[ti:US Senate Votes to Open Debate on Immigration Bill]
[ar:Alex Villareal]
[al:In the News]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[04:49.67][00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more...
[00:03.86]From VOA Learning English,
[00:06.55]this is In the News.
[00:09.69]Earlier this week,
[00:11.18]the United States Senate voted to begin debate
[00:15.57]on a historic immigration bill.
[00:19.36]The proposed law would offer a chance
[00:22.64]for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants,
[00:27.67]those not in the country legally,
[00:30.60]to become American citizens.
[00:33.95]It would also increase the number of
[00:36.88]foreign temporary technology workers at a time
[00:41.66]when American technology workers face high unemployment.
[00:47.54]On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said
[00:51.37]this is "the best chance in years"
[00:54.67]to achieve "common sense reform."
[00:57.86]He called on Congress to approve the bill.
[01:01.89]"If you genuinely believe we need to
[01:03.59]fix our broken immigration system,
[01:04.78]there's no good reason to stand in the way of this bill."
[01:07.32]The vote to permit debate passed easily, 82-15.
[01:12.90]It clears the way for discussions
[01:15.34]that political observers say could extend
[01:18.92]through the rest of the month.
[01:21.47]The legislation establishes a 13-year citizenship process
[01:27.25]for immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally.
[01:32.38]Public opinion studies released Thursday
[01:36.01]suggest wide support for the main reforms.
[01:40.89]People in 29 states were asked questions about immigration.
[01:47.67]A majority supported reforms
[01:50.75]that included stronger border security,
[01:54.14]a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
[01:58.67]and laws to block employers from hiring people
[02:03.46]living in the United States illegally.
[02:07.09]The studies did not ask about a disputed part of the bill
[02:12.16]that would increase the number of
[02:14.15]temporary foreign technology workers.
[02:17.49]Labor rights groups and business groups disagree about that issue.
[02:24.02]Some businesses threatened
[02:26.71]to withdraw their support for immigration reform
[02:30.04]if the resulting bill did not drop a requirement
[02:34.18]that employers seek American workers before hiring foreigners.
[02:40.61]Foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers
[02:45.79]can live and work in the United States
[02:49.47]under special permits called H-1B visas.
[02:55.24]Many young scientists and engineers in India, China
[03:00.72]and other developing countries compete for the work permits.
[03:06.60]Large technology companies like Intel, Adobe and Microsoft
[03:13.02]had asked for an increased number of workers with H-1B visas.
[03:19.93]A group representing American engineers had asked Congress
[03:24.77]to limit the number of foreign engineers as part of the bill.
[03:29.56]Instead, the new bill increases the number of H-1B visas.
[03:35.39]Labor rights groups strongly support citizenship
[03:40.37]for undocumented low wage workers
[03:43.04]but dispute whether more temporary technology workers
[03:48.22]are needed in the United States.
[03:51.85]They say foreign workers force down wages.
[03:56.13]In Washington, the New America Alliance held a discussion
[04:02.41]and news conference after the Senate vote.
[04:06.55]The alliance is made up of Latino American business people.
[04:11.77]The event included an emotional statement
[04:16.26]by a young undocumented immigrant woman.
[04:20.69]Julieta Garibay works on legislation for an organization
[04:26.17]led by young immigrants called United We Dream.
[04:31.60]"We deserve justice and dignity in this great country,
[04:34.83]because at the end of the day,
[04:36.87]to us this is not a bill of a thousand plus pages.
[04:40.06]This is our lives."
[04:42.01]And that's In the News from VOA Learning English.
[04:47.43]I'm Alex Villareal.