1. A Massive Amnesty

Title VI grants amnesty to virtually all of the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens in the country today. This amnesty would dwarf the amnesty that the U.S. granted—with disastrous consequences—in 1986 to 2.7 million illegal aliens. It is also a larger amnesty than that proposed in last year’s ill-fated Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Indeed, the Senate’s bill imposes no cap on the total number of individuals who could receive Z-visa status.

To initially qualify for a Z-visa, an illegal alien need only have a job (or be the parent, spouse or child of someone with a job) and provide two documents suggesting that he or she was in the country before Jan. 1, 2007, and has remained in the country since then. A bank statement, pay stub, or similarly forgeable record will do. Also acceptable under the legislation is a sworn affidavit from a non-relative.

The price of a Z-visa is $3,000 for individuals—only slightly more than the going rate to hire a coyote to smuggle a person across the border. A family of five could purchase visas for the bargain price of $5,000—some $20,000 short of the net cost that household is likely to impose on local, state and federal government each year.

2. The Permanent “Temporary” Visa

Supporters of the bill call the Z-visa a “temporary” visa. However, they neglect to mention that it can be renewed every four years until the visa holder dies. This would be the country’s first permanent temporary visa. On top of that, it is a “super-visa”, allowing the holder to work, attend college or travel abroad and reenter. A law-abiding alien with a normal non-immigrant visa would surely desire this privileged status. Unfortunately for him, only illegal aliens can qualify.

And contrary to popular misconception, illegal aliens need not return to their home countries to apply for the Z-visa. That’s necessary only if and when an alien decides to adjust from Z-visa status to lawful permanent resident (“green card”) status. Even then, it’s not really the country of origin: Any consulate outside the U.S. can take applications at its discretion or the direction of the secretary of State.

3. Hobble Background Checks

The bill would allow the government only one business day to conduct a background check to determine whether an applicant is a criminal or terrorist. Unless the government can find a reason not to grant it by the end of the next business day after the alien applies, the alien receives a probationary Z-visa (good from the time of approval until six months after the date Z-visas begin to be approved, however long that may be) that lets him roam throughout the country and seek employment legally.

While the federal government does have computer databases of known criminals and terrorists, these databases are far from comprehensive. Much of this kind of information exists in paper records that cannot be searched within 24 hours. Other information is maintained by foreign governments.

During the 1986 amnesty, the U.S. granted legal status to Mahmoud “The Red” Abouhalima, who fraudulently sought and obtained the amnesty intended for seasonal agricultural workers (even though he was actually employed as a cab driver in New York City). But his real work was in the field of terrorism. He went on to become a ringleader in the 1993 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center. Using his new legal status after the amnesty, he was able to travel abroad for terrorist training.

4. Amnesty for “Absconders”

The amnesty extends even to fugitives who have been ordered deported by an immigration judge but chose to ignore their removal orders. More than 636,000 absconders are now present in the country, having defied the law twice: once when they broke U.S. immigration laws and again when they ignored the orders of the immigration courts.

The Senate’s bill allows the government to grant Z-visas to an absconder if the absconder can demonstrate that departure from the U.S. “would result in extreme hardship to the alien or the alien’s spouse, parent or child.”

5. Reverse Justice

The bill would effectively shut down the immigration court system. If an alien in the removal process is “prima facie eligible” for the Z-visa, an immigration judge must close any proceedings against the alien and offer an opportunity to apply for amnesty.

6. Enforcement of Amnesty, Not Laws

The bill would transform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from a law-enforcement agency into an amnesty distribution center. If an ICE agent apprehends aliens who appear to be eligible for the Z-visa (in other words, just about any illegal alien), the agent cannot detain them. Instead, ICE must provide them a reasonable opportunity to apply for the Z-visa. Instead of initiating removal proceedings, ICE will be initiating amnesty applications.

7. Amnesty for Gang Members

Under the Senate bill, gang members would be eligible to receive amnesty. This comes at a time when violent international gangs, such as Mara Salvatrucha 13 (or “MS-13), have brought mayhem to U.S. cities. More than 30,000 illegal-alien gang members operate in 33 states, trafficking in drugs, arms and people. Deporting illegal-alien gang members has been a top ICE priority. The Senate bill would end that. To qualify for amnesty, all a gang member would need to do is note his gang membership and sign a “renunciation of gang affiliation”.

8. Tuition Subsides for Illegal Aliens

The Senate bill incorporates the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act). The DREAM Act effectively repeals a 1996 federal law that prohibits any state from offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens unless the state also offers in-state tuition rates to all U.S. citizens. Ten states are currently defying this federal law. The bill would allow these and all other states to offer in-state tuition rates to any illegal alien who obtains the Z-visa and attends college.

9. Taxpayer-Funded Lawyers for Illegal Aliens

The Senate’s bill would force taxpayers to foot the bill for many illegal aliens’ lawyers. Under current law, illegal aliens are not eligible for federally funded legal services. This bill would allow millions of illegal aliens who work in agriculture to receive free legal services. Every illegal alien working in the agricultural sector would have access to an immigration attorney to argue his case through the immigration courts of appeals—all at taxpayer expense. This provision alone could cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

10. Amnesty Before Enforcement Triggers

Proponents of the Senate approach have consistently claimed that it would allow delayed amnesty only after certain law enforcement goals are met. The text of the bill, however, tells a different story. Section 1(a) allows probationary Z-visas to be issued immediately after enactment, and Section 601 (f)(2) prohibits the federal government from waiting more than 180 days after enactment to begin issuing probationary Z-visas.

These probationary Z-visas could be valid for years, depending on when the government begins issuing non-probationary Z-visas.