Everyone is Blaming Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) for the Failure to Pass Immigration Reform

On Friday, April 7th, the just-born Hagel-Martinez compromise which would have rescued major elements of the McCain-Kennedy bill in a final Senate bill came apart among finger-pointing on all sides. A TIME magazine article (click here) contends as follows: “Disappointed members of both parties say it was [Senate Democratic Minority Leader] Reid’s election-year ambitions that ultimately doomed the immigration bill”. A National Immigration Forum press release says “the Democratic Senate leadership was more interested in keeping the immigration issue alive in the run up to mid-terms than in enacting immigration reform legislation.” Naturally, proponents of comprehensive immigration reform in both parties are furious. Given the large immigrant rallies over the weekend, it is likely that the Senate will return to comprehensive immigration reform when it comes back from its recess.

In his weekly radio address (click here to see), President Bush said “Members of the United States Senate reached a promising bipartisan compromise on comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, this compromise is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leader who has refused to allow Senators to move forward and vote on amendments to this bill.”

KJ