By Debbie McGoldrick

THE immigration debate continues to gather pace on Capitol Hill, as the Bush administration circulated a set of proposals last week designed to elicit as much Republican support as possible while still offering the chance of legal status to undocumented residents of the U.S.

The Bush plan, heavy on border security measures, also calls for the creation of a new Z visa category which would be open to the estimated 12 million undocumented residents of the U.S. Z holders would have to renew the visa every three years, at a cost of $3,500 per go, maintain employment and pass all background checks. The visa would be issued after the applicant departed the U.S., with return admission as a legal resident.

Z visas would be renewable indefinitely. For those wishing to pursue a green card through permanent legal residence, charges would include an initial $2,000 application fee, and a further $8,000 upon approval. These applicants would also have to leave the U.S. to lodge applications and wait for processing at a consular post abroad.

Though Democrats won control of both the House and Senate after last year’s midterm elections, the contentious issue of immigration reform remains fraught with difficulty and requires bipartisan support in order to succeed. Last month Senator Edward Kenn-edy, chairman of the Senate’s immigration subcommittee, planned on introducing a sweeping measure aimed at legalizing the undocumented, creating a broad new guest worker program and beefing up border security, but the bill became bogged down in bipartisan bickering and has yet to see the light of day.

Also last month, the House introduced the STRIVE Act, co-sponsored by Congressmen Luis Gutierrez, Dem-ocrat of Illinois, and Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona. The bill offers undocumented residents a six-year visa with the payment of a $500 fine, and the opportunity to become a permanent resident while remaining in the U.S., among other elements.

Recognizing that no bill will pass without some measure of bipartisan cooperation, Bush, a proponent of comprehensive reform, has been working with GOP leaders in the House and Senate to craft a set of proposals to entice those who have been opposed to reform in the past.

In addition to the legalization proposals, Bush’s plan also seeks to cut the number of family-based green cards distributed each year – some 600,000 in favor of redistributing them to skilled workers. The plan is also replete with tough new employer sanction provisions.

Several pro-immigration reform groups have criticized the Bush plan as unworkable and anti-family reunification, due to the cut in family-based green cards

“For us it’s a no go,” said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the advocacy group National Immigration Forum.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), however, is taking a wait and see attitude.

“We think it’s great that the Bush administration is taking the issue seriously,” said Kelly Fincham, executive director of ILIR. “We’ll be eagerly watching to see what happens in the weeks and months ahead. The more talk about immigration reform the better, as far as we are concerned.”