Deal or no deal?

Immigration | A backroom compromise on immigration reform has outraged lawmakers and citizens of every political stripe | Mark Bergin

On Sunday, May 20, one day after the release of a Senate proposal for comprehensive immigration reform, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina predicted boldly on Fox News that the piece of much-anticipated legislation would pass overwhelmingly. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, likewise foreseeing little resistance, outlined plans for a vote before the Memorial Day recess.

But stiff criticism of the bill did not take long to surface—needing only sufficient time for special interest groups and lawmakers on the left and right to read the 325-page draft. By Monday, May 21, the first day of Senate debate, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was under assault from all sides.

Conservatives cried amnesty, liberals called it classist and anti-family, and immigrants' rights groups charged that it would undermine the country's menial labor force. Opponents accused the bill's drafters, a bipartisan coalition of a dozen senators and two members of the Bush administration, of a desperate attempt to rush flawed policy into law without time for standard vetting procedures.