Examining Hillary Clinton on Immigration

Immigration is destined to be one of the biggest and most influential issues in the race for president this year. Senator Clinton's votes in the Senate speak for themselves in her desire to enact immigration reform, while respecting the rights of undocumented workers. I decided to examine Senator Clinton's votes on immigration, and let the record speak for itself (something our opponents don't like to do very much):

S Amdt 3117
10/03/2007
Vote to pass an amendment that appropriates $3.00 billion to be used to hire full-time border patrol agents, improve employment eligibility verification, and fund security measures along the U.S. and Mexican border that include building a fence, establishing vehicle barriers, utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles, placing ground-based sensors and cameras, and removing and detaining undocumented immigrants.

Senator Hillary Clinton voted YES

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S 1348
06/07/2007
A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.
- Mandates that the provisions adopted in this act giving legal status to previously undocumented immigrants should not be adopted until the following benchmarks are met: 1) the Secretary of Homeland Security has established complete operational control of the United States’ border with Mexico 2) 20,000 border-patrol agents have been hired, trained, and have reported for duty 3) 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 370 miles of fencing, and 105 ground-based radar and camera towers have been constructed as well as four unmanned aerial vehicles in operation along the U.S. border with Mexico 4) all undocumented immigrants crossing the border are detained, and the Department of Homeland Security has the resources to hold at least 31,500 offenders per day 5) employers are required to seek identification from aliens applying for jobs that include biometric data, as well as a photograph of the individual and other data 6) an electronic employment eligibility verification system is developed that is capable of preventing fraud, identity theft, and social security number fraud by using federal and state databases to digitally verify federal and state identification documents.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS of the bill:

-Establishes a merit based point system for those wishing to immigrate to the United States, which allows the top 380,000 scorers every year to receive an automatic green card, and reduces family member quotas (sec. 501-509).
-Allows a stay of two years renewable up to two times, with one-year returns to home countries in between extensions for the Y-1 visa and a stay of up to ten months for the Y-2 visa. Allows Y-1 visa holders who have adequate health insurance and an income over 150 percent of the poverty level to bring dependents for one two year period, but subsequently limits their stay from three periods to two periods (sec. 402).
-Requires the Social Security Administration to develop a fraud resistant, tamper proof Social Security Card, and to determine the feasibility of including biometric information, and authorizes the issuing of grants to states to aid in compliance with the REAL ID Act (sec. 305).
-Provides for new regulations regarding documentation requirements for employers hiring immigrants, including the monitoring and criminal prosecution of employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and the establishment of the Employment Eligibility Verification System (sec. 302).
-Mandates that the Secretary of Homeland Security implement a secure satellite communication system for border patrol agents (sec. 123).

- Allocates $455 million the implementation of unmanned aircraft systems for use on the border through fiscal year 2009 (sec. 124).

Senator Hillary Clinton voted YES
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S Amdt 1333
Date: 06/06/2007
Vote to adopt an amendment that establishes restrictions on admission into the United States for immigrants convicted of criminal behavior and penalties for illegal entry into the U.S.

Senator Hillary Clinton voted YES
Amendment Adopted (Senate)

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S 2611
5/23/2006
Vote to adopt an amendment that provides certain undocumented immigrants present in the U.S. with an opportunity to become legal U.S. citizens.
Allows certain undocumented immigrants who were physically present in the U.S. before January 1, 2006, to apply for an “orange card” through the Department of Homeland Security in order to obtain legal status ((c)(2))

- States that immigrants who have resided longer in the U.S. will receive legal status before those who have stayed for a shorter period ((c)(2)(C))

- Requires immigrants to pay all Federal and State income taxes owed while employed in the U.S. ((a)(1)(E))

- Requires all immigrants to undergo background and national security checks while applying for an “orange card” ((c)(3))

- Declares that immigrants are ineligible for legal status if they have been ordered removal from the U.S., have been convicted of a serious crime or there are reasonable grounds that they committed a serious crime prior to coming to the U.S., or are a possible security threat to the U.S. ((b)(6)(A))

- Provides a penalty of a fine or up to 5 years in prison, or both for immigrants who place false statements on their “orange card” application and considered inadmissible ((f)(1)(B) and (f)(2))

- Requires applicants to pay a $1,000 fine and $50 annual fees ((m)(2) and (m)(3))

- $100 million for the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out the “orange card” application process ((m)(1))

Senator Hillary Clinton voted Yes


-CHRIS MCLEOD-