Immigration Bill Supporters See Glimmer of Hope
WASHINGTON – The immigration bill that incited a whirlwind of debate on Capitol Hill in recent weeks crumbled on Thursday in a dramatic Senate vote. Yet backers of the bill, heavy with fatigue and exasperation, vowed to revive it.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the chief sponsor of the legislation, said he will not give up on a bill that is aimed at "remedying one of the great national challenges we have," according to USA Today. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) also said he hopes to revisit the bill later.
"I, even though disappointed, look forward to passing this bill," Reid said, according to The Associated Press. The Senate majority leader had called for a cloture vote in an effort to limit debate and force the bill through the Senate this week.
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"I have every desire to complete this legislation," he said, "and we all have to work – the president included – to figure out a way to get this bill passed."
The bill – one of the most contentious and complicated in recent years – was the product of the White House and a bipartisan group of senators who struck a "grand bargain" with compromises by both parties resulting in a bill that would provide a pathway for 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens, 200,000 guest worker visas a year, tighter border security, and enforce a new system to prevent employers from hiring illegal workers.
The bill, however, failed to muster the needed 60 votes in support of the bill on Thursday, receiving only 45 votes in favor and 50 votes against. As a result, Reid pulled the bill from the floor.
Social conservatives in the Republican Party have mainly expressed concern over the bill providing "amnesty" to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, liberal democrats complained the bill was too harsh on immigrants and did not keep the family unit together.
The White House has urged Reid to allow the bill to continue being debated in the Senate. The comprehensive immigration reform bill was Bush's top domestic priority and would be one of the president's greatest achievements, if passed.
"He obviously is disappointed by the setback," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said of Bush, according to AP. "But based on the latest information we have, there still is a good chance this bill could go forward."
The Christian community, meanwhile, has increasingly become involved in the immigration debate, pressing for more humane treatment of the illegal immigrants. Churches across the nations have even openly stated they are sheltering immigrants to protect them from deportation.
Recently, Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission joined the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference to urge Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
"We propose that Congress pass comprehensive immigration reform that reflects the American commitment to the three formative pillars of our nation: the rule of law, our faith value system and the pursuit of the American Dream," Rodriguez had said at the launch of the Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform campaign last month.
His organization, which serves 10,700 Hispanic evangelical churches with 15 million members, is America's largest Hispanic Evangelical organization.
Megachurch pastors Joel Osteen, Jack Hayford, and Joel C. Hunter have also voice support for a reformed comprehensive immigration bill.
A recent survey by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that two-third of the public supported giving illegal immigrants citizenship if they had jobs, passed background checks and paid fines. Still, according to polling data, lawmakers and analysts, U.S. society has deep differences over the issue, as mirrored by the Senate divisions that derailed the White House-backed immigration bill - for now, at least.
