WASHINGTON – A broad immigration bill to legalize millions of people in the U.S. unlawfully suffered a stunning setback in the Senate on Thursday, costing President Bush perhaps his best opportunity to win a top domestic priority.
The bipartisan compromise championed by the president failed a crucial test when it could not attract even a simple majority for an effort to speed its passage.
Intense public concern over immigration across the country conspired with high political stakes to produce a roiling debate on the issue. Ultimately, those forces overwhelmed a painstakingly forged liberal-to-conservative alliance that sought to insulate their compromise from partisanship.
Supporters could muster only 45 votes to limit debate and speed the bill to final passage, 15 short of what was needed on the procedural maneuver. Fifty senators voted against cutting off debate.
Most Republicans voted to block Democrats’ efforts to advance the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who had made no secret of his distaste for parts of the bill, quickly pulled it from the floor and moved on to other business, leaving its future uncertain.
The legislation would tighten borders and institute a new system to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers, in addition to giving up to 12 million illegal immigrants a pathway to legal status.
Conceived by an improbable coalition that nicknamed the deal a “grand bargain,” the measure exposes deep rifts within both parties and is loathed by most GOP conservatives.
All but seven Republicans voted against ending debate, with many arguing they needed more time to make the bill tougher with tighter border security measures and a more arduous legalization process for unlawful immigrants. Thirty-eight Republicans and Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent, opposed the procedural tactic.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, said Democrats tried to rush the bill.
“I think we’re giving up on this bill too soon,” McConnell said.
All but 11 Democrats supported the move, but they, too, were holding their noses at provisions of the bill. Many of them argued it makes second-class citizens of a new crop of temporary workers and rips apart families by prioritizing employability over blood ties in future immigration.
A survey conducted May 30-June 3 by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found overwhelming support – among two-thirds of the public – for giving illegal immigrants citizenship if they have jobs, pass background checks and pay fines.
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