Washington - An overhaul of US immigration laws may have to
wait until the country elects a new leader, after legislation
spearheaded by President George W Bush was withdrawn from the US
Senate on Thursday.
A motion to end debate and bring the bill to a formal vote was
quashed 53-46, prompting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to remove
the initiative - the first major reform effort in 20 years - from the
floor.
Bush, in a short statement to reporters, called the vote a
'disappointment,' adding that the 'status quo is unacceptable when it
comes to our immigration laws.'
Most Republican senators and some Democrats had long opposed
Bush's immigration proposals, which included a 'guest worker'
programme and - most controversially - a path to citizenship for the
estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
Democrats, who supported Bush's efforts, left open the possibility
of reviving the legislation in the current session of Congress, which
lasts until January 2009. But chances appeared slim as immigration
reform is likely to become more divisive and emotional as the 2008
presidential election nears.
'We will come back, it's only a question of when,' said Reid, the
top Democrat in the chamber.
The product of an uneasy compromise between moderate Republicans
and Democrats in the Senate, opponents had charged that the bill did
little to improve border security while granting de-facto amnesty to
illegal immigrants.
Bush two weeks ago backed a proposal to add 4.4 billion dollars to
the bill for tightening controls along the borders in an effort to
appease conservatives in his own Republican party.
A successful vote earlier this week to allow debate on the
legislation had raised supporters' hopes that passage might be
possible. But a slew of rejected amendments to the bill on Wednesday
made it likely that Thursday's effort to get the 60 votes needed to
push a final vote would fail.
Bush has made comprehensive immigration reform one of his top
domestic priorities and had personally lobbied sceptical senators in
an effort to keep the bill afloat earlier this week.
The administration says the temporary worker plan would provide US
industries with workers for those jobs that US citizens are not
taking, while also clamping down on the hiring of illegal workers.
Illegal immigrants would also have to pay a fine, acknowledge
wrongdoing, get on probation and commit to learning English before
being eligible for US citizenship.
Democrats vowed to bring fresh immigration legislation back to the
chamber in the future.
'We are in this struggle for the long haul. Today's defeat will
not stand,' said Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, a co-sponsor
of the bill.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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