Posted on 04/06/2006 8:33:43 AM PDT by STARWISE
WASHINGTON - In a last stab at compromise, Senate Republicans and Democrats reported progress Thursday toward agreement on legislation opening the way to legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the 11 million immigrants now in the U.S. illegally.
"There's been tremendous progress overnight," said Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada, the Democratic leader, while Majority Leader Bill Frist also expressed optimism that a long-sought compromise might be at hand.
There was no immediate reaction from President Bush, who has made immigration legislation a key priority.
The developments occurred after Frist unveiled a new bill late Wednesday night on the subject as the Senate headed into a test vote on the most sweeping immigration bill in two decades.
In general, the legislation would provide for enhanced border security, regulate the flow of future immigrants into the United States and settle the legal fate of the estimated 11 million men, women and children already in the country.
It was the fate of the illegal immigrant population that proved hardest to legislate, and it has left the Senate on the verge of gridlock for days.
(snip)
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., as well as other key senators met before the vote to review terms of a proposed compromise.
In general, it would require illegal immigrants who have been in the United States between two years and five years to return to their home country briefly, then re-enter as temporary workers. They could then begin a process of seeking citizenship.
Illegal immigrants here longer than five years would not be required to return home; those in the country less than two years would be required to leave without assurances of returning, and take their place in line with others seeking entry papers.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Uhhh, okay... doesn't have anything to do with anything I am saying, but you are cool - keep talking
I don't even know if there is an anti-immgration, pro-law, Republican politician in that state, but if there is he can rest assured that he'll be receiving checks from the rest of the country if he ever decides to run for high office.
lol.. er illegal immigrants.
Freudian slip ;-)
Apparently that's exactly what they think. And of course, now, rabble rousers will imagine that this tactic works. Come to think of it, it does!
susie
I truly don't believe this fight is over.
The American public is starting to wake up to the fact that their "representatives" have sold them down the river.
I just hope it isn't too late.
So tell me just how, exactly, getting rid of a few RINO's in the senate guarantees that Hillary winds up in the White House.
I wasn't aware that the presidnetial election was determined by the Senate.
Although I inadvertently didn't italicize that sentence, those are Amused's words. Perhaps a ping to him to your post #845 would be in order, as well.
I doubt that very much.
We should all fiercely DEMAND that Congress enact legislation (like secured borders, more border patrol, harsh employer penalties, deadlines for self deportation, etc) to get ALL illegal aliens the HELL out of our country. Then and only then can Congress come, on bended knee, and beg us to allow them to start letting some back in. We'll agree, but only on OUR terms, not the terms of the foreign nations or the foreigners themselves. OUR terms, not their's.
I was fairly young when Carter's amnesty came around, but I imagine (since my father was in Vietnam and other family members have all answered Uncle Sam's call when it came) that I was against it.
As to making them get in line behind those already in the hopper for legal status, I would only think that was ok if they got in line back in their home country and waited until their turn. Otherwise, no, it's amnesty and I'm against it.
You know, I think it's likely that I won't get a resolution to this that will make me happy, at least I will know that I stuck by MY guns. That's all I can do. Oh, and in 20 years remind those who thought amnesty was fine and illegal immigration was not that big a deal that they actually thought that. I predict there will come a time that virtually everyone will see exactly how stupid this move was.
susie
Although I inadvertently didn't italicize that sentence, those are Amused's words. Perhaps a ping to him to your post #845 would be in order, as well.
Thanks
Hooey. We were the first state to pass laws limiting benefits to illegal immigrants, and Republican's in this state have been paying, rightly or wrongly, the price for Pete Wilson campaigning on behalf of Prop 187 ever since. Before Prop 187, latino's hardly voted in large number (except probably Republican latinos), after Prop 187 passed Latino activists organized, and handed a large number of votes to the Democrats. Latino voters, who vote Democrat, have forever changed the political landscape in California, and THAT is the reason NOT white elitist liberals, that California remains a stronghold for Democrats.
Furthermore, it's not the state's responsibility to enforce Federal borders.
Finally, the rest of the country could give a crap that California was being overrun by illegals until we reached the saturation point, and they started invading the South, Midwest and Northeast.
Thanks for your posts and comments!
Gosh, I hope and pray you're right.
susie
>Oh, and in 20 years remind those who thought amnesty was fine and illegal immigration was not that big a deal that they actually thought that
you might have to do that in Spanish...
Too bad there aren't a handful of "big name" conservative Republicans (the likes of George Allen or Mitt Romney) with enourmous wealth who could break away from the Republican party and form a Conservative Party or a Conservative Coalition within the R Party to give great credibility, leverage and financial backing to true reform that would make the darn government start acting like they work for us for a change.
Somehow, Ronald Reagan and the conservative movement actually started to achieve this when he rose to power. Ironically, things started to go bad when the R's got control of Congress. Sure, they accomplished some good conservative goals, but for the most part they have gone completely native in that cesspool of corruption, fecklessness and profiles in cowardice.
I can't even get any member information off the
Congressional website. It says there is too much traffic.
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