Univision News

By Jordan Fabian
Channel: Politics

Despite years of failed attempts, one of the Senate’s top ranking Democrats claims there is a way forward on immigration reform in Congress — and it’s more ambitious than passing the Dream Act.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that his office is quietly trying to negotiate a comprehensive immigration reform bill, a process he described as being “80 percent done” during an interview with Univision’s Maria Elena Salinas that aired on “Al Punto” this Sunday.

Schumer, the third-ranking Democratic senator and chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee, said that he is in the process of building a bipartisan coalition for a comprehensive reform bill, accompanied by support from the business and religious communities.

He’s also holding a hearing on Tuesday on the economic benefits of immigration with business leaders and public officials in an effort to garner public support for reform.

A sweeping piece of legislation that has the support of both parties and a wide swath of political coalitions is more likely to be successful than piecemeal efforts like the Dream Act, which has been the focus of reform advocates for several years, Schumer said. He indicated that the Dream Act won’t be brought up again before the 2012 elections.

“The Dream Act will never get passed in the House on its own. But comprehensive reform, if we have Democrats and Republicans and we have the chamber of commerce and all these business communities pushing, and the evangelical religious community pushing, has a chance,” he said. “And if we can get to that last 20 percent and get, you know, Democrat and Republican sponsors, we might get it.”

But if the Dream Act was too difficult to pass in the past, then a comprehensive effort that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants could involve even more heavy lifting.

First, advocates would need to attract floor time and support during a period when budgetary issues are overshadowing nearly everything else on Capitol Hill.

And several efforts to pass a comprehensive bill during the Bush administration failed, even though they attracted some Republican support. Now, congressional GOP support for comprehensive immigration reform is virtually non-existent. Republicans have instead placed their focus on increasing enforcement and border security.

Even when they nearly had a super-majority in the Senate, Democrats encountered several defectors who voted against the Dream Act when it was brought up last year. 

But Schumer said that blame for the failure to get an immigration bill passed over the past couple of years, one of President Obama’s campaign promises, doesn’t lay with Democrats.

“It’s unfair to blame the Democrats when 90 percent vote[d] for the Dream Act, and not the Republicans, when you know 5 percent vote[d] for the Dream Act,” he said.

With the 2012 elections fast approaching, both parties have began to make overtures to the Latino community and it’s rapidly-growing voters base.

Democrats in particular have renewed their push for immigration reform, a sore subject for many Latino political activists who expected to see more progress during the first two years of the Obama administration.

Despite the absence of a comprehensive bill, Schumer said that Democrats are in a better position with Republicans with Latinos for 2012.

“Latinos voted more for Democrats in 2010 than 2008.  Just about the only group to do so.  So it sent a message, not just to Democrats but to Republicans,” said Schumer. “You better get with it, because the Latino population is the fastest growing group in America. And if you continue to be just anti, anti, anti you’re going to never get elected.”

Schumer suggested that a new comprehensive bill would be based on the same tenets of previous measures: a pathway to citizenship while strengthening border security. But he said he could build support for it with interest groups by including multiple provisions that address the agricultural and high-tech sectors directly.

Starting with his hearing this week, Schumer hopes that he can convince critics that increased immigration is good for the economy and won’t take away American jobs.

“So we intend to change this debate, you know, jobs is the number one issue in America.  And every community, Latino and every other,” he said. “Immigrants create jobs. They don’t take away jobs. They create jobs.”

Schumer said that it’s too early to exude confidence about the effort (he didn’t predict when the bill would be brought up), but he is holding out hope that something can get done soon.

“Confident would be too strong of word, but hopeful is a better word. And I’m working hard at it,” he said.