Kyl reluctant to take lead on immigration plan again

lilbawler2001 · 12-20-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

"The president will set the agenda. He's just been elected with a significant majority, and the Democrats have made significant gains in both houses, so it will be up to them to decide where comprehensive immigration reform will be on the agenda," McCain said Thursday during a meeting with Arizona Republic editors and reporters. "I stand ready to work with them at the first opportunity, but for me to say that that's what we're going to take up is not in keeping with the results of the last election."
Kyl isn't saying no to [COLOR=green! important][COLOR=green! important]immigration [COLOR=green! important]reform[/color][/color][/color] out of hand, but he supports a position first articulated by McCain during the campaign: that Congress must convince the American people that the borders are secure before pursuing other reforms that critics view as benefiting illegal immigrants.
He also credited Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Kennedy for their willingness to make concessions, particularly on restricting family "chain migration," upon which Kyl says few other countries base their immigration systems. With chain migration, immigrants can facilitate visas for relatives.
Kennedy's conciliatory attitude prompted Kyl to make concessions, too. He agreed to a proposed pathway to citizenship for many who are now in the country illegally. Kyl prefers a system based on the U.S. marketplace's need for temporary workers and had opposed such a pathway in 2006.
"I doubt that the public thinks we're there yet, and I'm not sure that the same basic trade-offs will be agreed to again," Kyl said. "I don't know whether the Obama administration would be willing to consider the same changes, but they were critical to my support for the ultimate bill. And if they alter the agreement significantly, and I suspect they will do so, then the equation for trade-offs becomes totally different."
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is Obama's choice to replace Chertoff at the Department of Homeland Security.
With Democrats holding commanding advantages in the House and the Senate, the urgency to win over minority Republicans to pass priorities such as immigration reform is reduced.
Still, Kyl, recently re-elected to a new term as Senate minority whip, would add significant bipartisan clout to any immigration plan. He is the highest-ranking Arizonan on Capitol Hill since the late Republican Rep. John Rhodes was House minority leader in the 1970s.
McCain paid a political price for embracing comprehensive immigration reform: His fundraising dried up so much that by mid-2007, his presidential campaign was in danger of collapsing.
McCain stands by his earlier call for the tactical shift that emphasizes border security. But he said a guest-worker plan could be pursued at the same time.
"I think we are already making significant strides." McCain said "I don't think it has to be, quote, completed.
"I think we have to assure the American people that our borders are being secured and, at the same time, we can establish a temporary-worker program that works."
Immigration advocate Elias Bermudez, founder of Phoenix-based Immigrants Without Borders and a Republican, expects McCain to remain the GOP leader on immigration reform. But he said Kyl understands the political importance of not driving away Latinos from the Republican Party with anti-immigration rhetoric.
"I don't think the Democrats need Republican votes to pass this," Bermudez said. "Kyl will probably try to put in his two cents' worth as to what he believes is needed in immigration reform. . . . Remember, we are not looking for 'amnesty.' We are asking for an official mechanism whereby people are able to come here legally to work."
McCain agreed that Republicans must not alienate Hispanics, noting that [COLOR=green! important][COLOR=green! important]President [COLOR=green! important]Bush[/color][/color][/color] won 43 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004. McCain got 31 percent this year.
"In (swing states) Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico and Florida, the margin of defeat was the difference in the Hispanic vote between 2004 and 2008," McCain said. "We Republicans . . . have got to recruit and elect Hispanics to office. And we need to correct the impression that many Hispanic citizens have, and that is that we don't like Hispanics."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...immig1220.html

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Kyl reluctant to take lead on immigration plan again