Arlen Specter floats new amnesty plan (apartheid version) (Kyl)

From this:

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he's floating a plan that would grant legal status to the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants, but offer no path to citizenship.

"It might be the equivalent of a green card," Specter said Thursday. "The main thrust is to bring the 12 million out of the shadows," and eliminate the fear of arrest or deportation.

Specter said conservatives who last month derailed a comprehensive immigration bill might accept his plan because it would not allow the 12 million to seek citizenship status.

"We litigated amnesty and that lost," Specter said...

And, here we thought it wasn't amnesty. What Specter proposes - even if it worked - would create a permanent group of "second-class citizens" akin to that in Germany. Even Lindsey Graham says "Europe has paid a heavy price for that stuff."

But, it probably wouldn't work as planned, with new marches designed to give citizenship to those newly out of the "shadows". He also says he's been in touch with the Grand Bargainers including the White House.

UPDATE: Continuing the attempt to get amnesty after some initial window dressing, Senator Jon Kyl is also going to introduce a security-first bill in August.

UPDATE 2: From this:

"[Specter is] a fairly classic negotiator trying to figure out a way to square the circle," Kyl said. "He's good at that. He's come up with an idea. I'm just dubious he can pull it off right now."

Immigration2007a · Thu, 07/26/2007 - 18:14 · · Importance: 1