Bloggers, radio reshaping bill on immigration

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The top Senate Republican negotiator on immigration said he has heard the complaints of conservative talk-radio show hosts and bloggers, and will try to change the immigration bill to accommodate them.

Sen. Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican who wrote the bill with Democrats and the Bush administration, said he is making moves to stiffen immigration law enforcement when the Senate bill returns to the floor next week.

"All of the concerns from our constituents and some in the media have been listened to, and incorporated," said Mr. Kyl, who is drafting new provisions in an amendment he hopes to offer.

A vote to resurrect the bill, which collapsed two weeks ago when Democrats and Republicans demanded more time to pass amendments, is scheduled for Tuesday. It will require the support of 60 senators. As of yesterday, it was a close call, with opponents claiming momentum.

To rescue the bill, President Bush will need to find more support among Republicans than two weeks ago, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. In that last vote, 11 Democrats and one independent joined all but seven Republicans present in blocking the bill — leaving supporters 15 votes shy of the 60 needed.

"We believe this bill deserves more than 14 percent of the Republican vote. We can't do it all on our own," Mr. Reid said yesterday.

Mr. Bush is trying to oblige, making calls this week to senators urging them to support the bill. A White House spokesman declined to say who he has called or whether his list includes Democrats as well as Republicans.

The bill is a fragile compromise that combines a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens with a guest-worker program for future workers and a rewrite of future immigration rules to help those with needed skills or education.

If the compromise survives Tuesday's first test vote, the Senate will then move to vote on about two dozen amendments, divided between Republicans and Democrats, that could substantially alter the bill. Mr. Kyl's amendment to try and stiffen enforcement is meant to win new supporters.

Opposition comes mainly from Republicans and some Democrats who say the bill doesn't put enforcement first and is an amnesty that hurts U.S. workers.