Latest from the Hill

December 19, 2005

Early Monday morning, the budget reconciliation bill (S. 1932) passed the House of Representatives, with a vote of 212-206 – no immigration provisions were included. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill shortly. Meanwhile, opposition has been mounting against Rep. Sensenbrenner’s bill (H.R. 4437) which contains many provisions that would destroy the civil liberties of all Americans. With two back-to-back immigration defeats in Congress, on both “legal” and “illegal” immigration, pro-immigrationists can no longer maintain a “business as usual” mindset hoping that Congress will pass some immigration reform relief in the future and if not, that an underground illegal economy will continue to exist. By the same token, the true question for House Republicans is how will they handle the issue when it hits home? What are Rep. Sensenbrenner and his friends going to do when their children/grand-children announce that they are engaged to a descendant of today’s undocumented? Perhaps the coming Congressional recess will give them time to ponder over this inevitable event.