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.
They have a chance to win now more than ever. Especially when this country realizes what's happened while they weren't looking and focused on "American Idol" instead.
sw
Well, the real problem here is OUR problem and its name is George Bush.
This man has decided its O.K. for Spanish to be a second language and its O.K. for 12 million illegals to invade our country and its O.K. for a permanent underclass of exploited and unassimiliable workers to exist here.
Our society is unique. It is a blend of many different races, languages, religions and ethnicities. The “glue” that holds us together is our language. Eliminate that glue and you are setting the scene for a steady Balkanization of American into independent groups, each striving for their own langauge and ethnic affiliation.
You will see the death of the American.
Learning Spanish is probably wise. Fighting against bi-lingualism and the President and his RINO and Democrat henchmen who are aggrevating this situtation is also.
Aside from all that, check out your Spanish Dictionary. look at the vocabulary. Compare it with the English vocabulary.
English is not the language of my ancestors. But it the language of my parents, grnadparents and great parents. English has one of the most extensive vocabularies of any language in existence. Unlike other languages, we are not too proud to Anglicize other words and use them as our own. We are very free with creating new words from Greek and Latin stems and Anglicizing them. We are capable of expressing nuances of meanings that are very difficult to express in other languages. Our technological vocabulary is unmatched. Our language is probably spoken and understood by more people than any other language in the world, even though a lot of the speakers may not claim English as their primary tongue.
English may not be as musical as Italian, or as authoritarian as German, or as widely spoken in South America as Spanish, but its one hell of a good language and preserving it against the speech of a wave of third world invaders and making THEM learn OUR language is worth the fight.
What we are experiencing is ALSO the direct result of a society which requires both the husband and wife to work to earn a decent income, and encourages couples to kill their unborn babies if caring for them is “inconvenient”.
"The Census Bureau estimated yesterday that from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, the nation’s minority population grew to 100.7 million from 98.3 million; that is about one in three of all Americans. The new figures also suggest that many states are growing more diverse as minorities disperse.
As a result of immigration and higher birthrates among many newcomers, the number of Hispanics grew by 3.4 percent nationwide and Asians by 3.2 percent. Meanwhile, the black population rose by 1.3 percent, and that of non-Hispanic whites by 0.3 percent. (The number of American Indians and Alaska Natives increased by 1 percent, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders by 1.7 percent.)
More than 20 percent of children in the United States either are foreign-born or have a parent who was born abroad. Nearly half the children under age 5 are Hispanic, black or Asian.
If Hunter and Tancredo could go on “American Idol”, then they might catch fire.
The atmosphere on a patriotic web forum will be heated when the Homeland is being betrayed. Deal with it.
More than ten years ago, I shook this sleazebag's hand. I can still feel the slime...*yuck*
I saved that last one for later use. :-)
Kyl is a disappointment.
He used be tough on illegal invaders.
McCain isn’t voting no. He was standing on the dais with Kennedy, Specter, et. al., announcing that agreement had been reached. He has crossed the Rubicon on this issue.
I would hope he would come out strong against this. I like Hunter, he is a fighter.
Welcome to the dark side. Going on 16 years now for me...
Kyl’s father was a respected member of the U.S. House from Iowa in the 1960s. Wonder what he would think of the GWB amnesty.
Great Post! Thank you. You are one that is always right.
It would appear it needs to be 1860 all over again. Time for fair minded States to secede from this ugly Union.
Two Republicans in AZ who favored immigration restrictions were defeated for the House in 2006. McCain thinks the country wants this legislation. He is out of touch, but he has the name ID that voters crave.
Yep, and all it has gotten us is MORE illegal immgration.
I have written my congressman and two senators by email today (go to their website).You can do that easily and I get responses. I gave them an ear full. That is all we can do now unless someone gets a huge rally going somewhere. If we could put a million or so in the streets it might make a difference. What you should not do is DO NOTHING. Start raising hell.
Secede? I think there’s a bunch we need to just throw out.
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