Senate leaders' announcement that they would allow the bill a second chance came after getting assurances from key negotiators that they could produce enough support to steer the measure through a procedural minefield, including attempts by conservatives to block it. The fragile compromise would grant millions of illegal immigrants lawful status while tightening border security and creating new measures for weeding out illegal workers at job sites. Championed by President Bush, it has sparked an outcry among conservatives who regard it as amnesty for lawbreakers.
An appearance by Bush on Capitol Hill this week to prod action on the measure — and his subsequent OK to immediately pumping a new $4.4 billion into border security — helped set the stage for its resurrection. But it was raw trolling for votes by key Republicans and Democrats that made the difference, said lawmakers and senior officials involved in the talks. The coalition drew up a tentative list of 22 amendments (divided equally between the two parties) whose consideration would give a handful of Republicans the comfort they needed to allow the bill to go forward. That would take 60 votes — a threshold the bill missed by 15 last week, when just seven Republicans backed ending debate and moving to complete the bill.
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