Senate immigration bill hits snag

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WASHINGTON — An immigration-overhaul plan that hours before seemed on its way to Senate passage stalled late Thursday, raising the prospect that no action would be taken at least until after the two-week Easter recess that begins today.

Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., all but declared victory for a compromise that would have granted a path to legal status and citizenship for most of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the United States illegally.

"We've had a huge breakthrough," Frist said.

Reid added: "We can't declare victory. But we've moved a long ways down the road."

But snags soon surfaced among Democrats and Republicans concerned about details of the compromise and potential political fallout from voting on an issue that has provoked strong feelings and mass protests across the country.

Looming over the process was the fact that thousands of Hispanic and other immigrants have poured into the streets to protest a more restrictive approach to immigration, and additional rallies are scheduled.

For most Democrats who were prepared to support the compromise, the primary concern was that key provisions in the pending Senate bill might be changed or eliminated when House and Senate delegates meet to reconcile differences between the two bills.

The House version contains what many Democrats believe are Draconian measures, including making it a felony to be in the United States without the proper immigration paperwork. Members of the conference committee will have wide latitude to shape the measure that goes back to each chamber for a final vote.

Because Democrats are in the minority in both houses and the committee will be dominated by Republicans, they are fearful of being presented with a bill they would find unacceptable but could not stop.

"The biggest concern on the part of the Democrats is, how do we preserve this compromise all the way through the process?" said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "There is a lot of experience here with good bills going into conference committee and transforming."

On the Republican side, concern appeared to fall into two categories: Senators who favored a more restrictive approach to the path to legal status and citizenship, and senators who might support some compromise but wanted to test the waters in their home states before voting.

The Senate proposal, drafted by Sens. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., offers paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants who entered the country before January 2004 as long as they meet a string of requirements, including learning English. It also includes measures to enhance border security and increase employer sanctions in an effort to stem the flow of illegal immigrants seeking work.

The Hagel-Martinez proposal would differentiate between recent arrivals and illegal immigrants who have been in the country for five years or longer. The more recent arrivals would have to leave the United States as part of the process of legalizing their status; illegal immigrants in the country for five years or more could complete the process without recrossing the border.

Democratic leaders said they were seeking a guarantee from Frist that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — who passed a more permissive version of the bill last week — would be the Senate negotiators with the House.

Congressional procedures require the House and Senate to agree on a joint version of every bill, known as a "conference report," that must be approved by both chambers before it is sent to the president for his signature.

President Bush, who has repeatedly called for a guest-worker program but has remained silent on the details of changing the nation's immigration laws, urged the Senate to complete work on the bill but did not weigh in on what the bill should include.

"I'm pleased that Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate are working together to get a comprehensive immigration bill," Bush said during a visit to North Carolina.

Some remained determined to defeat the Senate approach.

"It's miserable public policy, and it will be rejected by the House of Representatives," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a leading voice opposed to giving legal status to illegal immigrants.

Tancredo said he considered any proposal that would offer eventual citizenship to people who crossed the border illegally an amnesty.

"I promise you, we are not going to get a majority of the House on an amnesty for 10 million people," Tancredo said.

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Reid, Republicans blame each other for stalled immigration compromise

WASHINGTON -- Republicans accused Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of blocking immigration legislation on Friday, but the Nevada Democrat shot back that Senate Republicans couldn't get their act together.

A compromise immigration bill that was crafted Thursday proposes to beef up border security and provide legal status to millions of undocumented workers. In a joint news conference soon after the agreement was reached, Reid and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., announced they expected to pass a bill before the weekend.

But the deal fell apart, with each side blaming the other for abusing the amendment process.

Reid blocked voting on amendments because there were potentially 40 or 60 that could have taken several days to work through on the floor, said spokeswoman Sharon Stein.

"It was an unwieldy amount," she said. "It would have bogged down to a point where the bill wouldn't have passed. Sen. Reid was willing to negotiate that."

But Republicans said the amendments would have strengthened the bill.

U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., criticized the Democrats but avoided mentioning Reid by name.

"It is truly a shame that the Democrats have refused to allow amendments and meaningful debate on legislation dealing with one of the most important issues facing America today," he said in a statement.

Ensign said he supports strengthening border security but opposes legalizing the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

"I think we need to leave that off the table," he said.

The White House also jumped on Reid.

"Unfortunately, the Senate minority leader prevented voices from being heard and amendments from being considered," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "We call on the Senate minority leader to stop blocking this process from moving forward so that we can get comprehensive immigration reform passed."

But even Republicans are split over the immigration issue, Stein said, as shown by the huge number of amendments they want. The compromise bill was crafted by Republican Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, she said.

The Republicans control the Senate schedule and could bring the bill back up for a vote when Congress returns in two weeks, Stein said.

"It's going to be a question of whether or not (Senate Republicans) feel the immigration bill is important enough to get to," she said. "The Republicans are in a great deal of disarray."

At one point during the debate last week, Reid acknowledged how he changed his mind on immigration and a bill he introduced 13 years ago.

Reid offered legislation in 1993 to reduce the number of legal immigrants allowed into the U.S. and make it harder for immigrants to become citizens. But Reid, who now supports granting legal status to most of the undocumented workers, called his earlier bill "the biggest mistake I ever made."

immigration battle
Senate plan would give most undocumented immigrants legal status.
A bipartisan compromise in the Senate stalled this week after a partisan fight over how to move it to a final vote, but supporters say they'll push for it again after Congress returns from a two-week Easter recess.
The plan would:
# Let undocumented immigrants who came to the United States at least five years ago get green cards if they pay $2,000 in fines, pass background checks, pay back taxes for wages and learn English.
# Let undocumented immigrants who came between two and five years ago become temporary workers if they go to a border port of entry and return to the country legally. They would have three years to apply for temporary worker status and could apply for permanent legal status once they're approved as temporary workers.
# Allow about 325,000 foreign workers to come to the United States legally every year on temporary work visas. They could stay for three years and apply for one three-year extension.
# Grant 450,000 work-related green cards - permits for permanent legal status - every year, with 135,000 reserved for low-skilled workers.
# Replace old fencing along the Arizona-Mexico line with new double- or triple-layered fences and barriers, and install 10 miles of new fences. The plan also would order a study on whether to put up fencing along more of the U.S.-Mexican border.
# Increase manpower at the Border Patrol by 12,000 agents over the next five years.
# Require employers to check new hires' legal status against federal databases on a phased-in schedule, beginning in two years for companies with more than 5,000 employees.

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Hopes fade for Irish illegals as US senate deal stalls

Tens of thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants in America have seen hopes of an early change in their legal status slip away as a senate deal on immigration reform collapsed yesterday, writes Denis Staunton in Washington.

Hours after Republicans and Democrats said they had agreed a compromise that would give most of America's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants the chance to become US citizens, the agreement unravelled amid acrimonious exchanges.

The senate adjourned yesterday for a two-week recess but it could be months before immigration returns to its agenda and some senators said it was now unlikely that any reform will be approved this year.

"All through the day yesterday people were calling me literally in tears. They were so happy that finally they felt they were going to be able to travel to Ireland, to get a driver's licence and live like normal people. That was then taken away from them, which was a shattering experience," Niall O'Dowd, chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, told The Irish Times.

Republicans blamed Democrats for not allowing the senate to consider amendments to the reform bill agreed on Thursday but Democrats said conservative Republicans were trying to filibuster.

Republican senator John McCain, who co-sponsored with Democrat Edward Kennedy the bill that formed the basis of Thursday's deal, said there were enough votes to defeat the conservative amendments.

"There is no amendment that could pass . . . The Democrats obviously feel this is some sort of political advantage. Nobody has ever seen a major piece of legislation on the floor like this without any amendments . . . It is a disgrace," he said.

Democratic senate leader Harry Reid said the Republican amendments were designed to drag out the debate so that no immigration bill would be passed.

"The amendments were being offered by people who didn't want the bill. The majority must explain to the American people why they are permitting a filibuster of immigration, a filibuster by amendment," he said.

The proposal that was shelved yesterday would have introduced the most sweeping reform of America's immigration laws for two decades, strengthening security along the border with Mexico but giving most illegal immigrants a chance to regularise their legal status.

Undocumented immigrants in the US for more than five years would have been able to stay and earn citizenship if they paid a $2,000 (€1,642) fine, settled all back taxes and stayed in work for 11 years.

Those who had been in the US for less than five years, but more than two, would have had three years to apply for a temporary work visa, which they would have to retrieve at an official point of entry outside the US. After that time, they would be eligible for a green card and could apply for citizenship.

Those in the US for less than two years would have had to return home and go through normal channels if they wanted to return to the US.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will resume discussion of the immigration bill on April 27th, but it is not clear when the issue will return to the senate floor.

In Los Angeles last week, 500,000 people demonstrated in support of immigrants in a march that was bigger than any civil rights or Vietnam War protest during the 1960s and 1970s. Millions of people are expected to take part in pro-immigrant rallies in more than 60 American cities next Monday, a day of action Mr O'Dowd described as very important.

"I expect there will be massive numbers at that . . . Nobody can walk away from the fact that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in America," he said.

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Bush Blames Reid on Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush blamed Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Saturday for the potentially fatal blow dealt to compromise immigration legislation.

The landmark bill, which would offer eventual citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, fell victim Friday to internal disputes in both parties.

But Bush - echoing earlier complaints from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. - sought to place all the blame on Reid, D-Nev., who refused to permit votes on more than three Republican-backed amendments.

"I call on the Senate minority leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Hailed as a bipartisan breakthrough earlier in the week, the immigration measure would have provided for stronger border security, regulated the future entry of foreign workers and created a complex new set of regulations for the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.

Officials said an estimated 9 million of them, those who could show they had been in the United States for more than two years, would eventually become eligible for citizenship under the proposal.

Faced with a major setback only months before much of the Republican-controlled Congress is up for re-election, Bush sought to give life to the issue. Speaking mostly to conservatives in his party, he said border security must be improved and enforcement within the United States needs to be enhanced.

But in a nod to business leaders who support temporary worker programs that would ensure an easy supply of low-cost labor, he spoke passionately about the need to put out the welcome mat for those from other countries.

"Immigration is an emotional issue and a vitally important one," Bush said. "At its core, immigration is the sign of a confident and successful nation."

The legislation was gridlocked as lawmakers left the Capitol on Friday for a two-week break. After bewildering political maneuvering, a key vote produced only 38 senators, all Democrats, in support - 22 short of the 60 needed.

"Politics got ahead of policy on this," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., lamented.

With large public demonstrations planned over the next several days, other supporters expressed hope for its resurrection. "We have an agreement. It's not going away," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged to have legislation ready for debate in the Senate within two weeks of the lawmakers' return.

Frist, though, stopped short of a commitment to bring another immigration bill to the floor by year's end. "I intend to," he said, but added it would depend on the schedule, already crowded with other legislation.

Frist and others accused Reid of "putting a stranglehold" on the Senate. The Democratic leader has prevented votes on all but a few non-controversial amendments since debate began on the bill more than a week ago.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and other opponents expressed frustration that they were unable to gain votes on proposals to toughen enforcement or to leave immigration policy unchanged until the border had been made secure.

"It's not gone forward because there's a political advantage for Democrats not to have an immigration bill," asserted Specter.

Reid swiftly rebutted the claim: "I respect Bill Frist, but his position on this matter simply defies logic. ... He needed the courage to move forward."

Kennedy, who had seemed more eager than the Nevadan all week to find a compromise, declined several chances to offer a strong defense of his party's leader.

Republicans, including those who favored the immigration bill, decided in advance they would cast protest votes to emphasize their opposition to Reid's tactics.

Frist initially advanced a bill largely limited to border security. He then embraced Bush's concept of a broader measure including provisions relating to illegal immigrants. But in doing so, he left behind GOP conservatives, who see the measure as offering amnesty to lawbreakers.

Democrats, meanwhile, had their own divisions, principally between Kennedy and others who favored negotiating a compromise and those who were more reluctant.

In private as well as public, Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who heads the party's campaign effort, said they did not want to expose rank-and-file Democrats to votes that would force them to choose between border security and immigrant rights, only to wind up with legislation that would be eviscerated in future negotiations with the House, which has passed a bill limited to boosting border security.