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June 26, 2007, 1:46AM
Kennedy's zeal for immigration deal alienates liberals
The Senate will hold a test vote on the bill today


By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Months of tumultuous negotiations with the White House and GOP allies have brought the Senate's liberal lion, Edward M. Kennedy, to the brink of passing a bill to legalize up to 12 million unlawful immigrants.

But his concessions to get there have alienated liberals who in the past have counted him as their strongest champion. A showdown test vote is scheduled today, and the Senate could pass — or reject — the bill by week's end.

Traditional Kennedy allies are angry at the Massachusetts senator's willingness to accept Republican-backed measures such as subjecting illegal immigrants to steep fines and trips home, separating immigrants from relatives and letting new guest workers stay only for short periods of time with little chance of citizenship.

"I think that in his heart, he's where I'm at, but he wants to see a deal move forward and he's willing to take certain steps that I might not be willing to take," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

It's a familiar spot for Kennedy, 75, whose liberal standing during his 45 years in the Senate belies his history of partnering with Republicans on major domestic agenda items.

He's done so twice before with President Bush, on the No Child Left Behind education law and on a broad Medicare prescription drug overhaul.

"You can hold to rigid positions in the United States Senate — and I respect that — and get nothing done, or you can try and find common ground," Kennedy said.

He regards an immigration overhaul as the civil rights imperative of the 21st century, and sees legacies of prejudice and discrimination standing in the way. Legalizing 12 million unlawful immigrants "is worth the fight," Kennedy said.

Kennedy's pragmatic history and his expertise — he maneuvered a broad immigration overhaul through the Senate in 1965, during his second term — has earned him Bush's trust.

"Senator Kennedy is one of the best legislative senators there is. He can get the job done. I know firsthand, because we reformed our education system," Bush said at a March news conference in Mexico.

Some who revere Kennedy privately voice a sense of betrayal at the lengths to which he has been willing to go for a deal.

The AFL-CIO condemned the bill last week, and its leaders had harsh words for the senator they trusted to shepherd a historic immigration measure.

"We can't understand how our senators would support this," said Ed Sullivan, president of the labor federation's building and construction trades department.

In March, representatives of liberal groups angrily cautioned Kennedy against negotiating with Bush's team and a group of senators led by conservative Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., on an immigration compromise that could attract GOP support. Kennedy contended it was the only way to craft a bill that would survive.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4919713.html