live and work in the US

Are eligible for a renewable Z visa, offering a path to permanent legal residency status

Are required to pay $5,000 fine, pass a criminal background check, and be employed

And heads of household are required to return to their home countries within eight years

For immigrants seeking future entry:

Shifts from system weighted toward family ties toward one with preference for people with advanced degrees, skills

Gives points based on immigrant's education, work experience, English proficiency, and family connections

Allows spouses and children under 21 to reunite with their families

Seeks to clear a backlog in visas for family reunification that will help some 4 million families in the first eight years

Initially distributes about 1.1 million family-based (89 percent) and 140,000 merit-based (11 percent) green cards

After eight years, allocates 550,000 family-based (60 percent) and 380,000 merit-based (40 percent) green cards

Temporary guest-worker program:

Would admit between 400,000 and 600,000 temporary workers per year

Would allow immigrants to work in the US for two years, then require them to return home

Can renew guest-worker visas twice, but workers must leave for a year in between

Enforcement, security provisions:

Activates temporary guest-worker and Z visa programs only after implementing specific security "triggers"

“Triggers" include: 18,000 border patrol agents, 370 miles of additional border fencing, 70 radar and camera towers along the US southern border, and an electronic employee-verification system for the workplace

Sources: Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007; Senate staff briefings