Here's an article about the immigration bill in the U.S. Senate from the AP via the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "Supporters of immigration legislation are predicting they will pass a Senate bill giving millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. Critics of the legislation aren't giving up, saying they'll continue to try to reshape it. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., planned to offer an amendment that would erect more fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border, an idea similar to one passed in December by the House. But in a win for supporters, what had been considered a poison pill provision before Easter was softened Tuesday by two of the bill's biggest critics and the defeats of two other proposals considered killer amendments left bill supporters smelling victory...
"The bill authorizes additional spending on border security, a guest worker program, an eventual opportunity at citizenship for most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and tougher enforcement of laws prohibiting hiring of illegal workers. Senate passage appears likely by Memorial Day. Opponents of granting legal status to most of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants planned other amendments but said the big fight will occur when negotiators try to merge the Senate bill with the House's enforcement-only legislation...
"Bill backers defeated two amendments that would have gutted the Senate bill. In votes that crossed party lines, the Senate rejected 55-40 a requirement that the border be secured before other immigration changes are made. They also voted 69-28 to scuttle a Democratic amendment to exclude foreigners and recent illegal immigrants from a new guest worker program. The Senate also approved on a voice vote an amendment reducing the number of foreigners who could participate in the guest worker program annually from at least 325,000 to no more than 200,000. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also won approval for his proposal to add 1,000 more Border Patrol agents this year, 100 helicopters and 250 power boats."
More coverage of the Senate bill from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "An immigration reform package survived its first big test in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday when supporters beat back an attempt to require secure borders before Congress considers legal status for millions of illegal immigrants.
By a 55-44 vote, the Senate rejected a proposed amendment by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. It would have blocked a proposed guest worker plan and other controversial immigration provisions until after federal officials prove they have stemmed the flow of illegal immigrants across U.S. borders. It was an attempt to forestall a plan some conservatives view as "amnesty" and move closer to the enforcement-only immigration approach that passed the House of Representatives late last year. Colorado's senators were on opposite sides of the debate. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland, co-sponsored Isakson's amendment because he considers border security a 'mandatory first step' in immigration reform, spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, successfully argued for an alternative amendment that simply requires the president to determine that a national security need exists before a guest worker plan and other immigration reform measures are implemented. Salazar's amendment passed by a 79-16 vote, with Allard among 13 Republicans and three Democrats opposed. Isakson, who at one point called Salazar's proposal "smoke and mirrors" to justify a guest worker plan, ultimately joined the majority. Salazar portrayed the result as a good sign that a bipartisan coalition was holding together to support a White House-backed plan, which includes border security provisions along with the guest worker proposal...
"The pending Senate bill is expected to be tested by various amendments over the next week. It already includes provisions advocated by Allard to close a loophole in the U.S. visa system and ban advocates of terrorism from entering the country."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
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