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Criminalization enters debate

Felony provision in immigration bill has become one of its controversial points

BY J. JIONI PALMER | WASHINGTON BUREAU

May 12, 2006

WASHINGTON - What has come to be one of the most controversial points in the nation's ongoing debate over illegal immigration came in a suggestion from the Bush administration.

At the urging of the White House, Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) inserted a provision into an immigration reform bill being considered by his panel making presence in the United States without proper documentation a crime, said Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for the committee. The felony provision became part of the overall immigration reform bill cosponsored by Sensenbrenner and House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-Seaford).

"They didn't distinguish," Lungren said of whether the crime should be considered a felony or a misdemeanor. "It was from the White House."

A White House spokesman said the proposal actually came from the Justice Department. It is currently a federal criminal misdemeanor to unlawfully enter the country, while unauthorized presence, such as overstaying a visa, is a civil offense.

"There is an inequality in how different illegal immigrants are treated," he said. "Those that come here illegally are criminals, those who overstay their visas are not."

Lungren said lawmakers decided to make unlawful presence a felony, but when the measure was being considered on the floor of the House, administration officials ultimately objected, saying doing so would be unworkable and could make deportation proceedings more difficult.

Sensenbrenner offered an amendment to make undocumented presence a misdemeanor, not a felony. He said making the offense a felony would require a grand jury indictment and a defense lawyer at public expense. "These requirements would mean that the government would seldom, if ever, actually use the new penalties."

Sensenbrenner's amendment lessening the offense was defeated, 164 ayes to 257 noes. After the vote, Sensenbrenner said that he would change the language when lawmakers meet to reconcile differences between legislation passed by both chambers of Congress.

King, who was a co-sponsor of the bill, was the only Long Island lawmaker to vote in favor of the amendment. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) was not present for the vote because of a family emergency.

"Originally, the Republicans wanted to make presence in the U.S. a felony. When they realized how extreme that was, they tried to reduce it to a misdemeanor, but it would still have classified illegal immigrants as criminals," said Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) of why he opposed the amendment and the overall measure.

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) agreed, saying the amendment didn't offer any real choice.

"It reduces the penalty from felony to misdemeanor within the context of the bill, but I'm opposed to a blanket criminalization," he said.

But King, who has been one of the most aggressive voices in Congress for tighter border security, said the arguments of his Democratic colleagues are disingenuous.

"That's like being against the death penalty, but voting against an amendment calling for 20-to-life because you think it should be 5-to-10," he said. King ultimately voted for final passage of the bill, including the felony provision.

Prompted by what he calls "distortions" of his positions on curbing illegal immigration by Newsday, King is delivering his message via an automated phone call to voters directly in his district. Asked to describe what he considers distortions, he said his position on the felony provision has not been fully reported.

"I'm doing all that I can to protect our borders and not grant amnesty to illegal immigrants," a portion of the roughly 20-second script reads. "I am also strongly supporting legislation which makes it clear that our national anthem should be sung only in English. 'The Star Spangled Banner' symbolizes our unity as a nation, and singing the anthem in a foreign language can only divide our country."

King, Long Island's only Republican congressman, said he figured the phone calls were the best way to articulate his views since he said his viewpoints were largely misrepresented by faulty news reporting.

"Congressmen have an obligation to communicate with their constituents. This is especially true on Long Island, where despite dwindling circulation, Newsday has a near monopoly on news reporting and is intellectually and morally incapable of providing honest coverage on issues such as illegal immigration," King said in an interview. "I will never allow an iron curtain of censorship between me and my constituents."