Effort to Pass Immigration Bill Collapses in Senate
By CARL HULSE
Published: April 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, April 7 — Less than 24 hours after senators celebrated a bipartisan breakthrough on immigration policy, the effort to pass broad new legislation collapsed today in a partisan and procedural meltdown that threatened to derail the issue for the year.
Architects of a proposal that would combine strict border controls with an opportunity for millions of illegal aliens to qualify for residency said they had the support of as many as 70 senators, but they were unable to resolve disputes over amendments and other technical issues and the measure was yanked from the floor.
"I think politics got in front of policy on this issue," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and one of those central to the bipartisan approach.
The failure to achieve an agreement that had appeared so close led to a round of bitter recriminations over who was at fault. Senior Democrats blamed Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, for striking a deal and then being unable to win over key Republicans.
But Republicans said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, had erected procedural obstacles to the measure in order to deny Senate Republicans a victory on the politically charged subject in an election year.
"There has been one huge problem and that problem has been created by the Democratic leadership," said Mr. Frist.
After a series of failed efforts to close off debate on competing immigration proposals, the legislation was dispatched back to the Judiciary Committee. Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the panel, said he would immediately return to work on border policy when senators return from a two-week break.
But with other business like annual spending bills starting to pile up and the election drawing ever closer, many lawmakers said the best opportunity to approve legislation and start negotiations with the House may have been lost.
"You would have to say it is going to be a tough, uphill battle now with the limited time we have remaining in the session," said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.
Despite the bipartisan agreement announced Thursday, some conservative Republicans began trying to offer amendments that the bill's sponsors said would have distorted its purpose. Mr. Reid termed the effort "filibuster by amendment."
Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, said the compromise had not involved the people who should have been involved and was still too generous on what he termed "amnesty. "
"This bill is a dead horse, in my view," he said.
President Bush said again today that the current immigration system is flawed and said he was confident that reform legislation could still be adopted. Speaking at a prayer breakfast in Washington, he said, "An immigration system that forces people into the shadows of society or leaves them prey to criminals is a system that needs to be changed."
Later, Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman said the failure to approve a bill was purely Senator Reid's fault. "This is a difficult and complex issue," he said. "It is important for voices to be heard as the debate moves forward. Unfortunately the Senate minority leader prevented voices from being heard and amendments from being considered."
Despite the compromise announced Thursday, prospects for passage had grown more uncertain as Republicans and Democrats clashed late into the night over parliamentary procedure.
Both sides said that without a quick resolution of the differences they would not have a vote on the final legislation before Congress leaves for its spring recess after today., This raised the possibility that the compromise might unravel as it is exposed to intense political scrutiny during the two-week Congressional break.
The compromise plan would create a temporary worker program that would allow 325,000 foreigners to fill jobs in the United States each year. And, if passed, it would mark the most sweeping immigration accord in two decades.
The late-night battle burst into the open many hours after Senate leaders had resolved their substantive differences over the thorny question of legalization. Conservatives, who condemned the compromise as little more than amnesty for lawbreakers, sought to offer amendments to the bill. But Democrats refused to allow votes on the amendments, saying they were intended to delay the process and gut the legislation.
Under the Senate agreement, illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or more, about seven million people, would eventually be granted citizenship if they remained employed, had background checks, paid fines and back taxes and learned English.
Illegal immigrants who have lived here for two to five years, about three million people, would have to travel to a United States border crossing and apply for a temporary work visa. They would be eligible for permanent residency and citizenship over time, but they would have to wait several years longer for it.
Illegal immigrants who have been here less than two years, about one million people, would be required to leave the country altogether. They could apply for spots in the temporary worker program, but they would not be guaranteed positions.
And Republican and Democratic leaders, who had battled so bitterly on Wednesday that an agreement seemed in jeopardy, stood side by side on Thursday morning, hailing the deal as a historic decision that would enhance national security by bringing illegal immigrants out of the shadows while meeting the nation's needs for labor.
Flanked by more than a dozen Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Senator Frist stood before a crush of television cameras on Thursday morning and called the compromise "a huge breakthrough."
But as the day wore on, tensions began to rise as Republicans insisted that the Democrats allow a vote on several of their amendments.
One amendment would have required the Department of Homeland Security to certify that the border was secure before creating a guest worker program or granting legal status to illegal immigrants. Another would have had the legalization program bar illegal immigrants who had deportation orders or had been convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors. Democratic critics of the proposals said they were intended to ensure that the legalization process would never be implemented.
In recent weeks, both parties have been under pressure to pass legislation that would resolve the fate of the 11 million or so illegal immigrants in the United States. President Bush has raised the issue, business groups have lobbied fiercely for it, and tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters nationwide have poured into the streets, reflecting the growing political muscle of Hispanics.
But the debate has deeply divided the Republican Party, and conservatives warned on Thursday that the Senate compromise sounded too similar to the amnesty enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, which granted legal status to nearly three million illegal immigrants.
"This compromise would repeat the mistakes of the past, but on a much larger scale because 12 million illegal immigrants would still be placed on an easier path to citizenship," said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas.
