CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
June 4, 2007 – 1:39 p.m.

Immigration Bill Faces Renewed Amendment Assault
Senators supporting a complex and contentious immigration overhaul are gearing up for a challenging week filled with numerous attempts to undo their fragile coalition.

Already, 14 amendments are pending, and almost all of them are considered dealbreakers, according to a Democratic aide. Another 15 to 20 are expected to be filed in the coming days, with few, if any, considered benign.

Votes are expected to begin tomorrow, with no timetable yet for final passage.

A bipartisan group of senators led on the flanks by Arizona Republican Jon Kyl and Massachusetts Democrat Edward M. Kennedy drafted the legislation, which has been offered as a substitute amendment to a placeholder bill (S 134.

The bill’s drafters will meet early tomorrow to determine which amendments appear most threatening to their “grand bargain,â€