US immigration drive crippled

UNITED STATES: A deal on granting legal status to 12 million illegal immigrants collapsed amid partisan rancor in the US Senate on Thursday, dealing a sharp blow to President George W. Bush.

The Senate's Democratic leader Harry Reid withdrew the landmark and controversial measure after members voted for the second time in the day not to move it towards a final vote. After tense hours of brinkmanship between Republicans and Democrats, only 45 members of the 100-seat Senate voted to limit further debate on the measure, 15 short of the total needed for it to proceed. Fifty senators voted against.

Reid forced the vote, saying that the Senate needed to pass the bill and move on to debating energy reform and the war in Iraq, after two weeks of work on the immigration bill.

Republicans complained his maneuver would not allow them enough time to offer amendments to the legislation, a key second term priority for Bush.

Democrats however accused some Republicans of offering repeated "killer amendments" in an effort to make the bill collapse. Despite the setback, Reid pledged to carry on working to pass an immigration reform bill, but added: "we are finished with this for the time being."

"We are very close, at some point we are going to do this."

Prospects for a future immigration deal making it through the Senate however appeared uncertain, given antipathy to the measure from conservatives, pressure of other business, and partisan fighting between Republicans and Democrats.

The looming 2008 congressional and presidential elections also mean that unless the measure is brought up soon, it will get caught up in a political maelstrom.

Washington, Friday, AFP