Posted on 05/18/2007 1:58:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A landmark compromise on the thorny issue of immigration came under scrutiny in Congress Friday as some Republicans slammed the plan as a blanket amnesty and some Democrats argued it did not go far enough.
"The agreement as it stands is hopeless. It is a framework that still has to be fleshed out," said Vanessa Cardenas of the Center for American Progress, after US lawmakers late Thursday struck a deal with the White House on sweeping immigration reform that could allow 12 million illegal immigrants to legalize their status.
The pact, announced by a group of Democratic and Republican senators, would provide a path to permanent residency and citizenship for the vast majority of illegal workers, establish a merit-based points system for future immigrants, and set up a low-wage temporary worker program.
It also would also provide 18,000 more Border Patrol agents, and scores of radar and camera towers on the US border with Mexico.
The deal could hand President George W. Bush one of the few successes in Congress of his second term in office; in the Senate Monday, 60 of 100 members were expected to give a procedural green light for the bill to be debated.
"I look forward to signing this legislation as soon as I can," Bush said on Friday.
Debate will get under way, a legislative source said, but stressed that was no guarantee about terms set out in the deal.
Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has said he would like to improve the deal with amendments, gave colleagues until next weekend to approve a reform plan apparently in a bid to keep the immigration issue from becoming a focus of campaigning ahead of next year's presidential vote.
Conservative Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney jumped on the issue, saying he was strongly opposed to the deal. But Democrat Hillary Clinton said only that she would analyze the deal carefully -- not if she supported it.
With critics on both sides, Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican Jon Kyl face an uphill battle for their bill despite being backed by Bush.
"I voted for amnesty in 1986 and learned that illegality only promotes illegality. So I won't repeat the mistake," said Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, referring to a prior effort to allow people in the United States illegally to normalize their status.
Democrat Bob Menendez did not sign on either, despite the fact he was one of his party's lead negotiators on the case in recent weeks.
"I could not sign on to the agreement announced in principle because it tears families apart, says to many that they are only good enough to work here, but not good enough to stay," said Menendez.
Some Democrats have asked for reforms that would allow separated family members to be reunited, and a way for future participants in a temporary workers' program to seek permanent residency, ideas not in the current plan.
Lawmakers and the White House will have to narrow the divide over the details in a few months if they hope to give Bush a deal he can sign before year's end.
The Senate's final version of the deal, once approved, must be debated in the House of Representatives, where the Democrats hold sway. If it is revised a committee must iron out differences between the competing versions, and then put the result before both houses.
Last year immigration reform got bogged down in committee, amid opposition from conservative Republicans, and Cardenas warmed that could happen again.
"Anti-immigrant groups have a strong base that takes action, and politicians listen to them," she said.
I would prefer that Bush spend the rest of his term on vacation than hand us "successes" like this.
That’s not enough yet.
Kill the thing.
“A landmark compromise”
It’s not a compromise. It’s additions to current law with amnesty and new and additional worker programs.
This was posted at NRs “The Corner”
“Top Democratic leaders and activists see Hispanic migration as a long-term opportunity for the party. The arrival of additional immigrant workers is “bad for blue-collars,” Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told National Journal late last year. But immigrants can help elect Democratic majorities, and “if [a Democratic Congress] were to significantly strengthen unions, then you would offset the negative effect on the income of workers,” he said. (”Immigration Economics,” National Journal, May 12, 2007)”
Evidence of Democratic separation from the people. Frank here notes there will be wage depression...then mollifies himself with some promise of some uncertain thing to help “unions”... as if that will do anything to cause the problem, increased immigration, in the first place.
Shows the Dems are just as alienated from the people as Repubicans — utterly disingenuous or self-delusional.
If they are going to give illegals amnesty, we need to invite 10 million Poles to visit. That would make the Dims do back flips.
“It also would also provide 18,000 more Border Patrol agents, and scores of radar and camera towers on the US border with Mexico”
It will NEVER happen.
It got someones attention...if 2.5 million called...it means there is triple that out there seething. I would argue that that the 2.5 million were the lucky ones to get thru.
It was also said that LULAC wrote most of the bill, while Dead Kennedy slept off another drunk.
Can’t he spend more time on golf, ala Eisenhower?
The real Sam Adams could do something about this. I however am powerless and am in deep shock that our “leaders” have the ability to kill the American spirit with the stroke of pen. The American experiment, ended from within with a whimper I guess..??.
These treasounous bastards!
I dont think there is a greater fight and I’m not even in the game.
Any words of wisdom from my dearest Freepers?
Someone..please...MAKE THE CALL!
The GOP has been undergoing a slow death for nearly 20 years
4 years of Bush I, followed by 8 years of Clinton I, followed by 6 years of Bush II was more that the party could survive......
The corpse of the party has recently started to smell very badly.....
Yes. This is not an appropriations bill. It DOES NOT PROVIDE one, single additional Border Patrol agent. Nor does it provide scores of radar and camera towers. This kind of non-appropriations bill is saying, in effect, “Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if we had 18,000 more BP agents and some radar and camera towers? If, sometime down the road Congress decides to do that, it’s fine with us.”
2.5 million called ....
The other 190 million are breaking out the pitchforks
The lying, traitorous, SOB’s !!
>>This will kill the GOP, IMHO.
At this point I’m not so sure that isn’t the goal.<<
That’s what I was thinking. This could torpedo Giuliani’s run, and Hillary might figure she could easily beat the others.
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