Senate Bypasses Security for Immigration

President Bush poses for photographers, Monday, May 15, 2006, after making his first Oval Office address to the nation about immigration. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP)

But for now, the focus was on the Senate, where Republican and Democratic critics took to attacking the bill without success.

Isakson went first, brushing aside claims that in seeking to assure the border was under control, he was asking for the impossible. "Listen, this country put a man on the moon in nine years. This country responded to the terrorist attacks on 9-11 within three weeks. This country can do anything it sets its mind to."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill, said Isakson's proposal was designed to "put the horse in front of the cart, not the cart in front of the horse. Let's do first things first."

Democrats led the counter-attack. The party's leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, called it a "killer amendment." Salazar added, "In the past, for the last 20 years when we've tried to approach immigration issue by only looking at one issue at a time, we have failed." Like many other Democrats during the day, he referred favorably to Bush's speech, and said a "comprehensive approach was needed."

Isakson's proposal drew the support of 36 Democrats and 18 Republicans as well as one independent. Opposed were 33 Republicans and seven Democrats. The entire senior GOP leadership voted in favor of the proposal, including Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, who heads the GOP campaign committee.

"The president needs to talk to his own leaders here if he wants comprehensive immigration reform," jabbed Reid. "We've got a lot of tough votes coming up."

Frist seemed undeterred, a potential White House challenger courting conservatives for 2008, yet the leader of Senate Republican who pledges support for Bush's approach. "...Border security first, foremost. We've got to do it as part of a comprehensive plan," he told reporters. At the same time, he signaled acceptance of a portion of the bill that displeases conservatives, the part that allows some illegal immigrants to gain citizenship without leaving the country.

Eager to ward off any political danger, opponents of Isakson's proposal countered with a proposal that said none of the law's changes could take effect unless the president declared they were in the country's national interest. It passed, 79-16.

Dorgan's attack on the guest worker program went down to a defeat led by Republicans. He said the guest worker program was the price supporters had paid to win the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"The reason is that there are interests that support this bill only on the condition that we allow low wage workers to come in the back door at the same time we export high wage workers outside the front door," said Dorgan, one of the Senate's most persistent critics of the Bush administration's trade policy.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Dorgan was attacking a key element of the balanced approach that Bush had outlined.