Why Rand Paul could be key player on immigration
| WASHINGTON
Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky hasn鈥檛 been a major part of the immigration reform debate to this point.
But as the Senate begins to put a bipartisan immigration reform bill through the legislative process, he may be the chairman of what could be called the Getting to Yes Caucus: deeply conservative lawmakers who want to tweak the bill in order to bring more conservative support, not battering the measure with poison pill amendments in an effort to kill it.
鈥淚 am for immigration reform, I am for finding a place for those who are in our country, whether documented or undocumented, finding a place for them if they want to work,鈥� said Senator Paul at a breakfast sponsored by 海角大神 on Wednesday.
Paul acknowledged there are some in his party who simply won鈥檛 be won over. One of those deeply opposed to the current immigration reform effort made his stance clear just hours after Paul spoke.
鈥淎s we explore [the bill鈥檚] many flaws and loopholes in the coming days, I am confident the American public will firmly reject it,鈥� said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama in a statement.
Despite intractable opposition from those like Senator Sessions, Paul believes a convincing package of border security proposals could bring a larger group of Republican lawmakers into voting for a comprehensive fix to the immigration system.
For his part, Paul said he would offer his 鈥渢rust but verify鈥� amendment to the current immigration bill. Under Paul鈥檚 vision, Congress would vote to certify that the border was secure every year for five years before any of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country received permanent legal status (also known as a green card).
The current immigration reform law, offered Wednesday by the bipartisan 鈥淕ang of Eight,鈥� requires the Department of Homeland Security to achieve a 90 percent effectiveness rate at apprehending or deterring potential border crossers over the first five years after the bill is enacted. If that benchmark is not met, a slew of other requirements come into play over the next five years.
None of those currently in the country illegally are eligible for permanent residence until both the border security requirements are met and a decade has elapsed.
In addition, Paul noted that helping shape the Senate bill to be more palatable to the GOP-controlled House could help immigration reform鈥檚 prospects.
To that end, Paul said that breaking the comprehensive Senate bill introduced Wednesday into smaller pieces could help 鈥� a line of argument offered by key House Republicans, including Rep. Raul Labrador (R) of Idaho and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) of Virginia, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee overseeing immigration reform legislation.
鈥淲e make it a lot harder to find a deal when it has a thousand moving parts,鈥� Paul said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 why the public is upset with us. They鈥檙e like 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 we ever pass anything, why don鈥檛 we get along?鈥� It鈥檚 because all the stuff we agree on we won鈥檛 pass, because we say that鈥檚 going to be the sweetener for the particular deal that we鈥檙e never able to get.鈥�
But both of those changes would put Paul at loggerheads with the bipartisan group of eight senators who crafted the more than 800-page immigration compromise in the first place.
In moving the bill rightward without dooming it, then, Paul faces careful tradeoffs on a host of issues like how much to trust the executive branch to carry out its immigration enforcement duties.
Paul cited his distaste for using reports from the executive branch as a condition for other activity, citing a report on Egyptian democracy that is both a prerequisite for US aid and that is summarily ignored upon publication.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 enough, really, seriousness of the administration on these reports,鈥� Paul said.
Would the fact that the Senate鈥檚 immigration plan relies heavily on just such administrative reports to jump start its border security program be a problem, then?
鈥淢aybe,鈥� Paul said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not completely opposed to that.鈥�
