ImmigrationSenate panel considering, and voting on, nearly 300 amendments to immigration bill

The Senate panel reading through the immigration reform bill agreed on Tuesday to strengthen the monitoring requirements of foreign students in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Washington Post reports the amendment will require DHS to transfer all student visa information to border patrol agents at all 329 ports of entry into the United States.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) proposed the measure, noting it was prompted by the fact that one of those accused of attempting to destroy evidence related to the Boston bombing who was in the country on an expired visa.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wasted no time unanimously approving the proposal. Committee members expressed the hope that the amendment will fix the problems discovered by the Boston bombing of  sharing information between agencies relating to foreign visas and immigration status changes.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York),amember of the Senate group that drafted the immigration bill, Grassley’s amendment will “patch dangerous cracks” in the student visa system.

The committee considered twenty-nine changes to the bill on Tuesday and approved fifteen. The committee has also considered more than sixty of almost 300 proposed amendments.

Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) told reporters that he hopes to end the amendment process by the end of the month, and send the bill to the Senate by the end of June.

The Post notes that Grassley introduced another proposal, requiring businesses to make a “good-faith” effort to hire Americans before looking for high-skilled immigrant workers, as well as forcing companies dependent on immigrant workers to count them as part of immigrant worker quotas.

The amendment was rejected, together with a third Grassley amendment which would have required all visa applicants to go through an in-person interview, even if they are considered a low security risk.

Senators also rejected a proposal by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) limiting the number high-skilled immigrant workers who could enter the country.

The panel did approve an amendment by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), which limits the use of drones on the southern border to a strip no wider that three miles from the border line in the San Diego and El Centro sector, and another by Senator Christopher Coons (D-Delaware) restricting how and when U.S. authorities can repatriate illegal immigrants so as to guarantee the safety of people being returned to their home countries.

The House Homeland Security Committee is planning a debate of a proposal by Republicans requiring DHS to establish a comprehensive border security plan. The measure is not being looked at by the House Judiciary Committee.