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Immigration Bill Debate Stuck on 'Amnesty'
NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, May 18, 2006


WASHINGTON -- A broad bill letting illegal immigrants stay in the United States is clearing hurdle after hurdle toward Senate passage next week as House Republicans turn against President Bush and dig in their heels against what they deride as "amnesty" for millions of lawbreakers.


Supporters deflected an assault on what is considered the heart of the bill - a plan to grant millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship - while accepting conservatives' calls for hundreds of miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border.


Bush, meanwhile, was traveling Thursday to a hot spot of illegal border crossings, Yuma, Ariz., in an attempt to placate critics who label his approach for dealing with the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country as amnesty.


Bush has said repeatedly he does not support amnesty, a position he staked out again Wednesday night before wealthy GOP donors.

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"America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society and we don't have to choose between the two," the president said.


House Republicans weren't buying it.



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"Regardless of what the president says, what he is proposing is amnesty," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the lawmaker who would lead House negotiators in any attempt to draft a compromise immigration bill later this year.


It is amnesty, "because it allows people who have broken the law to stay in the country," Sensenbrenner said of positions Bush staked out in his speech earlier in the week.


House legislation that passed last year over strenuous Democratic opposition would make all illegal immigrants subject to prosecution as felons.


In a conference call with reporters, Sensenbrenner said Bush had "basically turned his back" on a tough border security bill after requesting that certain provisions be included before House passage last year.


Senate opponents readied another lineup of changes for Thursday in hopes of chipping away at the immigration bill that appears likely for Senate passage next week. Among them is an amendment sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., that would make English the national language.


Inhofe's proposal provides some exceptions for election ballots, court interpreters and natural disaster assistance. The Senate bill already would require illegal immigrants to learn English as a condition of earning legal permanent residency, a step toward citizenship.


As governor of Texas, Bush proposed what he called "English plus," rather than English only. But after the recent debut of the national anthem in Spanish, Bush said people who want to be U.S. citizens ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English.


On Wednesday, the Senate followed the House's lead and voted 83-16 to build 370 miles of fence in areas "most often used by smugglers and illegal aliens" as determined by federal officials. The House approved twice as much fencing in its bill.


The Senate also okayed 500 miles of vehicle barriers. Supporters said the fencing and barriers could help improve economies in communities where they are located and reduce crime.


But opponents said the barriers would shift illegal immigrant and smuggling traffic to areas of the border without fencing. The underlying Senate bill provides for a "virtual" fence along the border using cameras, sensors and other technology to monitor the border.


Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., estimated the cost at roughly $3.2 million per mile, more than $900 million for 300 miles. He said the fence would send "a signal that open-border days are over."


But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the cost would be much higher, while Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., predicted the fencing would be a "down payment" on a fence stretching the length of the border.


All Republicans and more than half the Senate's Democrats supported the proposal.