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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (163073)	4/7/2006 2:57:14 AM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793799

BICKERING STALLS IMMIGRATION DEAL Jubilation turns into despair as party leaders spar over amendments By GEBE MARTINEZ Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau April 7, 2006, 12:04AM WASHINGTON - The nation's most far-reaching immigration bill in 20 years will likely be postponed indefinitely as sharp partisan differences late Thursday sank the chances for Senate approval this week. ADVERTISEMENT Just hours after Democrats and Republicans had celebrated a breakthrough agreement, senators became resigned to putting off the bill after leaders of both parties sparred over whether mostly Republican critics of the plan should have the right to offer amendments. One of the senators at the center of the legislative turmoil was Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who offered what Democrats called a "poison pill" amendment that could undermine the bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill. Republican sponsors of the bill said they had the votes to defeat amendments such as Cornyn's and stood up for the rights of senators to be heard on the floor. They blamed Democrats for the setback. "The fact that we did not act tonight is a huge blow, let's be honest," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leader in the immigration debate. Democrats faulted Republican leaders for not reining in their members to finish the bill quickly, before momentum is lost during a two-week congressional recess that begins Saturday. "We must protect this fragile compromise from those intent on gutting this bill," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, said late Thursday. Had solid support The turn in the mood was in stark contrast to the start of the day, when senators had spoken with jubilation about their agreement on a bill that would combine tighter border security measures with a plan to let most of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants gain legal status and then citizenship. The Senate bill had picked up solid bipartisan support Thursday after McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., agreed to modify their original bill by adding more hurdles before immigrants could become legal residents. Together, they braced for future negotiations with the House Republicans, who last December pushed through legislation that called for tougher border enforcement but no provision for giving legal status to the undocumented immigrants. In exchange for their support for the compromise, McCain and Kennedy and their allies drafted a letter demanding that the Senate version be the framework for the final immigration bill to be negotiated with the House. They also planned to seek a strong statement of support for their bill from President Bush, who on Thursday encouraged the Senate to complete work on a comprehensive bill before the weekend and the start of a two-week recess. A battle royal looms in the House-Senate conference committee, should the Senate pass a bill. In recent days, House leaders have argued that Congress should pass an enforcement bill before approving a legalization plan. Vehement opposition "It's absolutely a nonstarter," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who chairs the 96-member House Immigration Reform Caucus. He charged that the Senate bill amounted to amnesty for 10 million people and that many more immigrants could use fake documents to qualify for the legalization program. "It's worse for the country to have that bill than no bill at all," Tancredo said. The Senate plan also is being opposed by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. "It still allows people to come to our country illegally and know, that if they wait long enough, they will be able to get into the citizenship track with very little responsibility," Hutchison told Fox News. Cornyn and other conservatives protested that they were not being allowed votes on their amendments to tighten the bill. "I just don't want it jammed down our throats," Cornyn said. Republicans also rejected Democrats' demands that the entire Senate Judiciary Committee, not just members chosen by GOP Senate leaders, be appointed to negotiate the final version of the bill with the House. Loyal Republicans said they did not want to interfere with the leader's right to make that decision. The original McCain-Kennedy bill essentially applied the same rules to every illegal immigrant. But on a largely partisan vote, their proposal got only 39 out of 60 votes needed to end a filibuster by opponents. The compromise creates three groups of immigrants: those who have been in the U.S. the longest would have a faster path to citizenship without leaving the country; those here two to five years could obtain a temporary work visa after reporting to points of entry; and those here less than two years would have to leave and apply for re-entry. gebe.martinez@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HoustonChronicle.com -- houstonchronicle.com \| Section: National This article is: chron.com

To: KLP who wrote (163073)	4/7/2006 11:19:58 AM
From: Whitebeard	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793799

that's the other interesting thing, and a bit surprising to me. A lot of the other side, from liberals to lefties, don't like illegal immigration any better than I do. The Congress is beyond despicable. I'm hoping for a third-party candidate so I can register my absolute disgust. And the devil take the hindquarters.

To: KLP who wrote (163073)	4/10/2006 5:52:50 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793799

My very liberal friend in colo also agrees that illegal immigration is a very big problem. I think we have lou dobbs and bill o'reilly to thank for the fact that conservatives and liberals alike will come together on this issue. I've heard some say that there are dem recruiters at the various rallies (I don't know if repubs are also recruiting, but one can speculate that if they were they'd probably be yelled at, kicked, punched or worse if they were) Dems think they will add to their voter base by supporting these illegals, but I wonder if they've taken the anti-amnesty dems into consideration as they announce their intentions? Maybe they have and realize that the possibly of replacing a disgruntled constituent with two illegals is real and are therefore willing to take that risk. I bet they have done a poll too -ng-. And why is no one in the msm discussing the fact that welfare rolls, the rolls of the uneducated, the number of uninsured (medical), the working poor, etc will rise when all of these illegals supposedly become citizens. What a wonderful boon for the democrats/socialists in congress. Another statistic to add to their arsenal. And take note that very rarely will you hear the word illegal in the same sentence with immigration as you listen to various news coverage on immigration protests today.