Immigration Deal Splits Republicans
Many In GOP Ranks See Plan As Just An Amnesty By Another Name

By Michael Abramowitz , The Washington Post Published on 5/19/2007

Washington — President Bush's embrace of compromise immigration legislation has split the Republican Party, as several GOP presidential candidates quickly came out against the deal and the conservative base reacted with fury.

Key figures on the right, including conservative talk radio hosts, analysts at the Heritage Foundation and National Review columnists, derided the agreement as a sell-out of conservative principles, while GOP presidential candidates criticized the plan as a form of amnesty — a characterization rejected by the White House.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who last year said similar efforts for a comprehensive immigration bill were “reasonable,â€