Congress Cannot Agree on Immigration Bill

The United States is trying to write a new policy on one of the most emotional issues in politics. The nation’s leaders are trying to agree on an immigration policy.

Nearly 12 million people are believed to be living in the United States illegally. Those people are not citizens. They could be arrested at any time.

People living in the country illegally also could be sent back to the countries they came from. The term for that is deportation.

President George Bush said April 24 that deporting large numbers of people will not work.

Bush said it is not realistic to deport the large numbers of illegals in this country.

Congress wants bill approved by May 31

Congress returned from a two-week break on April 24. Members of Congress hope to approve an immigration bill before the end of May.

The debate over a new immigration policy has divided many people in the country. Large protests have been held in many cities around the country. Many of the marches supported a more moderate policy. But others called for strict measures. 

Some American citizens want all illegal residents deported. Others want to allow illegal residents to become citizens.

One plan for an immigration policy has been approved by the House of Representatives. The House is the lower body of the U.S. Congress. The Senate is the upper chamber of the Congress.

A bill pending in the Senate is not as strict as the one approved by the House. The Senate bill would require people to pay back taxes and fines. The bill also would require people to learn English.

Many of the illegal residents speak Spanish.

Most of the Spanish-speaking illegal immigrants are believed to come from Mexico.

The House version calls for building a fence along much of the U.S. border with Mexico. The bill also would make many illegals into felons. People convicted of a felony can be sent to prison for long periods of time.

Fears policy will hurt 2006 elections

Bush indicated he does not agree with some members of his own Republican Party. The president hopes for a more moderate bill. 

The president also is concerned about how the immigration debate will affect national elections in November. Political opinion polls show Bush’s ratings are the lowest since he became president in 2001.

Republicans hold more than half of the seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. But polls show Democrats could win enough seats in the November elections to control the House next year.

Bush seemed to favor a bill proposed by Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. The bill would create a way for illegal residents to work legally in the country.

The bill also would make it possible for many of those people to eventually become citizens. “It’s just an interesting concept that people need to think through,” Bush said of the McCain bill.

Bush must go against his own party

A leading Democratic senator said the McCain bill could pass if Bush refuses to do what the right wing of the Republican Party wants. The term “right wing” refers in this case to the conservative members of the Republican Party. Bush’s presidency has been supported by the right wing.

Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts worked with McCain to create the Senate bill. Kennedy said there is strong support for the bill.

“If the president were to take on the right wing of his own political party, we could get this legislation and pass it very, very quickly,” Kennedy said April 23. Kennedy made the statement when he spoke on the NBC television show “Meet the Press.”