Clash likely over immigration bills
WASHINGTON – The Senate moved to the verge of passing landmark immigration legislation Wednesday, scheduling a final vote for today on a bill that would tighten the borders while allowing millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country, and permitting new guest workers to come and go.
But the very mixture of get-tough and be-kind measures that have made Senate approval possible could prove the biggest obstacle to reaching an accord with the House, where conservatives are determined to secure the borders before tackling other matters. Senate leaders said their coalition is fragile, and it may be hard-pressed to survive changes that House members signal they will demand this summer.
“There are plenty of things wrong with this bill, but there are plenty of things right with it,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday, acknowledging the hodgepodge of compromises built into the Senate measure that leave virtually no one enthusiastic about it without reservation.
The Senate voted 73 to 25 to prevent endless debate on the legislation, setting up a final vote for today. Proponents called Wednesday’s “cloture” vote a bipartisan victory and a momentum-builder that virtually ensures passage of the bill today. But some of the measure’s harshest critics voted for cloture, suggesting the final margin may be closer.
“We fought off a number of very cleverly crafted amendments that would have basically destroyed the bill,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leader of the Senate effort. But several battles over amendments, from the political left and right, involved close votes in recent days, underscoring the tenuous nature of what Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has called “the fragile, delicate coalition that we have for this bill.”
Anticipating the clash with the House, White House political adviser Karl Rove met privately with House Republicans on Wednesday, urging them to move closer to the Senate position, which President Bush embraces. He got a cold reception, said people who attended. In particular, they said, Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, testily told Rove that he was underestimating Americans’ hostility to the notion of “amnesty” for illegal immigrants, especially if there is no proof that tougher border measures are taking effect. Rep. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., also told Rove that the president’s position was a tough sell in her district, the sources said.
What senators are gingerly assembling, however, is unacceptable to a significant number of House Republicans, several lawmakers said. If Bush had cracked down on border security four years ago, the House might consider the Senate’s broader measures, Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., said in an interview.
A frequent topic of discussion in Capitol hallways is how an impasse over immigration might affect the November elections. Some Democrats say voters will view Republicans as ineffective, because they control the House, Senate and White House. Some Republicans predict that Senate Democrats can be blamed if they spearhead a rejection of whatever emerges from the conference.