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.
Last I heard the bill will be voted on Monday. They’re just out celebrating today as if it’s a done deal.
If anyone gets a reply from their congressperson or Senator with an indication of how they’ll vote, ping me. I’m going to track these vote promises over the next few days.
I’ve put a spreadsheet here — http://votecount.blogspot.com/
Not much info yet, but I think the vote commitments will start coming fast & furious over the weekend.
These Senators are beyond braindead.
We are inviting several million people into our country who have minimal education and no English skills. They are only capable of menial labor. The VAST majority of them will never earn enough money to get them above the poverty level.
Yet, these people have already shown a great propensity to break the law to get whatever they want.
WHAT DO THE FRIGGIN IDIOTS IN WASHINGTON THINK THESE NEW “CITIZENS” WILL DO WHEN THEIR PAY GOES DOWN BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO START PAYING TAXES AND THEIR EMPLOYERS START TAKING PAYROLL TAXES AND SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES OUT OF THEIR CHECK?
These illegals are being let in by the Republicns specifically to keep wages down. Guess what, you crap-for-brains RINOs? All of these LAWBREAKERS are gonna be part of the new underclass who is low-paid and unskilled. DO YOU THINK THEY’RE GONNA BE LAW AND ORDER PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY?
YOU ARE FREAKIN IDIOTS, YOU PATHETIC PIECES OF GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It isn't just Bush - the entire freakin' Republican party leadership is stuck on stupid. They're done - toast. They WANT to lose, and I really can't understand why. Why is the party self-destructing? Who's driving it?
I will NOT vote for any of these idiots that favor any type of amnesty. I haven't given a penny to the party in a year, and I will not give them another cent. They don't represent me.
http://kcbs.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=7333&tf=video_player.tpl&Category_ID=71
Live feed of the Los Angeles Amnesty Victory Lap
Then they should want to keep the status quo (keeping the aliens illegal). Once the hordes become American citizens they won't be working for slave wages anymore. ....and many will join (Democrat-controlled) unions. Amnesty in no way benefits the Republican party. And if any of them think the majority will register GOP out of some sort of gratitude they're deluded beyond description.
The amnesty-supporting Republicans evidently have their sights set on something far larger than mere votes or cheap labor, and are apparently willing to sacrifice their party to get it.
First of all, get a grip.
Admit that the United States stopped being a republic in 1865.
Admit that SOCIAL security is something that, guess what, THOMAS PAINE pushed for in his demented “Age of Reason” atheist years...not something the founding fathers would’ve ever tolerated much less sacrificed generations of income for such a ponzi scheme.
Admit that private ownership of land hasn’t existed in this land since property taxes are a compulsive rent payment to the governemnt....stop paying...you’re evicted... Think about it. You CANNOT -own- land in the U.S.A. You disagree? Just stop paying taxes on the land you ‘own’ and see how long you keep it.
So.
I’ll give you that the parties are the same, if you’ll admit that Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul and Ralph Nader are the respective fringe professional candidates.
They would all melt under real, ugly, non-idealistic realities. Bush is likely one of the last real men that will survive the presidency. With your help, Reids and Pelosis will destroy the rest of us while you’re ‘teaching them a lesson’.
You guys go your way. Democracy is always just one step away from “popular support for a dictator.”
I, for one, never want to be one of the last that let the country devolve into pure socialism with hillary as evita.
But frankly, the boomers have not given us as much to work with in this country as they like to think they did.
Goldwater lost. And Ron Paul is -no- Barry Goldwater.
For about a year now, we knew this day was coming. It’s a massive sea-change for me, that’s for sure. From here on out, everything’s moot. Like some other posters mentioned, might as well just bring all our troops home, give up on the WOT. It’s all pointless now. The country’s on a road to a dim, dark, socialist destiny, with a third-world flavor. There’s no reason left to expend any lives or energy on it, that’s for sure. The USA is done.
Yeah, I’m seething right now, at all the traitors who are bringing this about. Bastards! No fate could be too gruesome for the scum that has engineered all this. It sickens me to think I’ve even facilitated some of this myself (by voting for Bush... 4 bloomin’ times! adding governorship to the mix). These politicians pushing this amnesty outrage are proving to be all-out enemies of everything I value.
Do you have any proof of that?
Deporting is easy - just cut off the free ride. No more hospital service, no more government schools, no drivers' license, no other benefits financed by the 50% of US citizens that are being financially raped by the government each year. We won't even need to call out the 70+ million US citizens that are gun owners.
10 million angry illegals with guns - and you think that it's anti-business to want these people out of our country? Did your ancestors own a plantation in the mid-1800's?
Worst presidents in my lifetime:
Not bad. However what you've proposed is nothing like what the Senate /White House is doing. So why are you defending them?
maybe...
So what are gonna do about it? Basically, you have three options: 1. Move to a part of the country that doesn't have illegals - rotsa ruck;
2. Move out of the country;
3. Hunker down and live out your days where you stand.
Option #3 means you have to make some coin to be able to afford a decent, secure life within a reasonable neighborhood. (That have CCRs that restrict block-busting by overcrowding single-family homes.)
This might be the final corruption - holdouts who finally join the slave class exploitation circus to protect themselves & their families.
What has your rant to do with anything I said. How about you get a grip.
Yeah - I saw "he's not Gore" and that was all it took. I'll bet that many, many voters thought the same.
That's precisely the attitude that brought us amnesty today.
Thanks.
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