Hastert: Immigration Bill Unlikely Before Nov. Elections

[kurth]

Consensus on Immigration Bill Elusive
Hastert Says House, Senate Unlikely to Hammer Out Immigration Bill Before Nov. Elections
By SUZANNE GAMBOA, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Should they stay or should they go, those 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States? While that question hangs over a Senate debate on border security and immigration, most senators agree on allowing undocumented workers to stay at least temporarily. The fight is over whether they should have to leave three years to six years down the road.

Even senators who oppose providing a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants are willing to grant them temporary legal status as long as they register with the government, pay fines and eventually leave...

House Speaker Dennis Hastert raised the possibility that a program letting illegal immigrants continue to reside in the U.S. for a period of time might be considered by the House if the Senate approves one. "Our first priority is to protect the borders. We also know there is a need in some sectors of this economy for a guest worker program," Hastert told reporters Wednesday. The House has passed legislation limited to tightening borders and making it a crime to be in the United States illegally or to offer aid to illegal immigrants.

However, there is a growing consensus among lawmakers that any merging of the House and Senate measures so that Congress could send a bill to President Bush won't occur until after the November election. "What you end up doing is the House has passed a bill, the Senate passed a bill and everybody declares victory and you don't get anything out of conference between now and the elections," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1786356

[gatorboy]

1. Hot Potato!!! Hot Potato!!!!

I guess they'll hedge their bets until after the elections. Cowards!

[July]

2. Maybe they're trying to keep it simmering to animate the base? nt

[Carla in Ca]

3. Ah, too bad.

That just didn't work out the way they planned. I guess they will have to find something else. Poor babies.

[sadiesworld]

8. It will probably work out perfectly.

They'll run on fire and brimstone and rip the dems for their guest worker program. Then, following the election, they'll (quietly) pass a guest worker program.

[cascadiance]

4. I wonder how many small contributions he got to do that! :)

Another $500k worth to "Denny Boy"?

[standup]

5. Just like gay marriage: there will be lots of talk and

fingerpointing at Democrats who are against the House bill

[Joe Fields]

6. Of course. I could see this coming a mile away.

Anybody who has seen Republican strategy work in recent decades could smell this red herring from far off. Immigration is this election cycle's equivalent of gay marriage and abortion.

What better way to stir up the base.

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE.

WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE.......ISSUE

HEY! Whatever happened to the abortion WEDGE ISSUE? Now that SD has banned abortion and the issue should be going to the SCOTUS....THE RIGHT WINGERS HAVE DROPPED THE ISSUE LIKE A HOT POTATO!

Coming soon to an election near YOU....THE GAY WEDGE ISSUE.

They want the immigration issue to be alive and well in Novemeber.