Today, Senator Jon Kyl’s office announced that he, in partnership with Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, introduced legislation that would give young, undocumented residents of the United States, brought here as children, a path to citizenship.

But, just in case you thought it might be, it’s not the DREAM Act. After all, that provides a special path to citizenship, and we can’t have that, can we?

No, this is the similarly cheerful-sounding ACHIEVE Act, which creates potential roads to citizenship for undocumented immigrants without creating some sort of special, unfair path that skips most of the board and proceeds directly to Go. It’s just, y’know, new legislation to do so.

Under this legislation, applicants who have lived in the U.S. longer than five years before its enactment and came here before the age of 14 would be able to get on the path to permanent residency (and eventual citizenship) if they complete an undergraduate or technical degree, or enlist in the military.

This three-step path to citizenship would take ten years for the path to citizenship and, though I’m poking fun at it, is somewhat reasonable. The only problem is that both Kyl and Hutchison are retiring, and therefore won’t be able to push for it next year.

According to The Hill,

Kyl pointed out that Sen.-elect Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) “was very forward-leaning on trying to get comprehensive immigration reform” passed in the House. But, he said, Flake hasn’t had a chance to look into all the details of the new bill.

Hutchison said she had talked with Sen.-elect Ted Cruz (R-Texas), describing him as “very interested” in the bill but not saying whether he planned to support it.

So whether or not this actually gains traction in the next Congress is up in the air. We’ll wait and see.

This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2012.

8 replies on “Outgoing Senator Jon Kyl Introduces Act That’s Like DREAM Act But Isn’t”

  1. So, Senator Obstructionist decides he wants to go out as someone who actually has, not only the people of his state, but the innocent illegal migrants who came here as children as a segment of the society that he wants to endorse. The fact that his bill mimics, almost in toto, the “Dream Act,”which he voted against, is irrelevant. Senator Kyl simply wants to go out of office as someone waaaaaayyyyyy better as a Senator than what he actually was. His Senatorial documents that he’s leaving to the U of A needs to go in a 3 drawer file in an unused room at the U of A and/or into the dumpster room for recyclying. His reputation as a Senator for AZ or as someone who’s put the needs of his nation above his politics is exactly where it should be; in the (take your pick) crapper or the recycle bin.

  3. Let’s not focus on important things like the AMT patch, expiring tax code, Government spending across the board, jobs, or ……………

  4. This is cruel. After allowing him to sleep for 18 years some one (thing) woke him up. Unfortunately they (it) should have let him sleep since in his infrequent wakings he usually puts his foot into his mouth.

  5. OMG, Kyl hasn’t done anything for the nation, the state of AZ or the people while serving in the Senate. He has been collecting a big wage, health care and benefits all these years and now will get a big pension paid by the people. The people who he cared less about. Kyl is an evil guy.

  6. Kyl, certainly wouldn’t have an new ideas. He just uses the old stuff he voted against in the past. He and McCain wouldn’t support Bush on an immigration bill. Strange how these Republicans control this nation by doing nothing. What a waste. And Kyl, what about the debt issue. What are you doing to fix that problem?

  7. For years Kyl crusaded against online gambling in the US. After not getting anywhere as stand-alone legislation for years, it was Kyl, along with Bill Frist, who attached 17 pages to a ports security bill that outlawed all the online casino sites that had been operating in the US. Now in the waning days of his career he is co-sponsoring (with Harry Reid) a bill to allow US gaming companies to operate online gambling sites. I’m glad that this bill has a good chance of passing but I wonder who influenced (bought) Kyl’s dramatic change in position. What a phony POS this man is, good riddance!

  8. I’ll not miss either of these senators. Kyle’s comment on the forward-leaning Flake is especially laughable. Flake has one foot in the 50s and leans so far to the right he has trouble walking. Of course, it may be a matter of perspective. Compared to Kyle and Hutchison, Flake may turn out to be a moderate. But I’ll be real surprised if he does.

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