Senate Revives Immigration Bill

o

WASHINGTON (By Noam N. Levey and Nicole Gaouette, LA Times) June 26, 2007 — Two and a half weeks after the push for immigration reform collapsed on Capitol Hill, the Senate today narrowly voted to revive the controversial legislation.

The procedural vote passed 64 to 35, just four votes over the 60 required. The move doesn't guarantee that a law to change national policy on the millions of legal and illegal immigrants will follow, but the much anticipated action breathed new life into a legislative campaign deemed vital to President Bush and the Senate Democratic leadership, both of which worked hard to round up the votes to resuscitate the congressional immigration debate.

"Immigrants are the strength of this country, and this legislation honors that fact," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has been under intense pressure to shepherd comprehensive reform through the fractious Senate.

Bush, who has personally lobbied a number of GOP lawmakers in recent weeks, today called the bill "a careful compromise."

"The bill we've worked hard to craft is an important piece of legislation that addresses the needs of a failed system," he said.

The president, whose mistaken assertion that the bill amounted to amnesty forced a quick clarification from the White House, also suggested that criticism from the right amounted to "rhetoric."

The bill's critics, meanwhile, promised to keep fighting to kill the legislation in the Senate and later in the House of Representatives if necessary.

"It's DOA in the House," Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) said at a morning news conference organized by opponents at the Capitol.

Twenty-four Republicans joined 39 Democrats and one independent in voting to begin debate; 24 Republicans, 9 Democrats and one independent voted no.

All six presidential candidates -- Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.); Sam Brownback (R-Kan.); Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.); Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.); John McCain (R-Ariz.); and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- voted yes.

So, too, did California's two Democratic senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.

After the vote, the Senate was set to begin debate on a long series of amendments to the complex bill, many of which will be critical to its fate.

Democratic leaders hope to hold a final vote on the legislation by the end of the week, when lawmakers are scheduled to recess for a weeklong July 4 break.

At the heart of the mammoth bill is a political trade-off between Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who have insisted it is a "grand bargain" that opens new doors for high-skill immigrants while providing opportunities for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to legally enter the workforce. Tougher border and work-site security are other key elements.

Democrats who helped assemble the bill included a provision that would give most of the nation's illegal immigrants a way to achieve legal status by passing background checks, paying fines and fees, and eventually proving proficiency in English.

Republican negotiators championed one of the bill's most significant features, a shift in the criteria for future immigration from a family-based system to a point system that would put greater emphasis on skills and education.

And they ensured that the bill's temporary-worker program would not allow participants to become legal permanent residents. The bill also includes a worker program for the agriculture industry.

To protect the southern border, the bill calls for the addition of thousands of border agents, hundreds of miles of vehicle barriers and fence, and many more camera towers. Employers would have to use an electronic verification system to check workers' status and would face increased penalties for hiring illegally.

But opposition to the deal has been intense.

And 2 ½ weeks ago, lawmakers from both parties rejected an attempt to move toward a final vote, much to the chagrin of the president and the senate majority leader.

Conservatives continue to brand the legalization plan as amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants they say should be forced to go home.

Religious groups have decried the weakened emphasis on family immigration. Immigrant-rights groups complain that temporary workers can never become citizens.

And businesses are upset about a point system, which could end their ability to bring in specific employees with the needed skills.

Lawmakers pushing for a comprehensive bill hope that some of these complaints can be addressed by the two dozen amendments senators are scheduled to consider over the next several days.

But some of the same amendments designed to assuage one group of lawmakers risk driving another group away from the bill.

Potentially most explosive are efforts by Republican senators to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get visas or green cards and by Democrats to maintain the long-standing preference for reuniting families in U.S. immigration policy.