BORDER FENCE VOTE MAY COME TODAY CALIFORNIA SENATORS SPLIT ON ISSUE.Byline: LISA The first personal computer to include integrated software and use a graphical interface. Modeled after the Xerox Star and introduced in 1983 by Apple, it was ahead of its time, but never caught on due to its $10,000 price and slow speed. FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau The Senate agreed Thursday to move forward on authorizing a 700-mile security fence between the U.S. and Mexico even as other GOP attempts to crack down on illegal immigration "Illegal alien" and "Illegal aliens" redirect here. For other uses, see Illegal aliens (disambiguation). Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. fell victim to turf wars and interparty skirmishes. The 71-28 vote means that the Senate can begin final debate on the border fence today, with a vote expected by evening. California's senators split on allowing the fence to come up for a vote, with Sen. Barbara Boxer Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. A member of the Democratic Party, Boxer was first elected to the U.S. opposing it and Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is the senior U.S. Senator from California, having held office as a senator since 1992. She is a member of the Democratic Party. voting to allow it. ``I prefer the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate. I voted for this comprehensive bill and I believe that it is the right approach. But I also believe that it is critical that we improve the border infrastructure,'' Feinstein said. Even if the final measure passes, however, the fence remains just a slice of the immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. loaf that GOP leaders tried to pass as part of their midterm election agenda. ``It is very possible that this session of Congress will end and no significant steps will be taken on immigration,'' said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is a right-leaning, immigration reduction-oriented, non-profit, non-partisan research organization and was founded in 1985 with roots in the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and anti-immigration activist John , which favors crackdowns on illegal immigrants. ``I wasn't counting on any progress on the illegal immigration front from this Congress, and I'm still not,'' said immigration hardliner Noun 1. hardliner - a conservative who is uncompromising conservative, conservativist - a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas hardliner n → partidario/a de la línea dura Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. But, Rohrabacher warned, ``The voters are going to take note. When we return, this Congress is going to see just how important this issue is.'' House Republicans earlier this month passed four immigration-related bills. Many of them were elements of a tough border-security bill that passed the House in December. But the Senate could not reconcile that with a separate reform measure that boosted security but also granted citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants. In addition to authorizing the fence, House Republicans moved to deputize dep·u·tize tr. & intr.v. dep·u·tized, dep·u·tiz·ing, dep·u·tiz·es To appoint or serve as a deputy. dep local law enforcement officers as immigration agents and allow for the indefinite detainment of illegal immigrants. The House also unanimously passed legislation criminalizing the construction and financing of unauthorized border tunnels. House Speaker Dennis Hastert vowed to muscle all of those provisions into either the 2007 defense or homeland security funding bills. The move, however, provoked intense opposition from Senate Republicans. Some, like House Armed Services The Constitution authorizes Congress to raise, support, and regulate armed services for the national defense. The President of the United States is commander in chief of all the branches of the services and has ultimate control over most military matters. Chairman John Warner, R-Va., objected on procedural grounds. Others such as Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., argued that passing immigration measures piecemeal would kill any chance of larger bipartisan reform. Hastert backed down Thursday, House and Senate aides said. A Hastert spokesman did not return calls for comment. ``It was the legislative equivalent of a showdown at the O.K. Corral, with Republicans staring down the Republicans,'' said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum The National Immigration Forum (also called "The Forum") is an immigrant rights organization based in Washington, DC that publishes studies, lobbies congress members, and networks local organizations with the goal of increasing public support for immigration to the United , which advocates for illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the two other House-approved measures -- the fence and criminalizing the border tunnels -- are expected to pass. That was enough Thursday for House Majority Leader John Boehner to claim at least partial victory. ``There is clearly some concern about some of the border security issues that the House passed last week that we would like to have seen in there,'' he said. But, Boehner added, ``having said that, the tunnel provision that makes it illegal to tunnel across the border is included. And if you look at the additional funds that we have in there, we've taken a big step on securing our borders.'' Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said Republicans botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. immigration reform. ``This Republican Congress has failed to pass meaningful, comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform,'' she said. ``What they have done is really abdicate ab·di·cate v. ab·di·cat·ed, ab·di·cat·ing, ab·di·cates v.tr. To relinquish (power or responsibility) formally. v.intr. To relinquish formally a high office or responsibility. their responsibilities here.'' Kelley called the fence ``a bumper-sticker slogan and certainly not a solution,'' and said she doesn't believe its passage will allow GOP leaders to claim real action on border security. ``Because the attention was on this issue for so long, there's no one who's going to be fooled by a fence,'' she said. lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com (202) 662-8731 |
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