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.
Who’d think that now that America is going to hell in a handbasket, I’m thinking of taking my wife and leaving for Europe to escape the treason of el presidente Jorge. Who’d have ever thought that France would suddenly become a beacon of conservative hope for America! I wanna puke.....
Things in Congress are usually more complicated than they seem. For one thing, some of the most liberal Rats think the bill isn’t liberal enough. For another, House Republicans aren’t idiots and cowards like many Senate Republicans. Finally, there are phony “conservative” Rats in the House, maybe even a couple of genuine moderates, who were elected from GOP districts last year. They can be pressured from our side.
I like it to call it the War Between the States, and not the Civil War. If you look up Civil War in a dictionary, then you will find out that it’s a struggle for control over a government. The South did not want anything to do with that government, and separated to form their own government.
I always wondered how Constitutional the War Between the States was? I did not think their is a clause that says you cannot leave unless 2/3rds of the states agree. Never heard that before.
Bingo. My wife said it the other night, and it really is this simple: No matter the political party, the "powers that be" simply want their slaves back. The illegal immigrant Mexicans are as close as they can get in this day and age. I hope they pay for this in this life and the next, the greedy b@st@3ds.
are you kidding? you can't be this naive. The answer is to obvious to state.
We live in a Constitutional Republic, which means we live by the rule of law. Democracy is not mentioned anywhere in our Constitution. Our forefathers were against democracy because democracy is mob rule.
Anyway they work for us, not the other way around.
I disagree. Ideas aren't right or wrong just because they came from a messenger who didn't have the right credentials. The more ideas discussed, the better. I'm also not a big fan that people need credentials to enter a conversation. If someone has a bad idea, that will be obvious from the idea itself.
Wow, that made me chuckle.
They're not raiding and prosecuting employers because they (that is ICE, the White House, the restaurant and meat packing trade associations, etc) approve of illegal immigration and amnesty for illegals.
You don't understand that yet?
Ok Your not mad enough.
WAIT TILL YOU LOSE YOUR JOB, BECAUSE AN ILLEGAL WILL TAKE LESS PAY.
WAIT TILL YOUR CHILDREN SIT IN SCHOOL AND LEARN NOTHING BECAUSE THEY MUST FIRST WAIT FOR AN INTERPRETER.
WAIT UNTIL YOUR COLLEGE AGE STUDENT PAYS FULL PRICE AND AN ILLEGAL PAYS NOTHING. OH YA THEY ALSO GET THE JOBS AFTER BECAUSE THEY ARE A MINORITY!
WAIT UNTIL YOU PAY DOUBLE FOR HEALTH CARE, BUT CAN’T PAY THE PRICE TO GET YOU CHILD AN OPERATION...YET AN ILLEGAL IS OPERATED ON FREE....OH YA, NOT FREE BECAUSE YOU PAID FOR IT.
ARE YOU GOING TO WAIT?
Friday, Saturday, Sunday....what ever day it just needs to be done!
Throw stuff in the body of water. Pictures of Bush and Mexican flags?
Armed marches?
I can’t wait to hear Laura Ingraham in the morning. THAT should be good.
the best possible alternative (that i see right now) with "bloomingidiot" coming into the race as an "independent republican" is that the north will split their votes between "bloomingidiot" & "the hillery-BEAST" & we can get a conservative elected.
free dixie,sw
free dixie,sw
Careful with that.
In 2006 McCain and Specter both went way out of the way to angrily argue that they hadn't proposed an "amnesty". Both of them were reduced to ad hominem attacks against those who called the legislation "amnesty", and asserted that a $1,000 or $2,000 fine made it "not an amnesty".
Neither was even partly convincing.
To paraphrase Vince Lombardi, "Money's not the main thing...it's the ONLY thing."
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