The Grand Immigration compromise has gone down to defeat. The result is largely the fault of President Bush to deliver the votes of Republican Senators in Congress – just 7 voted in favor of cloture. He didn’t expend any political capital or engage in any of the hardcore arm-twisting he did in the past with legislation to restrict habeas corpus, etc.
I have mixed feelings on the defeat. The legislation provided a road to citizenship – albeit with more hurdles than I favor – for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants curently in the U.S. In that respect, it was a good first step.
The legislation was horrible in not providing a road to citizenship in its guest worker program. People who come here and do some of the hardest work deserve a path to citizenship once they’ve established a record as a good, law abiding resident.
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