WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sending the immigration bill to the full Senate yesterday after Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) withdrew his amendment, which would have allowed gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born partners for green cards.
Republicans threatened to kill the bill if the amendment were approved.
The Senate also approved visas for 180,000 high-tech foreign workers, clearing one of the final roadblocks to passing reform.
That amendment, hammered out by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), establishes guidelines on how foreign workers may be employed.
The high-tech industry backs the measure.
“This took awhile. It’s a compromise,” Schumer said. “Many things that I like, some things I don’t like. But that’s how compromise is, especially when you’re trying to move a bill as complicated as this.”
The legislation would create a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal aliens. The amendment restricts companies from dismissing American workers within 90 days of hiring a foreign worker with the so-called H-1B high-tech visa.
No increases in the number of visas would be allowed in fields where unemployment is higher than 4.5 percent.