Immigration headlines 8/5

It would appear Republicans are becoming more strident about immigration, and that's saying something. Given the recent climate, I would only assume that attaching AgJobs to the Senate version of the farm bill will be tough.



Republicans hardening stance on immigration From SF Chronicle:
An anti-immigration backlash has taken hold among Republicans in the Capitol, led in some cases by the staunchest supporters - Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina - of the failed Senate bill derided by many as amnesty.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a San Jose Democrat, fended off GOP efforts Friday to block what in normal times would be noncontroversial "private bills" to remedy the most compelling individual plights of a handful of illegal immigrants caught in the labyrinth of immigration law.
Late Thursday night, Republicans walked out of a House vote to protest what they said was an attempt by Democrats to reverse a GOP win on a motion to deny benefits to illegal immigrants in an agriculture spending bill.
Republicans said the vote was gaveled to a close as members were still voting, and that they actually prevailed 215-213.
Democrats apologized the next day for the snafu, but refused to change the vote in which they ultimately defeated the anti-illegal immigrant measure. The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a press release Friday with a video clip of the vote, accusing Democratic leaders of interfering to "strong-arm their politically vulnerable members into switching their votes in order to defeat the measure and deliver benefits for illegals."
House Republicans have been attaching immigration provisions to a host of bills covering everything from health care to agriculture, usually to deny federal benefits to illegal immigrants.
"The environment is fairly toxic," said Doug Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigrant group. "Where the Republican Party seemed to be divided before on immigration, now they are united on attacking illegal immigration."




John McCain Takes a New Position on Immigration Reform From Fox News:
John McCain has a new approach to the controversial immigration reform bill that cost him the support of many conservative Republicans.
The Arizona senator is now supporting a plan that cracks down on illegal immigration — but leaves out the guest worker program and path to citizenship that some critics called amnesty. McCain says the Senate "can still show the American people that we are serious about securing our nation's border."
But he's not abandoning the more controversial parts of the bill — saying the new plan would "provide an essential step towards achieving comprehensive reform in the future."