LAT: Senators Delay Immigration Debate to Work Behind the Scenes

Senators Delay Immigration Debate to Work Behind the Scenes
Competing proposals differ widely on security, citizenship and guest workers. Legislation will have to be reconciled with the House version.
By Maura Reynolds and Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writers
March 29, 2006

WASHINGTON — Senators agreed Tuesday to briefly delay their debate on immigration, giving lawmakers time to work for greater consensus on an issue that has sparked a furor on Capitol Hill and around the country.

With negotiations continuing behind the scenes, however, it remained unclear which of several competing proposals — if any — might gain momentum....

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The Senate, which initially had planned to begin its debate on Tuesday, could start its deliberations late today or Thursday. Under an agreement reached between the chamber's Republican majority and Democrats, the discussions will focus at first on border security.

As a result, some of the most controversial aspects of the immigration debate — especially proposals to create guest-worker programs that would offer illegal immigrants a path to citizenship — may not be confronted until next week.

The delay was driven partly by divisions within the Republican Party — conflicts that reflect differences of opinion nationwide....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig29mar29,0,4263638.story?coll=la-home-headlines

We are getting alot of traction in the media on this fabricated priority. The country is distracted, and divided, lets drag it out as long as we can. Then we will pass the bill that we were going to anyway. The pResident can add a signing statement to the finished product and were done.