Senate nears immigration overhaul

With Democrats now controlling both the House and Senate – and with President Bush still committed to a comprehensive bill – prospects for immigration-reform legislation seemed to brighten.

But many of the 23 Senate Republicans who voted for immigration reform in 2006 say they will not again support that bill if Reid brings it to the floor Tuesday, as he has promised.

"We all recognize that that bill is imperfect. But it is a place that we're going to start," Reid said Wednesday.

"Democrats are committed to immigration laws that strike the right balance between protecting our security, strengthening our economy, and enacting laws that uphold the humanity and dignity of those who come here seeking a better life," said Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts, a lead negotiator.

Not enough time to assess the plan?

Some Senate Republicans worry that the two weeks set aside for debating immigration reform won't be enough to evaluate a very complex bill.

"It's a prescription for disaster," says Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama, who says he was involved in early negotiations. "It will all come down to a 700- to 800-page bill.... The House will ram it through and the president can sign it, but the American people will have no idea what's in it."

In the House, lawmakers are especially divided over proposals to legalize the status of undocumented workers. Many of the freshmen who gave Democrats their majority in the 110th Congress campaigned against amnesty and are reluctant to appear to support it now.

"In my own household, if I tell my kids to do something, I don't reward them when they do not, and that's what the Senate is proposing – that we reward people who have broken the law [by allowing them to become citizens]," says Rep. Heath Shuler (D) of North Carolina, who joined Republicans in a May 8 briefing on immigration. "This is how people feel in my district," he said.

House Republicans working with Democrats to find a compromise on immigration, including a path to legal status for those here illegally, say the political future of their party is on the line with this vote.

"This issue is killing Republicans," says Rep. Jeff Flake (R) of Arizona. "We saw it in the last election. For Republicans to have this perception that we are anti-immigrant is devastating. Once you offend people, you lose them for a long time."

On Thursday afternoon, after briefing Senate Republicans on the outline of negotations to date, Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona said, "The response of our colleagues was very positive to reaching a solution with the Democrats."

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