Senate Splits on Immigration May Stall Legislation

Disagreements among Republican senators over how to treat undocumented immigrants may prevent passage of immigration legislation before a Senate recess at the end of this week.

``We're not ready to pass the bill right now,'' Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama said. ``Not this week.''

Democrats also have blocked votes on amendments that they said would gut a measure designed to give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.

The wrangling over how, or whether, to give legal status to an estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally threatens to extend past a deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Frist said he wants the Senate to vote this week on immigration and move to other business when lawmakers return to the Capitol after a two-week recess.

Instead, the Senate is making ``no progress whatsoever'' on completing the legislation, Frist said. He blamed ``stonewalling of the bill'' by Democrats for preventing progress.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he was giving Republicans a ``taste of their own medicine'' by preventing votes on amendments that he said were too harsh on immigrants.

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