Immigration bill stalls in United States Senate

Washington, June 8: A White House-backed bill to revamp US immigration laws stalled in the US Senate today, handing President George W Bush a major legislative setback.

The sharply divided Senate refused to limit debate on the fragile compromise hammered out by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House. The vote was 45-50, 15 short of the 60 votes needed to advance major legislation in the Senate.

As a result of the action, the legislation was set aside and the Democratic-majority Senate moved on to other legislation.

The bill, which has drawn fire from both the right and the left, ties tough border security and workplace enforcement measures to a plan to legalize most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Supporters scrambled throughout the day on Thursday to patch together an agreement that would have allowed the bill to advance toward a final vote in the Senate. The deal painstakingly negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House began to unravel after a series of amendments that backers said upset its balance.

Republicans sought to offer more amendments and said they would not be rushed into closing debate on the bill.

''The majority is simply not going to get anywhere trying to stuff the minority and prevent the amendment process,'' said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Sen Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who helped negotiate the legislation, said he would continue to push for the legislation.

''This issue is not going to go away,'' Kennedy said.

Reuters>