The US senate blocked plans to legalize illiegal immgrants. This new bill was backed by President Bush. The bill needed 60 votes to go through, however they were short by just 14 votes. The total votes were 43 to 56. The issue of illegal immigrants has been an festering for quite some time. With this bill failing to go through, it postpones any action on illegal immigration until after the next election or until 2009. Conservative republicans consider this to be a vicotory. If the bill would have passed the senate, it would hve allowed 12 million illegal immigrants to have status in the United States. The Star Tribune has reported on this story. This story was also coverd by USA Today. The difference in the coverage is that USA Today went into more details abouth how the vote went about. The get more into depth about what was happening during the voting process. It also got more quotes from lawmakers about how the vote will negatively or positively affect the American People. For example one quote from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department will continue raids on employers suspected of hiring illegal immigrants. "You will continue to see heart-wrenching examples of families being pulled apart," he said. "In order to regain credibility with the American people, we're going to have to be tough."
I think that USA Today did a great job of getting a well rounded and information filled story. They got all the facts and quotes that captured the feeling of not passing the bill and how postponing any action affects both sides.
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