The White House insisted on Sunday that radical plans to overhaul the US immigration system were not dead, urging Republican and Democrat lawmakers to work hard to save a controversial bill.
WASHINGTON: The White House insisted on Sunday that radical plans to overhaul the US immigration system were not dead, urging Republican and Democrat lawmakers to work hard to save a controversial bill.
The sweeping reform drive, backed by US President George W. Bush, to bring 12 million illegal immigrants out of the shadows, collapsed late Thursday after a night of high drama in the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Democratic leader Harry Reid withdrew the landmark measure after senators, seeking to add amendments to the bill, voted twice within nine hours not to move it towards a final vote as he had demanded.
But White House spokesman Tony Snow said Sunday the draft legislation, which some Republicans have slammed as nothing more than a sweeping amnesty for illegal immigrants, could move forward if it were given just a bit more time.
"The Senate majority leader does have the ability to say we will go ahead and entertain these amendments. It's my understanding that a day or two's worth of debate will wrap it up," Snow told CBS news.
He insisted the draft text had already garnered strong support in the Congress and urged Reid to re-introduce it, and allow a full debate.
"Rather than finger-pointing, if Harry Reid is dedicated to this, it's got to be solved in a smart way. Why not go ahead and set aside those two days for debate," he added on Fox News.
"We're not only going to get a bill, but we're going to get a better bill, and it will be one that answers the express objections of a lot of people."
But Reid's deputy in Senate, Richard Durbin, blamed Republicans for "bogging down" the bill, saying "there are four or five members on the Republican side who don't want a bill."
"So it will take some leadership on the Republican side to agree on the number of amendments, to agree that we're not going to waste more time and procedural slowdowns, and really get to the heart of the issue," he said on Fox News.
Bush is set to hold talks with Republicans on Tuesday, and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who championed the legislation, told CNN he believed the differences would be overcome.
"If we believe in national security, then we need to pass this bill," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition."
The immigration "grand bargain" was aimed at granting a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, establishing a merit-based points system for future immigrants and a low-wage temporary worker programme.
It included a border security crackdown, punishments for employers who hire illegal immigrants and an attempt to wipe out a backlog of visa applications from those who have gone through legal immigration channels.
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