Free Republic

WASHINGTON - The Senate defeated attempts Wednesday to make the immigration bill tougher on people who are in the U.S. unlawfully, including a Republican bid to bar illegal immigrants from getting green cards. Senators voted 56-41 to set aside the amendment by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., which would have destroyed a central element of the bill granting millions of illegal immigrants an eventual path to citizenship. Earlier, the Senate killed, by a 53-45 vote, a proposal by Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to require that all adult illegal immigrants go home within two years to get permanent lawful status. The current...

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday killed a Republican proposal to require all adult illegal immigrants to return home temporarily in order to qualify for permanent lawful status in this country. The vote was 53-45 to table an amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, that was one of several proposals designed to respond to conservatives who decry President Bush's immigration bill as a form of amnesty. The bill could grant lawful status to as many as 12 million illegal immigrants as long as they passed background checks and paid fines and fees. Heads of household seeking permanent legal residency...

Question: What are the House and Senate rules if the Senate approves the bill, S 1639, later in the week? Starting today, after the cloture vote earlier, there will be 30 hours of discussion on the 20-25 amendments that were added to HR 1348, which is now called S 1639 with all the new amendments. Then there will be a Cloture vote on Thursday, if that cloture vote passes, then the bill, S 1639, will go to the Senate floor for a final vote. If it passes the Senate, then does it go back to a Joint Conference Committee of...

For weeks, Americans were told that there are only two options for dealing with the nation's illegal immigration problem: stay with the status quo or accept a "grand bargain"--a tenuous behind-closed-doors deal, first made public by The Heritage Foundation, which contained nearly 800 pages of flawed policies. In the face of overwhelming criticism from all sides, this legislation was withdrawn from the Senate. Now, an altogether new bill (S. 1639) has been introduced by Senators Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter. It seems to incorporate the previous legislation, with some amendments. After it is read into the Senate calendar on Wednesday,...