Height of arrogance

[Rick Lee]

Unbelievable. Sen. Kyl thinks that, because phone calls protesting the immigration bill drop off, people much be "coming around". How many times does someone have to call for it to register that they are steadfastly against this?

Backers of Immigration Bill More Optimistic
Lawmakers Cite Sense of Urgency

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 4, 2007; A01

After a week at home with their constituents, the Senate architects of a delicate immigration compromise are increasingly convinced that they will hold together this week to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, with momentum building behind one unifying theme: Today's immigration system is too broken to go unaddressed.

Congress's week-long Memorial Day recess was expected to leave the bill in tatters. But with a week of action set to begin today, the legislation's champions say they believe that the voices of opposition, especially from conservatives, represent a small segment of public opinion. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who led negotiations on the bill for his party, said the flood of angry calls and protests that greeted the deal two weeks ago has since receded every day.

"You just have to recognize you will get 300 calls, you'll get conflicts at town hall meetings -- all of them negative," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who consulted with Kyl and hopes to carry a similar deal through the House in July. "The last few days have really turned things around."

Public opinion polls seem to support Kyl's contention that Americans are far more open to the deal than the voices of opposition would indicate. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll released today, 52 percent of Americans said they would support a program giving illegal immigrants the right to stay and work in the United States if they pay a fine and meet other requirements. Opposition to that proposal was 44 percent.

So far, the dozen senators who cut the deal have been able to hold their compromise together. They have beaten back amendments that the group deemed to be coalition-killers, such as one to strike the bill's temporary-worker program and another to remove its provisions to legalize the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

This week's amendments are more subtle, and therefore, more threatening to the coalition.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) will push to make the Department of Homeland Security consider more of the family-based immigration applications that have already been filed, adding 833,000 immigrants. Kyl said he will withdraw his support for the bill if the amendment passes.

He also said he will walk away if Menendez and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) win passage of an amendment that would more than double the number of green cards available under the bill for the parents of U.S. citizens. Kyl said conservatives believe today's family unification system is being misused by illegal immigrants, whose U.S.-born children are citizens.

Such amendments will be difficult to resist for the compromise's chief Democratic architect, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), who helped create the family unification system in 1965 and whom conservatives are now counting on to help dismantle it.

Republicans in the coalition will be expected to oppose amendments that put them in equally difficult positions. One, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), would expand the list of crimes making illegal immigrants ineligible for legalization. Cornyn has emphasized infractions such as gang activity and "aggravated felonies."

Democrats say the list would virtually wipe out the legalization program by barring undocumented workers who ignored deportation orders, overstayed their visas or otherwise evaded immigration authorities.

In addition, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) would like to prohibit illegal immigrants who are legalized under the law from obtaining the earned-income tax credit to bolster low-income work.

For Republicans in the coalition, opposing such amendments will only increase the pressure they are facing at home. Over the break, Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) were booed at their state party conventions. And President Bush's attempt to give Republicans political cover by praising the deal may have backfired. Republican opponents in the House now call the proposal the "Kennedy-Bush Amnesty" bill.

"I just know that we've got a tough week ahead of us," Kyl said.

But Kyl and several immigration lobbyists also point to a different dynamic. The bill's authors, as well as advocates of comprehensive immigration legislation, have been arguing that flawed as it is, the measure must go forward legislatively and eventually it will be fixed.

That dynamic is driven by certain realities: a two-year backlog of legal immigration applications, a workforce in the United States that is as much as 5 percent illegal, and a growing patchwork of conflicting state and local immigration ordinances that threaten to paralyze business.

"The glue that is keeping this process going is the absolute agreement by all the disparate groups that the current system is absolutely dysfunctional," said Bruce Josten, chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

But as it moves forward, the deal has taken on a life of its own. Senators from both parties have already taken political hits over their stands on the bill and on amendments to it. Even if advocacy groups withdraw their support, politicians will be loath to come out of the fight empty-handed.

If he pulls his support for the bill over a "killer" amendment, Kyl said, he will be accused of succumbing to right-wing threats, and he is not sure he can persuade enough colleagues to bolt with him. Brent Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said his group is in the same position, saying it would bring the bill down if the Senate does not restore the family reunification system and give temporary workers a chance to appeal for citizenship. But such threats may carry no weight.

"We've been saying, 'Go forward, go forward, keep the process running' for so long, it's not realistic to think we can stop this after we've already made people take such difficult votes," Wilkes said. "I don't know how we got into the box that we've gotten into, but I don't see how we can find a winning hand."


Polling Director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

[Joeaksa]

Worse than that is McCain, the other Arizona rep who always votes against whatever the populace wants. He could care less how his voters feel on most issues, and votes to gain himself more votes on the primaries while trying to get elected to the Presidency.

[Rick Lee]

Joe, I'm actually glad McCain decided to support this, as it will be the final nail in his presidential ambition coffin. His campaign is done, but he doesn't know it yet. I've never met a single person who supported him for pres. and I reckon there are far fewer of them now after this immig. bill.

[legion]

All of the people I know who like McCain are lefties who think liking him makes them a "moderate".

[tabs]

FK the Immigration Bill. This is a nation where Rule of Law is supposed to be upheld. Illegal means not within the law, against the law. If this Bill passes kiss America GOODBYE.

[Rick Lee]

You know, now it's not even the specifics of this bill that irriatate me as much as the sheer arrogance and aloofness of our "leaders". How out of touch with real America can one be?

[cmccuist]

Senators are the biggest SOB's of any politicians. What is going to happen with this horrible legislation? If this thing passes in the Senate, will a similar bill pass in the house? Maybe the house will be the smart ones on this problem.

I fear what will happen if this POS becomes law.

[Seahawk]

Since most of the elidgible voters NEVER vote, term limits is the only way out...you can fool the majority if the majority doesn't care.

[jyl]

I recall seeing some polls showing that a majority of Americans support, in principle, the idea of some route to legality for the illegal aliens currently working in the US. A majority also supports tighter border control.

So I am not sure that Bush and Congress is completely out of touch in the general idea - a path to legality plus tighter border control. The details and execution will be a big challenge, of course.

I, for one, think the general outline of the bill is reasonable. I think Bush is doing the right thing here.

As for skewing the future electorate, it will be a decade or more before today's illegal aliens can hope to start becoming citizens. A lot can happen in 10+ years. Hispanics are not bound to the Democratic party. Recall that until recently the Republican party was doing a good job in winning more and more of the Hispanic vote, in large part thanks to social conservatism and Bush's speaking Spanish. Bush won 44% of the Hispanic national vote in 2004, and his 2000 victory was due in part to overwhelmingly winning the Hispanic vote in FL. The Republican party has probably losing ground among Hispanics lately, but then again the Reps have been losing ground with almost all voting groups.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by legion
All of the people I know who like McCain are lefties who think liking him makes them a "moderate".

I concur, good observation.