Posted on 05/17/2007 10:16:31 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of senators reached agreement with the White House Thursday on an immigration overhaul to grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border against new ones.
One of the key negotiators, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he expects President Bush to endorse it.
The deal came after weeks of painstaking closed-door negotiations that brought the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans together with Bush's Cabinet officers to produce a highly complex measure that carries heavy political consequences.
It set the stage for what promises to be a bruising battle next week in the Senate on one of Bush's top non-war priorities.
This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic senators huddled Thursday trying to close in on an immigration compromise to grant quick legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants while fortifying U.S. borders against new ones.
A group of lawmakers that has been haggling over the terms of agreement for weeks were reviewing language negotiated Wednesday night in efforts to nail down a deal. Among the final sticking points was a stubborn dispute over how much family ties count toward green cards under a new "point system." The plan prioritizes advanced skills and education levels for future immigrants.
Two of the lead negotiators, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., booked time for Thursday afternoon in the Senate's radio-TV gallery for an announcement.
But Kennedy said some were hanging back as an agreement inched closer.
"There are just some people who don't want to close on this. There comes a time in every negotiation where people have to close," Kennedy said. "Today is it."
Kennedy said Thursday was likely the last chance for a compromise before senators scattered for a three-day weekend.
"The immigration reform legislation has come to a boiling point," Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., said just before going into Thursday's meeting. "We've tried to come to a consensus and I think we are very, very close, but every time we grasp it, it eludes a final resolution."
If no deal emerged, Senate Democrats were to vote Monday evening to bring up an immigration measure that passed last year over the objections of most Republicans, who have said they will block it. That would be a highly partisan start to the immigration debate, which divides the two parties and exposes fissures within their ranks.
Even with a bipartisan agreement, the immigration debate could easily devolve into a free-for-all in the unruly Senate.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., has said he wants to complete a bill before Memorial Day, and President Bush says he wants to sign one by summer's end.
Read my post 1013.
Rush said today that if they pass this, the country is gone.
Opinions. We are speaking our opinions. That’s what FR has always been about. Conservative opinions. Get it? Now you go calm down okie dokie.
It's going to be a very rough 20 years getting there, but I think it's time to remind the Republicans that the Republicans emerged from the wreckage of the Whigs, who split over slavery. Immigration and security have the potential to split the Republicans so that a new conservative party can emerge.
I never thought I would come to this point, having worked in GOP campaigns for more than 50 years (since Ike in '56), but then I never thought the Republicans would sign onto this sort of an Amnesty Bill, either.
Yes, but is he still a GWB shill?
There. Fixed it for you.
OK, I read it. I have not lied about you in any way -- all I have done is suggest I don't think non-citizens have anything useful to say about immigration.
There is no question you have done yeoman service on the Iraq documents, and, I think all of us appreciate your work. We're not devaluing that or your expertise on those matters in any way. Chill.
LOL... EV what have you done to this forum compared to me?
He isn’t. He sounds like he is getting disgusted with a lot of things. He really likes George Bush personally, though.
I find it interesting that so many people have started to criticize you due to citizenship concerns. Why would they waste their time criticizing you when their time could be better spent talking about this bill? Do they think that ideas coming from a foreigner are more dangerous than the legalization of 12 million illegal immigrants? Or do they somehow believe that they are social policemen?
To me this just shows that people are reacting emotionally. I expect that in a couple of hours people will have calmed down and won’t be so afraid of ideas from a ‘foreigner’ (as if that was somehow a disqualification).
“and very bad impact on the economy.”
I have always read your posts with interest and have agreed with much you say.
But in this case you have clearly NOT been out to see what is happening in my part of the country.
Something VERY BAD IS HAPPENING to the economy, and it is called illegal immigration.
People around here, who play by the rules, are losing their livelihoods to the unethical greedy companies that hire illegals.
They simply cannot compete.
This is an economic disaster in the making.
It IS NOT about hating George Bush, or hating Mexicans.
That would be for others to judge, not me.
Unlike you, I don't go around tooting my own horn and claiming that I'm a thousands times better than this bunch of FReeper "nuts."
It is one thing to criticize another. It is something else entirely to make blatant insults. You should be ashamed of yourself!
We don't have to "destroy the Republican party". They seem to be doing an excellent job of that by themselves.
Amnesty might just well be the final nail in the coffin that vanquishes Republicanism to the hinterlands for years, decades, or permanently.
- John
And why would one like his destroyer? Maybe it's like when N. Gingrich said he "melted" in the presence of B. Clinton.
I think you’re talking to the wrong person. He’s the one who called FReepers nuts and claimed 1000% superiority.
I do not know how they make this stupid argument that I am not supposed to express my opinion on illegal immigration despite the fact that I a law abiding legal permanent resident in the US like myself, who loves this great country and what it stood for immensely, spent hundreds of hours reading Saddam regime documents, translating and posting on FR, greatly support the war against islamic terrorism, and support the President in time of war and not call him a traitor as many of these people are saying.
Game over. America LOST.
Maybe H. Ross Perot will run again and give us another 8 years of a Clinton.
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