Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act ("McCain–Kennedy Bill", ) was an
immigration reform
Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigratio ...
bill introduced in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on May 12, 2005 by Senators
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
and
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
. It was the first of its kind since the early 2000s in incorporating
legalization
Legalization is the process of removing a law, legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal.
Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which ...
,
guest worker programs, and
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
enforcement components.
Legislation history
As
United States immigration debate unfolded in Congress and in the field during 2005 and 2006, the bill became a landmark legislation that was often referenced by most parties of the debate to indicate support or opposition to a certain kind of immigration reform that incorporated the three components. The bill was never voted on in the Senate. The
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 are two additional compromises based on the original McCain–Kennedy bill.
See also
*
Immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
*
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and Culture of the United States, cultural change throughout much of history of the United States, its history. As of January 2025, the United States has the la ...
References
External links
Thomas Summary
S. 1033at GovTrack.us
{{Immigration to the United States
Proposed legislation of the 109th United States Congress
United States proposed federal immigration and nationality legislation