US: The US Senate was poised last night to approve a sweeping overhaul of America's immigration laws that would allow millions of illegal immigrants, thousands of whom are Irish, to remain in the country. Denis Staunton reports from Washington
The bill's passage became almost inevitable after senators voted 75-25 in favour of a procedural motion to end the debate on it. It represents an important victory for President George W Bush, who has supported a comprehensive approach to reforming America's immigration system.
The bill must now, however, be merged with a tough measure approved by the House of Representatives last year, which would criminalise illegal immigrants and offers no path to legal status or earned citizenship.
Negotiators from the Senate and the House meet in conference in the next few weeks to work out a compromise bill that would then be put to separate votes in both houses of Congress.
The Senate bill calls for a temporary worker programme and a three-tier system for dealing with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the US. Those who have been in the country for more than five years could stay and apply for citizenship, provided they pay a fine, settle back taxes, learn English and have no serious criminal records.
Those in the US for two to five years would eventually have to return to a point of entry in Mexico or Canada and apply for a green card, which could allow their immediate return. About two million undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years would have to go home.
Senator John McCain said yesterday that there was a "90 per cent chance" a deal would emerge from negotiations between the Senate and the House of Representatives.
"We're ready to enter serious negotiations and discussions. We're not drawing any lines in the sand. . . I think there is a lot of room for manoeuvre," he said.
James Sensenbrenner, the hard-line chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also signalled a willingness to compromise, notably on the fate of illegal immigrants already in the US.
"I don't think anything is a deal-breaker. We can't have legal proceedings to deport 11 to 12 million people, that is evident," he said.
Other House Republicans are determined, however, to resist what they view as an amnesty for illegal immigrants and a visit this week to Capitol Hill by White House political strategist Karl Rove appears to have done little to change their minds.
Mr Rove showed congressmen polling data that indicated popular support for comprehensive immigration reform but Republicans from border states told him he was underestimating Americans' hostility to the notion of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.
According to a report in the Hill, a congressional newsletter, one congressman asked Mr Rove to consider what effect a massive wave of new Hispanic voters would mean to the Republican Party, members said. Citing the waves of Irish voters that came to the US in the late 19th century, Mr Rove said the country had absorbed and adapted to large groups of immigrant voters throughout its history.
Democratic Senator Joseph Biden warned that he could not support any compromise bill that undermined the basic thrust of the measure approved by the Senate. But Republican senator John Cornyn, who opposed the Senate bill, said both sides must ensure a final bill emerged from the conference. "Failure is really not an option. I think we've got to come up with a bill that addresses the American people's concerns," he said.