New Senators Resist Overhaul of Immigration
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June 28, 2007
New Senators Resist Overhaul of Immigration
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, June 27 - In narrowly winning her seat last year, Senator
Claire McCaskill of Missouri ran hard against what she saw as a flawed
approach in Congress to dealing with illegal immigration. Ms.
McCaskill, a Democratic newcomer, says she is not about to change her
view now.
"I hope this never wears off, but I like to keep my word," said Ms.
McCaskill, part of a triad of moderate Democratic freshmen balking at
the proposed immigration overhaul and complicating efforts by
President Bush and Senate leaders to pass it this week.
Her compatriots in opposition are Senators Jim Webb of Virginia and
Jon Tester of Montana. All three represent Republican-leaning states
and are breaking with their leadership and most of their Democratic
colleagues on the legislation, whose fate in the Senate could be
determined on Thursday after a day of votes on amendments left the
outcome up in the air on Wednesday.
The Republican Party has been deeply split by its differences over
immigration. But Democrats have their own fault lines, and the
opposition from Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Tester, Mr. Webb and eight or so
other Democrats could be critical in determining the outcome.
Unlike some veteran liberal Democrats who say the measure would be too
harsh on illegal immigrants or would cost some American workers their
jobs, the three freshmen are lined up against it for much the same
reason as its Republican opponents: that it would not do enough to
stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the border.
"I do hear from my constituents, and I have to tell you it is
overwhelmingly do not touch it," said Mr. Tester, who said opposition
to the bill came from Montana residents of all political stripes, from
liberals to conservatives to libertarians. "This is a clearer signal
than we get on the war in Iraq."
The stance of Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Tester and Mr. Webb also indicates
how powerful the issue can be for those lawmakers who most recently
faced the voters on the polarizing subject of what to do about illegal
immigration and about the millions of illegal immigrants already in
the country. It is a turn of events that could be repeated in the
House if the immigration legislation clears the Senate. Many newly
elected Democratic centrists from swing districts who helped their
party regain the majority in the House have already expressed grave
reservations about the bill.
In the Senate, new members have traditionally been expected to hew
closely to the party line as they learn the ropes and establish
themselves. But Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader,
recognized that some new senators were in difficult situations because
of the more conservative tilt of their states, said Jim Manley, a
spokesman for Mr. Reid. So Mr. Reid told them they were free to break
away when necessary, Mr. Manley said.
The resistant freshmen say they have not come under pressure from the
leadership to change their views, though Mr. Tester says he has some
regrets about making things difficult for his leaders. "I feel bad
because I like Harry a lot," said Mr. Tester, referring to the
majority leader. "But he is a big boy."
The three lawmakers, who find themselves in similar political
situations after close election victories in states carried by Mr.
Bush in both 2000 and 2004, compare notes on a variety of issues.
"I will confess I check Tester's and Webb's vote before I check Harry
Reid's," said Ms. McCaskill, a former prosecutor and state auditor.
Of these three freshman Democratic senators, Mr. Webb has shown the
most willingness to entertain the idea of supporting the measure if it
were revised to his liking.
"There is a lot of good in this bill," Mr. Webb said Wednesday. But
his proposal to limit the opportunity to gain legal residency to
immigrants who have been in the country for at least four years was
soundly rejected by the Senate, 79 to 18, making it unlikely that
backers of the measure can count on his support.
"To include every single person who, with a few exceptions, was here
in this country as of the end of last year I think violates the notion
of fairness among a lot of people in this country," Mr. Webb said.
"And it's one of the reasons why we have had such a strong surge of
resentment toward the legislation."
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a leading Republican opponent of the
bill, said it was telling that some of the Democrats who had just won
their seats were those pushing most strongly against the legislation.
"Some of the new members looked their voters in the eye and said they
were not for amnesty and were for stricter enforcement," Mr. Sessions
said. "Now, if they don't honor that, it is going to poison their
relationship for some time."
And that is just what the three lawmakers are determined to avoid,
even though they will not be back on the ballot until 2012. "This was
a big issue in Missouri," Ms. McCaskill said. "I had a consistent and
clear message during the campaign, and I feel obligated to act on
that."
Other Democratic freshmen like Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have been supporting the bill.
Senator Bernard Sanders, a newly elected independent from Vermont who
usually sides with Democrats, has been opposing the measure, arguing
that it could be detrimental to American workers.
Like Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Tester said the federal government was doing a
poor job of enforcing immigration laws and could solve much of the
problem by enforcing what is already on the books. Ms. McCaskill also
says the government should make a statement by jailing some business
leaders who repeatedly hire illegal immigrants, a step she said would
be a powerful deterrent. She is also troubled by aspects of the
measure that would make it harder for family members to join legal
immigrants.
"I feel like Goldilocks," said Ms. McCaskill about the legislation.
"It is either too hot or too cold. It is certainly not just right."