Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A fragile bipartisan compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants suffered a setback Thursday when it failed a test vote, leaving its prospects uncertain.
Still, the measure -- a top priority for President Bush that's under attack from the right and left -- got a reprieve when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said he would give it more time before yanking the bill and moving on to other matters. "We need to complete this marathon," Sen. Reid said.
His decision set the stage for yet another procedural vote later Thursday that will measure lawmakers' appetite for a so-called "grand bargain" between liberals and conservatives on immigration.
By a vote of 33-63, the Senate fell far short of the 60 votes that would have been needed to limit debate on the immigration measure and put it on a path to passage. Republicans -- even those who helped craft the measure and are expected to support it -- banded together to oppose that move, while a majority of Democrats backed it.
Republicans were seeking assurances they would get chances to add several conservative-backed changes that would toughen the measure.
Proponents in both parties were scrambling to find a way of reversing a blow their compromise sustained earlier Thursday, when the Senate voted to phase out the bill's temporary worker program after five years. The Senate voted by the narrowest of margins -- 49-48 -- to place a five-year limit on a program meant to provide U.S. employers with 200,000 temporary foreign workers annually. The vote came two weeks after the Senate, also by a one-vote margin, rejected the same amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan. The North Dakota Democrat says immigrants take many jobs Americans could fill.
The Bush administration, along with business interests and their congressional allies, were already angry that the temporary worker program had been cut in half from its original 400,000-person-a-year target. A five-year sunset "is a tremendous problem, but it's correctable," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.). Backers will try as early as Thursday to persuade at least one senator to help reverse the outcome yet again, he added.
Congress could block the legalization of millions of unlawful immigrants if it deemed the border too porous under a Republican proposal also slated for a vote on Thursday. An amendment by conservative Sens. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) would require a congressional vote to certify that border security and workplace enforcement "triggers" were in place before the legalization or a new guest worker program could take effect.
It was one of several challenges the measure was facing from across the political spectrum as its backers struggled to steer clear of potentially fatal changes and push it to quick passage. Until the Dorgan vote was tallied, Sen. Specter and other architects of the compromise had succeeded in avoiding a minefield of major challenges. They had turned back a bid to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who could gain lawful status. They also defeated an effort to allow more family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to qualify for green cards.
And they fended off an amendment, by Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) that would have ended a new point system for those seeking permanent resident "green cards" after five years rather than 14 years. The Senate voted 51-46 to reject a proposal by Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) to bar criminals -- including those ordered by judges to be deported -- from gaining legal status. Democrats siphoned support from Sen. Cornyn's proposal by winning adoption, 66-32, of a rival version that would bar a more limited set of criminals, including certain gang members and sex offenders, from gaining legalization.
Senators also rejected a proposal by Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) that would have boosted the number of immigrants who could get green cards based purely on family ties, rather than having to qualify through education or skill level. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D., N.Y.) fell short in her bid to remove limits on visas for the spouses and minor children of immigrants with permanent resident status.
Still, several changes proposed by conservatives prevailed, including one by Sen. Cornyn that would make it easier to locate and deport illegal immigrants whose visa applications are rejected. The bill would have barred law enforcement agencies from seeing applications for so-called Z visas that allow illegal immigrants to gain legal status. Sen. Cornyn said authorities should know if applicants have criminal records that would warrant their deportation.
Opponents said eligible applicants might be afraid to file applications if they believed they could be deported as a result. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said in an interview that Cornyn's amendment was "not a deal-killer" but would have to be changed in House-Senate negotiations.
Copyright ? 2007 Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A fragile bipartisan compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants suffered a setback Thursday when it failed a test vote, leaving its prospects uncertain.
Still, the measure -- a top priority for President Bush that's under attack from the right and left -- got a reprieve when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said he would give it more time before yanking the bill and moving on to other matters. "We need to complete this marathon," Sen. Reid said.
His decision set the stage for yet another procedural vote later Thursday that will measure lawmakers' appetite for a so-called "grand bargain" between liberals and conservatives on immigration.
By a vote of 33-63, the Senate fell far short of the 60 votes that would have been needed to limit debate on the immigration measure and put it on a path to passage. Republicans -- even those who helped craft the measure and are expected to support it -- banded together to oppose that move, while a majority of Democrats backed it.
Republicans were seeking assurances they would get chances to add several conservative-backed changes that would toughen the measure.
Proponents in both parties were scrambling to find a way of reversing a blow their compromise sustained earlier Thursday, when the Senate voted to phase out the bill's temporary worker program after five years. The Senate voted by the narrowest of margins -- 49-48 -- to place a five-year limit on a program meant to provide U.S. employers with 200,000 temporary foreign workers annually. The vote came two weeks after the Senate, also by a one-vote margin, rejected the same amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan. The North Dakota Democrat says immigrants take many jobs Americans could fill.
The Bush administration, along with business interests and their congressional allies, were already angry that the temporary worker program had been cut in half from its original 400,000-person-a-year target. A five-year sunset "is a tremendous problem, but it's correctable," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.). Backers will try as early as Thursday to persuade at least one senator to help reverse the outcome yet again, he added.
Congress could block the legalization of millions of unlawful immigrants if it deemed the border too porous under a Republican proposal also slated for a vote on Thursday. An amendment by conservative Sens. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) would require a congressional vote to certify that border security and workplace enforcement "triggers" were in place before the legalization or a new guest worker program could take effect.
It was one of several challenges the measure was facing from across the political spectrum as its backers struggled to steer clear of potentially fatal changes and push it to quick passage. Until the Dorgan vote was tallied, Sen. Specter and other architects of the compromise had succeeded in avoiding a minefield of major challenges. They had turned back a bid to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who could gain lawful status. They also defeated an effort to allow more family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to qualify for green cards.
And they fended off an amendment, by Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) that would have ended a new point system for those seeking permanent resident "green cards" after five years rather than 14 years. The Senate voted 51-46 to reject a proposal by Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) to bar criminals -- including those ordered by judges to be deported -- from gaining legal status. Democrats siphoned support from Sen. Cornyn's proposal by winning adoption, 66-32, of a rival version that would bar a more limited set of criminals, including certain gang members and sex offenders, from gaining legalization.
Senators also rejected a proposal by Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) that would have boosted the number of immigrants who could get green cards based purely on family ties, rather than having to qualify through education or skill level. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D., N.Y.) fell short in her bid to remove limits on visas for the spouses and minor children of immigrants with permanent resident status.
Still, several changes proposed by conservatives prevailed, including one by Sen. Cornyn that would make it easier to locate and deport illegal immigrants whose visa applications are rejected. The bill would have barred law enforcement agencies from seeing applications for so-called Z visas that allow illegal immigrants to gain legal status. Sen. Cornyn said authorities should know if applicants have criminal records that would warrant their deportation.
Opponents said eligible applicants might be afraid to file applications if they believed they could be deported as a result. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said in an interview that Cornyn's amendment was "not a deal-killer" but would have to be changed in House-Senate negotiations.
Copyright ? 2007 Associated Press
