Immigration Bill Meltdown?

[DemFromMem]

Senate apparent meltdown on immigration: Durbin's 14-hours of negotiations.


``We hoped that after all of the jubilation over a bi-partisan agreement, that we could move towards a process that led to passage of the bill.’’

---Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) after a 14-hour marathon day of negotiating on the immigration bill, near 10 p.m. eastern time, briefing reporters in the Senate Press Gallery.

In the morning, Durbin and a bi-partisan coalition announced a deal. In the evening, problems: a meltdown over process.

Two issues:
1. Democrats want to limit the number of amendments that can be debated on the deal. GOP opponents to the bipartisan deal have a slew of amendments they want to offer.

Durbin said an anticipated large number of amendments would be the equivalent of a filibuster.<snip>


http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/04/senate_apparent_meltdown_on_im.html


Frist is looking like either a fool or a conniving jerk. He prematurely holds a press conference today touting his grand compromise to get the bill passed in the Senate and then we find that he's willing to let the Southern Republicans effectively filibuster by trying to allow 100s of amendments to be debated (at about an hour each). Harry Reid and Dick Durbin refused to play ball particularly as a number of the amendments have poison pill provisions.

The typical example is the Kyl amendment. He's selling it as a provision to bar criminals from legalizing. One problem - the bill already does this. It's the provisions which would bar people who have ever been in deportation proceedings from participating - something that would take a million people out of the program even if the reason they were in deportation had nothing to do with criminal activity (e.g. coming as a student and dropping a course to fall below full time status). If the Dems vote against, the Republicans can say they voted to let criminals become citizens. See how it works. So Reid put his foot down on that bill and the hundreds of others that all do the same kind of thing. Most of the amendments are being offered by people who have no intention of voting for the bill even if their amendments pass.

There's still time for a deal, but the GOP's internal divisions are making it tough.

[joemurphy]

1. Good summary. Yeah, we'll probably get nothing.

So much for "comprehensive immigration reform".

[Teaser]

2. What we'll get is an issue

to beat the Repubs over the head with.

Like I trust any bill even some of them can sign off on?

[wiley]

3. Right.