Posted on 05/17/2007 10:16:31 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of senators reached agreement with the White House Thursday on an immigration overhaul to grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border against new ones.
One of the key negotiators, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he expects President Bush to endorse it.
The deal came after weeks of painstaking closed-door negotiations that brought the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans together with Bush's Cabinet officers to produce a highly complex measure that carries heavy political consequences.
It set the stage for what promises to be a bruising battle next week in the Senate on one of Bush's top non-war priorities.
This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic senators huddled Thursday trying to close in on an immigration compromise to grant quick legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants while fortifying U.S. borders against new ones.
A group of lawmakers that has been haggling over the terms of agreement for weeks were reviewing language negotiated Wednesday night in efforts to nail down a deal. Among the final sticking points was a stubborn dispute over how much family ties count toward green cards under a new "point system." The plan prioritizes advanced skills and education levels for future immigrants.
Two of the lead negotiators, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., booked time for Thursday afternoon in the Senate's radio-TV gallery for an announcement.
But Kennedy said some were hanging back as an agreement inched closer.
"There are just some people who don't want to close on this. There comes a time in every negotiation where people have to close," Kennedy said. "Today is it."
Kennedy said Thursday was likely the last chance for a compromise before senators scattered for a three-day weekend.
"The immigration reform legislation has come to a boiling point," Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., said just before going into Thursday's meeting. "We've tried to come to a consensus and I think we are very, very close, but every time we grasp it, it eludes a final resolution."
If no deal emerged, Senate Democrats were to vote Monday evening to bring up an immigration measure that passed last year over the objections of most Republicans, who have said they will block it. That would be a highly partisan start to the immigration debate, which divides the two parties and exposes fissures within their ranks.
Even with a bipartisan agreement, the immigration debate could easily devolve into a free-for-all in the unruly Senate.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., has said he wants to complete a bill before Memorial Day, and President Bush says he wants to sign one by summer's end.
Talk to everyone you meet and get the word out!
Internet, Talk Radio, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, all parties....Now and everyday until this is stopped.
Whats been done here is the planting of a seed that will grow a civil war on the streets of America, and divide people further.
The ramifications & consequences of this decision the politicians won’t have to live with, we will.....................Think about it
LOL
zzZZZzzz...
If this passes, and the President signs it, I have already voted for the last Republican I’ll ever vote for.
Let history record this day as the day the Congress and President of the United States of America deserted and abandoned its citizens by choosing to support the desires of corrupt industry and a massive horde of illegal invaders over and above the safety and welfare of the citizenry. May history label each and everyone of them that supported this fiasco as the Benedict Arnold’s they have chosen to become to the American public.
Just saw Chambliss on TV... he looked and sounded pleased as punch, and said that the bill was “... a real compromise...” that he was proud to be part of.
“A spokesman for Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., one of his party’s key players in the talks, confirmed that the group had reached agreement”
Kyl sold out too??
Good Lord!!
Apparently, we are. We keep voting for these @$$holes, and not holding them accountable.
Exactly. And as if the Republican traitors would care if we ever voted for them again. They've got a secured position in the Kremlin lined up for them even if they're never elected again. Plus their glorious pensions. Bastards.
Kyl led the sell out.
America is gone- a nation that anyone can join by breaking the law and waiting for amnesty is no nation, but rather a geographical area.
The only thing left is tribalism. And that’s what America will devolve into - a bunch of tribes of people looking out for their tribe’s interests.
“If Bush endorses this”
He does and he will be handsomely paid off for it after 2008. The usual way bribe money is laundered is through “speaking fees.”
All the Senators will get their payoffs from the wage depression lobbies, possibly laundered through ethnic-looking NGOs.
The union leadership sound like idiots, having been scammed by the business lobbies, they are meek and hoping for some more union dues — which little will come.
Conservatives have let Bush/Rove define protecting American here as a “conservative” issue only, scaring non-conservative MSM from investigating the facts.
The GOP (Gutless Other Party) striving to elect Hillary.
This should be in ads and billboards across America! worth repeating over and over! May God help us.
How do you say, “I just took it in the shorts from my own party, and they used the rock salt lube,” in Spanish?
Years ago, I used to hear the expression "I'd rather be dead, then wake up Red"..remember that?
Back then, we feared the Russians were going to overtake our country without a shot being fired. "We will take you from within".
Well, it happened today, but it wasn't the Russians.
sw
“Kyl led the sell out.”
I will wait to judge Kyl until I hear whether the Republicans had the 40 votes to fillibuster this bill. If so, then he sold us out. If we couldn’t have stopped it anyway, then he may have just been getting the best deal he could.
Every rhino who votes for this amnesty needs to be replaced with a true conservative asap. Once again we’ve been sold out on a very important issue, despite all polls showing the vast majority of Republicans dead set against this. Might as well just throw open the borders now, this is the second time we’ve sent the message out to illegals that all they have to do is sneak in, wait a few years, and they will be rewarded for ignoring our laws. Disgusting.
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