WASHINGTON — Supporters of a bipartisan immigration bill on Wednesday rebuffed one of the most serious challenges so far, defeating a measure that could have denied legalization to many illegal immigrants and moving the complicated legislation a step closer to passage in the Senate.
Senate Democratic leaders, fearing an erosion of support for the bill if debate drags on, are pushing for a final vote by the end of the week or early next week. The bill would then move to the House, where it is expected to face stiffer opposition.
"We've got one good chance to get this legislation passed," said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a key supporter of the bill. "Now is the time."
The defeated amendment, proposed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), would have permanently barred many convicted felons -- including sex offenders, gang members and repeat drunk drivers -- from qualifying to become legal permanent residents.
Supporters of the bill said, however, the amendment was written so loosely that it also would have barred those guilty of other felonies, such as violating deportation orders or using false identification documents. That, they said, would have applied to a huge number of illegal immigrants.
"We should not allow a path to legalization and citizenship for those who have openly defied our courts, lawful orders of our courts, and who have shown themselves as having no regard for the rule of law," Cornyn argued from the Senate floor before the vote. "What kind of citizens can we expect [of] these individuals who have been ordered deported, who have had their day in court and who simply defied that court order by going on the lam and melting into the American landscape?"
But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the primary Democratic sponsor of the legislation, accused Cornyn of classifying "an array of common, garden-variety immigration offenses as crimes that would make them ineligible for the program."
"The Cornyn amendment that says if you ... have been ordered out of the country by immigration authorities, but if you failed to leave or you came back, you're ineligible," Kennedy said on the Senate floor. "Cornyn says that if you have used false identification, you may be found inadmissible and may be deported. But in our broken system, the people that have wanted to work face the reality of where we are today."
Senators defeated the Cornyn amendment 51 to 46, with California's Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer voting against it.
