Thread: Kennedy appeals to Bush for support of immigration reform

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/ ... 391837.htm

Posted on Tue, Aug. 29, 2006

Kennedy appeals to Bush for support of immigration reform


By Alfonso Chardy

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

MIAMI - Sen. Edward Kennedy, one of the authors of a landmark Senate immigration bill, urged President Bush on Tuesday to become ``more engaged, more involved'' in pushing for comprehensive immigration reform - or millions of undocumented immigrants will fail to win legal status.

The Massachusetts Democrat's remarks during a telephone press briefing marked the first step in a renewed push by immigration reform advocates to persuade Congress to act on stalled immigration reform legislation before the November elections.

Meanwhile, immigrant rights activists announced a new round of pro-legalization rallies and marches timed to coincide with the end of the congressional recess after Labor Day weekend.

A big rally was announced for Washington, D.C., on Thursday, and a march is being planned for downtown Miami on Sunday, though the event could be postponed because of Hurricane Ernesto.

Carlos Pereira, executive director of the Miami-based Immigrant Orientation Center - Centro de Orientacion del Inmigrante - said South Florida advocates plan to meet tonight to decide if the march can still be held Sunday.

``It depends on what happens with Ernesto,'' Pereira said Tuesday as the storm approached.

In his briefing, Kennedy said immigration advocates fear that if Bush does not become more personally involved in the issue, pending bills in Congress will die and lawmakers may have to start all over again next year.

``The president has to become more engaged, more involved,'' Kennedy said. ``Without his involvement, we'll have a very tough time.''

The House in December passed a tough enforcement bill that would provide funding for additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and render undocumented immigrants criminals, thus ineligible for legal status.

The Senate in May approved a bill that would provide some nine million of the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants a means to obtain legal status, based on when they arrived in the United States. The legalization component is largely the work of Kennedy and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Both bills are now stalled because House leaders have not agreed to a conference with the Senate to reconcile the separate pieces of legislation.

---

© 2006, The Miami Herald.

Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com

Who cuts the grass at Teddys Hyannis Compond ?

Mr. Shrub,

Your good friend, the man who has only the best intentions for you and the Republican party, Mr. Kennedy; needs your help.

Teddy and GW. What a team.