Posted on 05/11/2006 8:15:29 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - After months of partisan maneuvering, Senate passage of sweeping immigration legislation is virtually assured by Memorial Day. But that scarcely ends the struggle in Congress, given the vast differences between President Bush and House Republicans over the fate of millions of illegal immigrants.
The substance of the Senate bill is unlikely to change significantly from the measure that was stuck in gridlock more than a month ago. It includes additional border security, a new guest worker program and provisions opening the way to eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
What changed was that after weeks of exchanging insults, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed on a procedural compromise that gives the bill's critics ample opportunity to offer amendments. It also offers assurances to Democrats that Senate negotiators will not simply capitulate to demands of House conservatives in talks on compromise legislation later in the year.
However briefly, nearly everyone seemed pleased.
"We congratulate the Senate on reaching agreement and we look forward to passage of a bill prior to Memorial Day," said Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary. Reid and Frist exchanged compliments on the Senate floor. Mexico's foreign secretary said in a statement that the deal was a "positive step toward the approval of a migration accord."
Everyone but House Republicans, many of whom criticize the Senate's bill as an amnesty measure. And possibly House Democrats, who, ironically enough, seem to share the White House view of the political implications of immigration. They are eager to campaign against Republicans responsible for last year's bill to make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges.
Looking ahead, the White House is searching for ways to assure conservatives that Bush understands their concerns. White House strategist Karl Rove met with lawmakers earlier in the week, and at least one session included a discussion about making greater use of National Guard troops to shore up border security.
"Nobody is suggesting that we put troops on the border," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., who attended the session. "We are suggesting there are plenty of resources in the government" to increase border security, at least in an interim period while provisions in the pending legislation take hold, he said.
"The National Guard can in some cases help do that," he added. Other lawmakers said they expected Bush to announce border security improvements next week, possibly in a speech in Arizona or another border states.
The differences between Bush and House Republicans flared dramatically when the Senate appeared on the verge of agreement on a comprehensive bill several weeks ago. Several GOP conservatives denounced the bill as an amnesty measure and Rep. Steve King (news, bio, voting record) of Iowa said anyone who voted for it should be "branded with a scarlet letter A."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., offered his view of the importance of immigrant labor: "I say let the prisoners pick the fruits."
In political terms, Rep. J.D. Hayworth (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona and others said Republicans would pay a price in the midterm elections if they vote for anything like the Senate legislation. "Many of those who have stood for the Republican Party for the last decade are not only angry. They will be absent in November," Hayworth said.
Given Bush's recent erosion of support among conservatives, as measured in polls, there's been no evident change in sentiment among his congressional critics.
The political calculations are different at the White House. Hispanics comprise the nation's fastest growing minority, according to this line of reasoning, and no political party can afford to be seen as blind or even hostile to their concerns and the desire of their relatives to join them in the United States.
Bush and top House Republicans reviewed the issue last week at a private White House meeting, according to several officials, and the president urged the GOP congressional leadership to embrace his call for comprehensive legislation. That means provisions to strengthen border security, coupled with a guest worker program that — while the president doesn't say so in public — provides a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. and other leaders stressed that would be a hard sell with their rank and file. Bush restated his desire for a comprehensive bill, and the leadership responded by noting the sentiment of the rank and file, according to officials familiar with the conversation. They spoke on condition of anonymity, given the private nature of the meetings.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — David Espo is chief congressional correspondent for The Associated Press.
ping
I think it is sarcasm.
President Bush has made some mistakes but he is right on this issue. Who do you choose? Gore, Kerry, or Hillary?
Email to my Senior Senator, just sent:
Senator Frist:
I am baffled by the tone deafness you and your fellow politicians exhibit on the immigration issue. Every one of you knows by now that the vast majority of AMERICANS totally reject the idea of any so-called comprehensive immigration reform instead of a simple bill that addresses these two issues alone: (1) Stop the INVASION by illegal aliens by any and all appropriate means, and (2) punish - SEVERELY - the employers that violate the law by hiring illegal aliens.
The ONLY secondary issues you should consider are the technical means to directly support these primary purposes.
Perhaps you think that we will forget what you are doing to us by election time, or by some time in the more distant future when the furor has subsided. I assure you, the furor may end, but the absolute FURY will NEVER subside. Far better to save your President from this folly than to join him in it. This is political suicide, and I am amazed that you lemmings don't realize how close you are to the edge of the cliff. Jump over, and there will be no way back for a single one of you.
"Just make them legal and and we reap the tax benefits."
I was thinking about this tonight. I believe most of our future, instant citizens won't be earning enough to pay. As a matter of fact they'll probably get money back. Not to mention still getting welfare, healthcare and housing assistance.
Well. Welcome to FR.
You do know that in less than 4 years we are going to see the largest exodus from the workforce in our history? When the boomers retire the producer/non-producer pyramid will invert for the first time. If you think the AARP is militant now you ain't seen nothing yet. We had damn well be thinking about some type of tax base since our "legal population" has not reproduced enough to absorb this massive influx of new retirees.
and provisions opening the way to eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
still think that Bush can peel off some Dem votes to get something through
It won't take 20 years. We will look more like China, overcrowded with mobs. The marxists of both parties will win.
Is Border Patrol Cooperating with Mexican Government Against the ... FOX News - 13 hours ago By Bill O'Reilly. According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the Border Patrol has apprised Mexican authorities of exactly where ... Report: US notifying Mexico of some civilian border patrol acts San Jose Mercury News, USA - May 9, 2006 ONTARIO, Calif. - The US Border Patrol is alerting Mexican officials when civilian border patrol groups detain or allegedly mistreat ... US notifying Mexico of civilian border patrol locations San Jose Mercury News, USA - May 9, 2006 LOS ANGELES - The US Border Patrol is alerting the Mexican government to the locations of civilian border patrol groups when the organizations help detain ... Minutemen Dispute US Gov Mexico Tipping Denial The Conservative Voice, NC - 14 hours ago By Sher Zieve – On Wednesday, US Customs and Border Protection denied reports that it was tipping off Mexican officials as to the locations of members of the ... Border Patrol denies Minuteman report Washington Times, DC - 23 hours ago By Jerry Seper. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) yesterday described as "flat wrong" a report in a California newspaper that ... US Shares Minuteman Patrol Information with Mexico KXTV, CA - May 10, 2006 A newspaper story about the US Border Patrol informing the Mexican government of the whereabouts of civilian border groups and the Mexican government in turn ... Is US giving illegal immigrants a leg up? U.S. News & World Report - May 10, 2006 The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin of Ontario, Calif., ran a stupefying story Tuesday saying that the United States was telling the Mexican government where the ... Border Patrol Union Condemns US Giving Mexico Info on Minutemen The Conservative Voice, NC - May 10, 2006 by Jim Kouri - Superiors at the US Border Patrol are tipping off the Mexican government about the locations the Minuteman Project members on the border. ... Border Patrol disputes news stories about reporting Minutemen ... KVOA.com, AZ - May 10, 2006 The US Border Patrol is disputing newspaper reports published Tuesday that said the Border Patrol is alerting Mexican officials when civilian border patrol ... Border Patrol Tips Mexico to Minuteman Sites NewsMax.com, FL - May 10, 2006 The US Border Patrol has been tipping off Mexican authorities about the whereabouts of Minuteman civilian patrols that are seeking to stem the flow of illegal ... Did the Daily Bulletin make it up? RedState, VA - May 10, 2006 Today's report by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, "US tipping Mexico to Minuteman patrols," is inaccurate. Border Patrol does ... Tancredo Rips Government’s Spying of Minutemen SierraTimes.com - May 10, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen Tom Tancredo (R-CO) decried a recently-disclosed US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) practice of tipping off the Mexican military ... Agency denies tipping Mexico San Bernardino Sun, CA - May 10, 2006 US Customs and Border Protection is rebutting a report from The Sun's sister newspaper, the Ontario-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, that the US Border ... US Gov't Snitched Out Minutemen to Mexican Gov't AXcess News, NV - May 9, 2006 By Jim Kouri. (AXcess News) New York - Superiors at the US Border Patrol are tipping off the Mexican government about the locations ... US Gov't Shares Intelligence on Americans with Mexican Gov't American Chronicle, CA - May 9, 2006 Jim Kouri, CPP is fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and served in law enforcement for over 25 years. ... Illegal Immigration: Minutemen Locations Tipped to Mexico by US National Ledger, AZ - May 9, 2006 By Josh Hart. Sara A. Carter writes in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA) that the US Border Patrol is keeping an eye out for ... US Tipping Mexico to Minuteman Patrols Stop the ACLU, PA - May 9, 2006 Its not enough that our government is doing next to nothing about our border problem…now we learn from the Daily Bulletin that our US Border Patrol is ... US alerting Mexico to Minuteman patrols WorldNetDaily, OR - May 9, 2006 The US Border Patrol is tipping off Mexican authorities on the positions of members of the Minuteman civilian patrols. US officials ... US Border Control Gives Minutemen Locations to Mexican Government Wizbang, DC - May 9, 2006 Michelle points to a Daily Bulletin report that will outrage a lot of people. The US Border Patrol is under orders to keep an eye ... US notifying Mexico of civilian border patrol locations KPHO Phoenix, AZ - May 9, 2006 LOS ANGELES The US Border Patrol says it will alert the Mexican government to the locations of civilian border patrol groups if the organizations help detain ... US Government Pro-Illegals Anti-Minutemen The Conservative Voice, NC - May 9, 2006 By Sher Zieve - Three documents that appear on the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations website advise that the US Border Patrol must notify the Mexican ... US notifying Mexico of civilian border patrol locations KESQ, CA - May 9, 2006 LOS ANGELES The US Border Patrol is alerting the Mexican government to the locations of civilian border patrol groups when the organizations help detain ... US Gov't Snitched Out Minutemen to Mexican Gov't NewsByUs, ID - 13 hours ago By Jim Kouri, CPP on May 11, 2006. Superiors at the US Border Patrol are tipping off the Mexican government about the locations the ... US Border Patrol tipping Mexico to our Minuteman patrols Dakota Voice, SD - May 10, 2006 By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer. While Minuteman civilian patrols are keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the US Border ... Report: US notifying Mexico of some civilian border patrol acts San Diego Union Tribune, United States - May 10, 2006 ONTARIO – The US Border Patrol is alerting Mexican officials when civilian border patrol groups detain or allegedly mistreat suspected illegal immigrants ... Officials disclaim Bulletin 'tipping' report Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA - May 10, 2006 US Customs and Border Protection is refuting a Daily Bulletin report that the US Border Patrol provided information to the Mexican government about the ... US Tipping Mexico to Minuteman Patrols Wizbang, DC - May 9, 2006 I just heard about this on the radio, the Bush Administration is stabbing us in the back. Sara Carter, a reporter with the Inland ...
The fact that the story was debunked as quickly as it was guaranteed that it would gain no traction.
The only ones trying to keep it alive are Malkin and FR.
President Bush has been an outstanding President with
proven excellent judgement
But even if the senate were to put up a good bill (which there is no chance in the world that they will), they'll make it so it doesn't start to get implemented until 2010 or later. Then it will fall into the trashbin of all the other uninforced laws, committeed and studied to death, but never enforced.
My jokes and sarcasm are lost on so many tonight.
that's true. and that's because this is no laughing matter. in fact, the very future of our country and western civilization is at stake.
i do not want my beautiful, precious little daughter to grow up to live in some third world, corrupt, impoverished, diseased, crime ridden, ignorant, superstitious, uneducated, filthy, and ugly little shit hole.
uh, i mean, mexico.
I'm for that idea. That and end welfare.
I'm calling a few Rep's today and ask them what laws I can break.
Until they are severely punished at the polls they won't enforce anything they don't have to.
Your comments are all reinforced by the results of the last amnesty.
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