Senators troll for immigration votes
Staff and agencies
15 June, 2007




By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Architects of a revived immigration compromise are directing an intense behind-the-scenes bargaining effort to round up enough votes among wavering Republicans to keep it alive.

The fragile compromise would grant millions of illegal immigrants lawful status while tightening border security and creating new measures for weeding out illegal workers at job sites. Championed by President Bush , it has sparked an outcry among conservatives who regard it as amnesty for lawbreakers.

The coalition drew up a tentative list of 22 amendments — divided equally between the two parties — whose consideration would give a handful of Republicans the comfort they needed to allow the bill to go forward. That would take 60 votes — a threshold the bill missed by 15 last week, when just seven Republicans backed ending debate and moving to complete the bill.

"I do believe that with this new process, there will be enough votes to get to final passage, but the pressure‘s immense," Graham said. "I‘ll be going senator to senator" next week to persuade Republicans to back it.

"Each day our nation fails to act the problem only grows worse," the president said Friday at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. "I will continue to work closely with members of both parties to get past our differences and pass a bill I can sign this year."

For some GOP holdouts, the promise of votes to make the bill more punitive toward the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who would get lawful status might be enough to persuade them to support moving ahead.

The pl, , ), R-S.D., that would bar illegal immigrants from gaining lawful status until border security and workplace enforcement measures were accomplished. As written, the bill would allow those immigrants to gain probationary legal status to live and work in the U.S. until the so-called triggers were in place.

Key Republic, , ), R-Minn. To better their chances of persuading him, they are expected to allow Coleman a second vote on his proposal — narrowly defeated last month — to allow law enforcement officials to question people about their immigration status.

Sen. Edw, , ), D-Mass., "has sold us another bill of goods and I don‘t trust him to make even more changes to it behind closed doors in a conference with the House," DeMint said through a spokesman.

Among the proposals that would see a vote under the still-incomplete plan, according to aides and lobbyists familiar with it, is one that would increase the number of green cards available for family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not final.

Another proposal expected to be considered would remove a measure known as REAL ID, which requires states to verify that people who apply for a driver‘s license are in the country legally.

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