BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE THREE MAIN IMMIGRATION BILLS AND MORE EVIDENCE THAT A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION MAY BE ON THE HORIZON

The McClatchy Newspapers compare the three leading immigration bills side-by-side. The three leading bills are the Senate Judiciary Committee’s, the House’s Sensenbrenner bill, and Sen. Frist’s Enforcement only bill, which shares a lot in common with Rep. Sensenbrenner’s bill.

The SJC’s bill was passed last Monday. The full Senate is likely to vote on the SJC’s bill on April 8. Sen. Frist may try to wedge his bill into the Senate’s debate, although that looks unlikely at this time. If the Senate passes the SJC’s bill, then Sen. Frist’s bill is expected to be withdrawn.

Thereafter the Senate and House will have to confer and decide how to reconcile the two bills. The House passed the Sensenbrenner Enforcement Only bill in December. The Conference could result in one of the two bills being adopted, or a hybrid of the two bills. Of course, both the Senate and House could stand firm and no legislation could be passed. It is expected that President Bush will sign any bill given to him by Congress.

The Nation, a leading Conservative magazine, offers up proof that the country endorses a Comprehensive bill instead of an Enforcement Only approach. This is somewhat surprising because the conventional wisdom is that it is Congressional Republicans who would dig in and fight for Enforcement Only. The Nation’s article cites a Time magazine poll that shows that 79% of Americans favor a Comprehensive approach.