Senate Amnesty Bill to Include Commission Regulating Flow of Foreign Workers
Senate Democrats drafting an Amnesty bill are developing the details to a new federal commission that would regulate the flow of legal foreign workers into the country. The commission would make recommendations to Congress based on worker demand and unemployment rates, and then Congress would vote to approve the adjusted levels.
The major focus of the commission would be to regulate the flow of the low-skilled workers into the country. In the April 2010 unemployment rate, U.S. citizens and legal immigrants with less than a high school diploma had an unemployment rate of 14.7%, nearly three times higher than legal workers with at least a bachelor's degree.
The commission would help unite the labor unions and the major business groups who both support an amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens, but are divided over future legal levels of immigration. Unions fear that a large, steady flow of low-skilled workers will have a negative impact on union workers.
The commission idea was first introduced in the House's amnesty bill authored by Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas). The Senate bill, currently being drafted by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), would give the commission limited control over high-tech jobs, but have greater control over low-skilled workers, specifically in the hotel and restaurant industries.
For more information, see the Washington Post.