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Posted on 04/07/2006 7:54:04 AM PDT by samcgwire
WASHINGTON
The Senate sidetracked sweeping immigration legislation Friday, leaving in doubt prospects for passing a bill offering the hope of citizenship to millions of men, women and children living in the United States illegally.
A carefully crafted compromise that supporters had claimed could win an overwhelming majority received only 38 of the 60 votes necessary to protect it from weakening amendments by opponents.
Republicans were united in the 38-60 parliamentary vote but Democrats, who have insisted on no amendments, lost six votes from their members.
Democrats and Republicans had been blaming each other Friday for problems stalling the progress of bill.
Scheduled votes to break the logjam failed and both supporters and opponents of the bill will have to wait until Congress returns from a two-week spring recess, if then.
"It's not gone forward because there's a political advantage for Democrats not to have an immigration bill," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
He said Democrats perceive a benefit in having only a GOP-written House bill that criminalizes being an illegal immigrant. That bill has prompted massive protests across the country, including a march by 500,000 people in Los Angeles last month.
Democrats blamed Republicans for insisting on amendments that would weaken a compromise that Senate leaders in both parties had celebrated Thursday.
"This opportunity is slipping through our hands like grains of sand," said assistant Senate Democratic leader Dick Durbin of Illinois.
President Bush had applauded the Senate's efforts to draft a comprehensive immigration bill. "I would encourage the members to work hard to get the bill done prior to the upcoming break," he said Thursday.
The election-year legislation is designed to enhance border security and regulate the flow of future temporary workers as well as affect the lives of illegal immigrants.
It separates illegal immigrants now in the U.S. into three categories.
Illegal immigrants here more than five years could work for six years and apply for legal permanent residency without having to leave the country. Those here two years to five years would have to go to border entry points sometime in next three years, but could immediately return as temporary workers. Those here less than two years would have to leave and wait in line for visas to return.
The bill also provides a new program for 1.5 million temporary agriculture industry workers over five years. It includes provisions requiring employers to verify they've hired legal workers and calls for a "virtual" fence of surveillance cameras, sensors and other technology to monitor the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border.
The acrimony in the Senate at Thursday night's end was a sharp contrast to the accolades 14 members of both parties traded just hours earlier when they announced their compromise.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called it tragic "that we in all likelihood are not going to be able to address a problem that directly affects the American people."
The House has passed legislation limited to border security, but Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and other leaders have signaled their willingness in recent days to broaden the bill in compromise talks with the Senate.
But Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said anything with what he called amnesty would not get agreement from a majority in the House.
The immigration debate has given the American public a glimpse of what may lay ahead in 2008 GOP presidential politics.
Frist, R-Tenn., a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sought to establish more conservative credentials when he initially backed a bill limited to border security. At the same time, he has repeatedly called for a comprehensive bill _ adopting Bush's rhetoric _ and involved himself in the fitful negotiations over the past several days.
That's not true, we have the technology to complete close off the entire mexican border if we wanted to.
We could even use the same methods proven effective by Israel, in their security wall.
"Everyone interested in the illegal immigration issue should read (See Post #10 for Link: Hidden Bombs By Kris Kobach), who was head of the immigration division under AG Ashcroft."
Wow!
+++++++
Some of you may have heard of Kris Kobach, who was head of immigration under John Ashcroft. Last night several of us met with him. In his speech he stated in tne 1986 amnesty there were 398,000 cases of blatant fraud, and 2.7 million cases were approved. Of the 2.7 million they suspected many were fradulent. He also stated there is no way the DHS has the resources to process the applications for amnesty, and there is lots of pressure to push these cases through the mill, which means most fraudlent applications will pass.
Kris also stated that between June 2003 to October 2004 they captured 1,432 individuals from terrorist countries on the Mexican border.
Bush hasn't veto'd zip his entire Presidency, and isn't likely too, he's too into "the new tone".
The language of current law seems sufficient to criminalize the activities of the Catholic Church in setting up Mexican dioceses in the United States as well as networks of "safe houses" for illegals.
That is not the solution. Businesses have to compete or they cease to exist. Businesses are almost forced to used illegals because their competitors do and there is no penalty for doing so.
The answer is not a boycott that will never happen, but to severely punish employers that use illegals. This way, if a business is subject to unfair competition due to other companies using illegals, he can report them and the employers will go to prison - fines are not enough.
That will be enough incentive to stop employing illegals and the flow will stop. Of course, this must be coupled with cutting off social services to illegals.
Good, you got talking point #38 out of the way. Have you brought up Hillary, or the soup kitchen yet today?
Agreed, but he would if he thought it would keep a foreign nation from getting it's feelings hurt. I have no doubt that he would veto any immigration bill that Mexican President Fox did not draft.
Once again, Bill Frist demonstrates his total political ineptitude. He managed to disgust everyone on every side of the debate.
I guess that's the price of choosing to be the puppet of the White House rather than the most powerful leader in the legislative branch.
If he was an acual moral leader of the majority, we'd be looking at the passage of an enforcement-only bill that looked remarkably like the Sensenbrenner bill.
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Now that's a shocker!
I don't think so.
Good grief, what planet have you been living on? In some states, including California, they've almost doubled the welfare numbers. Here in Oklahoma, they use the E.R. as though it were primary care--and since they say they have no money, they don't pay. And gangs--don't get me started on the imported Mexican gangs. Crime in Oklahoma City alone is just about off the charts with the invasion of the Mexican gangs.
OK, clawrence3, I'll have to hand it to all the GOP Senators for their vote today.
Thanks : )
That's like telling a person that they shouldn't give up crystal meth because the withdrawal symptoms might be a little uncomfortable.
Do you still think that we need additional legislation to grab smugglers, or do you think we need to enforce our current laws?
Great analogy.
Even the Israel wall has not been 100% effective.
Bullseye!!
My senator, Patty Murray, had this to say:
I supported S. 352, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005, when it was offered as an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2006. The final conference report was signed into law on May 11,
2005, with the amendment language included.
I was an original cosponsor of S. 359, the **Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits**, and Security Act of 2005 when it was introduced on February 10, 2005.
S. 359 regulates the use and requirements for H-2A visas, and **establishes the Commission on Agricultural Wage Standards** to provide oversight for these policies.
-snip-
These bills would update the current definitions of the H-visas that cover all temporary and seasonal workers as well as **providing more support and resources for border security.**
Makes you wonder whose side she's on.
I hpoe they bring all their Mexican flags and signs in Spanish demanding 'rights' again! It's the best thing that can be done for our side.
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