I Do Believe I Called This!

Source: Denver Post

Immigration reform sputters
A White House plan has lawmakers split along party lines, with Sen. Ken Salazar pointing to “onerous” conditions.

Washington - A renewed congressional drive to pass immigration reform hit a roadblock Thursday when lawmakers split along party lines on a White House proposal.

Republicans either defended the Bush administration’s ideas or called them starting points for discussion.

Democrats said parts of the proposal were unworkable, including high costs to apply for permanent residency, and a temporary-worker program that would not allow workers to bring their families.

Those party-line differences came less than a day after a bipartisan group of senators, including Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar, met to start work on a new immigration bill.

“I do not want a comprehensive immigration reform proposal that’s not going to be workable,” Salazar said. “When we create conditions that are so onerous, it won’t solve the problem.”

The differences underscored how controversial and difficult it still may be to pass legislation, even though the Democratic- controlled Congress and the Bush administration want immigration reform.

The Bush administration’s ideas for immigration reform legislation have come out as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has met with Republican senators.

Those meetings have been “to try to build consensus among a majority of Republicans,” on immigration, White House spokesman Blair Jones said.

“Once a majority of Republicans begin to coalescence, we would meet with Democratic senators to discuss a way to build broad bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.

The president’s initial proposal, according to those familiar with it, includes a provision for temporary workers to stay two years, after which they must leave the country for six months.

They can then renew twice, for a total of six years.

The proposal requires illegal immigrants who want legal status to pay fees starting at $3,500, plus a balloon payment of $8,000 if they gain permanent-resident status.

The proposal also shuffles some categories of work visas, reducing the number allotted for family members such as adult children, adult siblings and parents, said Marshall Fitz, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“Temporary workers are here to meet the needs of the country,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Those workers shouldn’t necessarily get to bring family members or get in line for permanent residency, Graham said.

Salazar said he is reserving judgment on the Bush proposal “until I see how these concepts are laid out in a bill.”

He added, “I don’t want to see the tool of immigration reform break up families. I don’t think that’s the moral high ground.”

Onerous? Yeah,I suppose to an open borders Democrat anything short of whispered endearments and chocolates would be "onerous!"

The irony? The reason "Comprehensive Immigration Anal Rape" will not occur? Democrats? Why? Because they just can't help themselves, they will turn this bill into a carnival ride of delights for our cheerful invaders, just one problem though, there are still these pesky "citizens" who they have to pretend to give a shit about. Yeah, sorry about that guys, sorry you can't be the god-kings of all creation as you so clearly deserve, sorry!

H/T immigration watchdog

Technorati Tags: illegal immigration, amnesty, salazar, invaders, open borders,