Immigration Reform Push in the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is pushing last years immigration bill forward debate is set to begin on Monday.

Earlier this afternoon Sen. Reid announced that on Monday he will file cloture on the motion to precede to S.1348 (an identical version of last year's Senate passed immigration bill - S. 2611). If cloture vote is agreed to, it initiates a three day process, so on Wednesday sparks can fly. This is a constantly changing debate and various things can change the situation. Senators and staff will probably be working through the Mother's Day weekend and into the next week to reach a bi-partisan compromise.

Reid has offered last year immigration bill as a placeholder "to buy time for further talks if a full agreement does not appear by next week."

Senator Mel Martinez (and Chairman of the GOP) stated that "Last year's bill is not the solution for this year."

Reports from The Hill newspaper say Reid is asking for President Bush's personal involvement in the debate and states that Bushes personal involvement can make the difference to a compromise. The immigration debate has already involved two cabinet secretaries (Chertoff and Gutierrez) and countless Senators and negotiators.

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) called the proceedings a“delicate
dance” and stated:

"What do they want him to do, come over here and start writing out the bill into
law? Get real,” Lott said.

Lott acknowledged that unless new legislation is available to call up before Reid moves to proceed to last year’s Senate-passed immigration bill, Republicans will probably object. The time for that final showdown remains unclear, but senators were eyeing a late vote on Tuesday. Reid admitted that even he “wasn’t really wild about” last year’s immigration bill, which never reached a conference with the more conservative House under GOP control.

This year’s framework is viewed as more hard-line than the previous version, and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he has at times questioned Democrats’ willingness to move rightward in search of a consensus."

Many Members of Congress understand the politics behind the debate. Speaker of the House Pelosi has constantly stated that she needs 70 Republicans before she moves on legislation. Which means that any immigration bill will be written in the House.