CHICAGO TRIBUNE
By Mike Dorning
Washington Bureau
February 6, 2001

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said he plans to introduce legislation Wednesday calling for a broad immigration amnesty, allowing virtually all illegal immigrants now in the country to apply for permanent residency within 5 years.

The proposal marks an ambitious goal for immigration advocates. And it comes as President Bush's planned visit to Mexico later this month focuses attention on issues of immigration that long have been at the core of U.S. relations with Mexico.

The Chicago congressman would immediately allow permanent legal residency to any immigrant who has been in the country since Feb. 6, 1996. Also, anyone who arrived in the U.S. by Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001, would be allowed to apply for legal residency after 5 years had passed. People who arrive after Tuesday would not be eligible for any amnesty provision in the bill.

Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate have waged a struggle over amnesty provisions that has intensified over the past several years. But Gutiérrez's legislation would go well beyond what supporters of immigrants previously have proposed.

The Clinton administration, in alliance with immigration advocates, pressed last year for an amnesty covering illegal immigrants who had been in the country since 1986. Although Clinton threatened a veto of the budget unless the amnesty was included, Congress refused and eventually the White House relented.

The Clinton administration's proposal would have covered an estimated 375,000 illegal immigrants, according to the National Immigration Forum, an immigration advocacy group. The Gutiérrez legislation would cover more than 5 million, the advocacy group projected.

Gutiérrez said he hoped to spur a debate over the status of illegal immigrants. "People in this country know they are benefiting from the work of undocumented workers. Why not grant them the dignity and the justice that comes with legal permanent residency?" he said.

U.S. immigration law traditionally grants permanent legal residency to aliens who have lived continuously in the country for a lengthy period. Since 1986, immigrants have been eligible for legal status as long as they have lived in the country since Jan. 1, 1972.