Immigration bill dies in Senate

WASHINGTON - The most dramatic overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in a generation was crushed yesterday in the Senate, with the forces of the political right and left overwhelming a bipartisan compromise on one of the most difficult issues facing the country.

The 46-53 tally to end debate and bring the legislation to a vote fell far short of the 60 votes needed to overcome opponents' dilatory tactics and parliamentary maneuvers, which had dogged the bill for weeks. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) then pulled the measure from the Senate floor for the second time this month; this time, it is not likely to come up before a new president comes to power.

"Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people, and Congress' failure to act on it is a disappointment," said President Bush, who has pushed a comprehensive reworking of immigration laws since he came to Washington. "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find a common ground. It didn't work."

The bill would have coupled tough border-enforcement measures and a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants with a pathway to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants, a new guest-worker system for foreigners seeking entry, and dramatic changes to the system of legal migration. A dozen senators spent nearly six months working with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on a bill that stretched for 761 pages.

Chertoff said the administration would continue trying to enforce existing immigration laws, building border fences, and beefing up border patrols.

But, he said, without the additional resources in the bill and its much more stringent system to verify the legality of job applicants, the current flood of illegal immigration was not likely to recede. Employers will still have no real way to unmask undocumented job applicants. Texas ranchers will continue to protest efforts to build fences on their land, and Arizonans will continue to try to block radar towers, he warned.

Chertoff angrily dismissed critics, especially conservatives, who said they could not support the bill until the administration had showed it could enforce the laws on the books. He accused them of saying: "We need better weapons, but we'll give you the weapons after you win the war."

Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.), one of the bill's sponsors, said, "The American people don't have faith in their government's ability to win a war, enforce border security, or even process passport requests."

Rarely does a legislative fight get as emotional as the battle over immigration.

Opponents of the bill painted the fight as a battle between the people of the United States and a government that they say has grown insensitive to an invasion of illegal immigrants that threatens the fabric of the nation. Proponents said the Senate had succumbed to the angry voices of hate, venom and racism.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.), one of the bill's main architects, compared the fight to the long struggle for civil rights legislation against segregationist opponents.

"You cannot stop the march for progress in the United States," he declared.

To that, Sen. David Vitter (R., La.), among the bill's most aggressive foes, said: "To suggest this was about racism is the height of ugliness and arrogance."

In truth, opposition to the bill was far more complex than proponents were letting on. In crafting a delicate compromise, the bill's architects created a measure that was reviled by foes of illegal immigration, opposed by most labor unions, and unloved by immigration advocates. Opposition came not only from talk-radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, but from the American Civil Liberties Union and the AFL-CIO.

The outcome was a major defeat for Bush, dealt largely by members of his own party. The president made a last-ditch round of phone calls in the morning in an attempt to rescue the legislation.

Thirty-seven Republicans voted to sustain the filibuster, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), along with 15 Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a liberal independent from Vermont. Thirty-three Democrats, 12 Republicans, and independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut voted to cut off debate and move to a final vote. All six Philadelphia-area senators were among the 46 to vote to end debate.

With such a resounding defeat, Bush lost what is likely to be the last, best chance at a major domestic accomplishment for his second term.

Republicans on both sides acknowledged the immigration fight had riven the GOP.

Republican Senate aides, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were divulging internal deliberations, said Minority Whip Trent Lott (R., Miss.) was furious with McConnell over the leader's refusal to confront the bill's most implacable opponents. They had virtually commandeered the Senate floor, blocking the introduction of amendments, refusing to offer amendments of their own, then complaining that an unfair process was preventing them from improving the bill.