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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Criticism Slows Work on Immigration Deal (05-21) 13:17 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Key senators and the White House are eager to push their bipartisan immigration deal through the Senate by Memorial Day, but as the Senate opened debate on the issue Monday, hope for that deadline was slipping. Critics of the measure denounced its key elements, including its quick grant of legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants, and said they would seek to revise it. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said it was "unthinkable" that the Senate would complete the measure this week, issuing a thinly veiled filibuster threat should proponents try to speed it through. "I'm prepared to use whatever tactics are appropriate to resist that," Sessions told reporters, before he took to the Senate floor to launch an afternoon-long speech outlining his worries about the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had reservations about the bipartisan agreement, calling it a "starting point" for reshaping immigration policy. "If we put rhetoric aside, we have the opportunity to pass a law that treats people fairly and strengthens our economy," Reid said. The Senate will quickly turn to a Democratic proposal to shrink the temporary worker program created by the compromise plan, Reid said. Some lawmakers in both parties consider the initiative, which would provide at least 400,000 guest worker visas annually, too large. Others charge it's impractical and unfair to immigrants, because it would allow them to stay only temporarily in the U.S. without guaranteeing them a chance to gain legal status. "We must not create a law that guarantees a permanent underclass, people who are here to work in low-wage, low-skilled jobs but do not have the chance to put down roots or benefit from the opportunities of American citizenship," Reid said. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., an architect of the bipartisan plan, called it "strong, realistic and fair." "For each of us who crafted it, there are elements that we strongly support and elements we believe could be improved. No one believes this is a perfect bill," Kennedy said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday. Tensions run high on immigration, and the bargain reached last week sparked intramural hostility between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who had a bitter exchange during the last closed-door meeting before a deal was announced. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she has "great concerns about the bill," and announced she would seek to alter it to mandate that illegal immigrants go back to their home countries before gaining legal status. Under the proposal, that requirement only applies to heads of households seeking green cards and a path to citizenship. The estimated 12 million immigrants here unlawfully could obtain visas to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely without returning home. "I do have concerns that people can come here and not ever have to go back and get right with the system," Hutchison said. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has warned that the immigration debate is likely to tie up the Senate for a while. The bill would toughen border security and create strict workplace enforcement rules to prevent illegal immigrants from getting jobs. It would also institute a new point system to prioritize employability over family ties in deciding who can immigrate to the U.S. in the future. The White House has begun an active lobbying effort to drum up support for the measure, especially among Republicans who voted against an immigration overhaul last year. President Bush is still hoping to sign the bill by summer's end, said Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman. "This is a very high priority for the president," Fratto told reporters in Crawford, Texas. "We know that this is an emotional issue for members on both sides of political parties and both sides of the ideological spectrum, but we hope that we can find common ground." Conservatives in the House, whose opposition helped kill an immigration overhaul last year, began laying down markers in anticipation of their own debate, expected only if the Senate completes its measure. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., unveiled legislation he said was "an alternative to several of the large holes in the so-called Senate compromise." It would send home illegal immigrants who had been in the U.S. for fewer than five years and bar them from gaining lawful status. Those in the country five years or more would be able to get a "blue card" to live and work legally in the U.S. after paying a $1,000 fine and learning English and American civics, but they could not bring their families. Blue card holders would have to leave the country to apply for legal residency. In contrast, the bipartisan Senate compromise would allow illegal immigrants in the country by the beginning of this year to adjust their status. ___ Associated Press Writer Jim Abrams contributed to this report. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/21/national/w122544D34.DTL
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