Marietta Daily Journal today

Ga. senators blast Democrats for immigrant bill demise

Saturday, June 9, 2007 1:19 AM EDT
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By Marcus E. Howard
Marietta Daily Journal Writer Staff

WASHINGTON – In the wake of a U.S. Senate showdown between proponents and opponents of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, Georgia’s Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson blasted Democratic leaders for the bill’s collapse.

Chambliss (R-Moultrie) and Isakson (R-east Cobb) criticized Senate Democratic leaders for refusing to allow more time for fellow Republicans, some of whom have been critical of the bill, to offer amendments to the legislation in order to quell conservative opposition of the measure.

“We must be allowed ample time to engage in a thoughtful and full debate so that we continue to improve this legislation,” Chambliss said Friday. “The window on immigration reform is closing and if we are going to have reform, it must be done in the right way – border security first, no amnesty, no new pathway to citizenship.”

On Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) sought to end debate on the controversial immigration overhaul legislation by calling the Senate to a cloture vote – the second one that day after the first failed – that would have limited debate and brought the bill to a final up or down vote.

The second time proved not to be a charm as the cloture vote failed with 38 Republicans, including Chambliss and Isakson, 11 Democrats and one independent voting not to close debate. There were 45 senators, including 37 Democrats, 7 Republicans and one independent, who voted to end debate.

Both Georgia senators were part of a small bipartisan group of senators who met privately for three months, hammering out the sweeping measure that proposed granting an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants U.S. citizenship after they paid a fine and met other requirements, as well as mandated tighter U.S.-Mexican border security.

Chambliss and Isakson previously said they would reserve judgment on the final bill until the amendment process was complete.

“Sen. Chambliss and I have been working hard to address the No. 1 domestic issue in the United States, Isakson said.

“However, this bill was not good enough yet for the people of Georgia. We will continue our efforts, because it is absolutely critical to our state and this nation that we secure the borders and restore credibility to our immigration system.”

Though the immigration reform bill had received President Bush’s favor, many Republicans, particularly conservatives, expressed displeasure with it, calling it amnesty for people who had broken the law.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) said the bill fell short of offering a just punishment for illegal immigrants who have had a detrimental effect on programs like Social Security and the nation’s education system.

“Sen. Reid’s decision to pull the immigration bill from the Senate floor last night after a failed cloture vote confirms what many of us already knew: there are too many problems with this bill for it to gain broad support,” Gingrey said.

“This legislation was irresponsible policy, and we need to ensure future immigration bills don’t contain the same shortcomings.”

Back home in Georgia, state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), who is chairman of the Georgia Senate Immigration Reform Caucus, claimed victory for opponents of the bill and expressed joy that it was stopped from advancing into law.

“I am pleased to see the United States Senate has decided not to repeat the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens,” Rogers said. “Sens. Isakson and Chambliss are to be commended for their votes, which helped stop this measure from moving forward.”

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