Secrecy could kill immigration reform

Carolyn Hileman* | March 1, 2007

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s secret work on an immigration bill threatens the chance of passing any guest-worker program this year, warned Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

“If you want to be in at the landing, you have to be in at the takeoff,” Mr. Specter of Pennsylvania yesterday cautioned Mr. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, saying Mr. Kennedy has broken a promise to consult with other senators’ staffs on a new bill. That bill, details of which were first reported by The Washington Times, would grant citizenship rights to most illegal aliens already in the U.S.

President Bush dispatched two Cabinet secretaries to testify to the Judiciary Committee yesterday as the Senate restarted the immigration debate, which stalled last year because of a deep split among Republicans on the issue.
But Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez undercut Mr. Bush’s own rationale for supporting citizenship rights for illegal aliens. Mr. Gutierrez said a temporary-worker program alone would be enough to encourage illegal aliens to come forward, even without the prospect of citizenship.

Well now I have to wonder just how much it cost to buy off Kennedy and McCain?

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