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WASHINGTON (AP) - Key senators in both parties announced agreement with the White House Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border. The plan would create a temporary worker program to bring new arrivals to the U.S. A separate program would cover agricultural workers. New high-tech enforcement measures also would be instituted to verify that workers are here legally.
The compromise came after weeks of painstaking closed-door negotiations that brought the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans together with President Bush's Cabinet officers to produce a highly complex measure that carries heavy political consequences.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he expects Bush to endorse the agreement.
"Politics is the art of the possible, and the agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have in years to secure our borders and bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America," Kennedy said.
Anticipating criticism from conservatives, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said, "It is not amnesty. This will restore the rule of law."
The accord sets the stage for what promises to be a bruising battle next week in the Senate on one of Bush's top non-war priorities. The president has said he wants to sign an immigration bill by summer's end.
The key breakthrough came when negotiators struck a bargain on a so- called "point system" that would for the first time prioritize immigrants' education and skill level over family connections in deciding how to award green cards.
The draft bill "gives a path out of the shadows and toward legal status for those who are currently here" illegally, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The immigration issue also divides both parties in the House, which isn't expected to act unless the Senate passes a bill first.
The proposed agreement would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a "Z visa" and—after paying fees and a $5,000 fine—ultimately get on track for permanent residency, which could take between eight and 13 years. Heads of household would have to return to their home countries first.
They could come forward right away to claim a probationary card that would let them live and work legally in the U.S., but could not begin the path to permanent residency or citizenship until border security improvements and the high-tech worker identification program were completed.
A new temporary guest worker program would also have to wait until those so-called "triggers" had been activated.
Those workers would have to return home after work stints of two years, with little opportunity to gain permanent legal status or ever become U.S. citizens. They could renew their guest worker visas twice, but would be required to leave for a year in between each time.
Democrats had pressed instead for guest workers to be permitted to stay and work indefinitely in the U.S.
In perhaps the most hotly debated change, the proposed plan would shift from an immigration system primarily weighted toward family ties toward one with preferences for people with advanced degrees and sophisticated skills. Republicans have long sought such revisions, which they say are needed to end "chain migration" that harms the economy, while some Democrats and liberal groups say it's an unfair system that rips families apart.
Family connections alone would no longer be enough to qualify for a green card—except for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens.
New limits would apply to U.S. citizens seeking to bring foreign-born parents into the country.
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What a load this is. Are we just supposed to sit around and accept this crap? This is amnesty for 20 million criminals that have broken our laws. This is not acceptable. We are growing very tired of having our Country invaded by uneducated and illiterate 3rd world peasants. WE have to live amongst them, WE don't like it and we wont do it anymore.
Do you like it Fat Ted? Oh, You wouldn't know. I'm guessing not too many of these peasants have made the jump to Martha's vineyard otherwise you may feel different.
"
Politics is the art of the possible, and the agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have in years to secure our borders and bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America," Kennedy said.Oh come on. Please, I'm gonna barf here.
Ted, go have another glass of Chivas. And please don't drive. Please don't kill another innocent "passenger"
Bungee wrote a song, would you like to hear it?
OK.
A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How this Country used to make me smile.
And I knew if It had its chance
That It could make our people dance
And, maybe, we were happy for a while.
But Politicians make me shiver
With every Z-visa they deliver.
Bad news on this setback,
I can’t take one more wetback.
I can remember how I cried
When I read my Country died,
And something touched me deep inside
The day America died.
So bye-bye, miss American pie.
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
Singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote.
"this’ll be the day that I vote."
Did you write the immigration laws,
And cant you see they’re full of flaws
If American people tell you so?
Do you believe in Ted Kennedy
Does he care for you and me?
And can he teach me how to swim, real slow?
Well, I know that you’re in love with them
cause I saw you voting in the gym.
You both voted for the Dems.
Please don’t cry when America ends
I was a lonely teenage Democrat
With a Hillary button and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was blessed with luck
The day America died.
I started singing’,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
And singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote.
"this’ll be the day that I vote."
Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And Mexicans grow fat on the American bone
But that’s not how it used to be.
When the wetback sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from Harry Reid
Oh, and while king Reid was looking down,
Hillary stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while Hillary read a book of Marx,
Their quartet practiced in the park,
And they sang praises in the dark
The day America died.
We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
And singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote.
"this’ll be the day that I vote."
Hillary Clinton in a summer swelter.
And we flew off without a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
The ballistic missile landed on the grass.
Hillary she tried to save her ass
With her jester on the sidelines in a cast.
Now the Hillary smell is in the room
While her sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause her players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day America died?
We started singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
And singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote
"this’ll be the day that I vote."
Oh, and there we were all in one place,
Americans lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on, Pedro be nimble, Pedro be quick!
Pedro sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.
Oh, and as I watched Pelosi on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that traitors’ spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw Pelosi laughing with delight
The day America died
She was singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
And singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote.
"this’ll be the day that I vote."
There was a time I sang the blues
Just hoping for some happy news,
They all smiled and turned away.
I went down to the voting booth
Where I’d heard my vote it just might count,
But the man there said I should dismount.
And in the streets: the children screamed,
Screaming for their welfare queen
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day America died.
And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss American pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them wetback boys were drinking’ tequila and hope
Singing’, "this’ll be the day that I vote.
"this’ll be the day that I vote."