By Debbie McGoldrick

THE Senate has been attempting to reach compromise on the issue of immigration reform since last week, and though majority support exists for the guest worker program authored by Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy, the required number of 60 votes to prevent a filibuster has so far proven elusive.

The debate on Tuesday turned more contentious than it had previously been, with the Democratic leadership seeking a prompt vote without amendments on the Chairman’s Mark bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee which contains many components of the Kennedy/McCain bill. The mark, also authored by Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, offers legal residency to qualified undocumented residents in the U.S. prior to January of 2004.

Prior to Tuesday afternoon’s Senate session, there was intense focus on a “roots concept” proposal offered by Senators Chuck Hagel and Mel Martinez — himself a Cuban immigrant — that would give preferential treatment for legalization to those undocumented in the U.S. for at least five years.

That plan would have permitted qualified applicants to legalize and eventually seek U.S. citizenship under the Kennedy/McCain deal which allows undocumented to apply for a temporary six-year work visa with the payment of a $1,000 fine and all prior taxes, and an approved background check. After six years and another $1,000 fine, the applicant could seek permanent residency and citizenship.

GOP leaders met on Tuesday morning to seek common ground on that plan, which would have required undocumented in the U.S. for less than five years to be processed for some type of short-term legalization at a border crossing, with no prospects of converting to permanent residency.

That proposal has apparently fallen short of majority support, which leaves Senate members grappling with several different bills — in addition to the chairman’s mark, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has put forth his own bill which includes border security measures only — as a deadline for a final vote on Friday draws closer.

Senate Democrats are united in their quest to pass a guest worker program along the line of Kennedy/McCain, but GOP members are sharply divided over the issue. The debate will go back and forth until the Senate’s scheduled two-week recess on Friday.

Frist has said that he wants an immigration reform bill to pass the Senate by that time in anticipation of a House/Senate conference that would create a final package to send to the White House for approval.

Should the Senate debate not conclude by Friday — the body could stay in session longer if members felt consensus was near — proposals could be taken up again at the end of the month, but at that stage momentum could be lost and the issue placed in limbo once more.

“I want to get this bill finished this week . . . and if we can agree among ourselves on the Republican side we’ll talk to Democrats, but we’re working very hard on it,” Specter said on Tuesday.

Frist, however, is still taking a hardline view on the guest worker proposals in the Chairman’s Mark. “What we cannot support is amnesty. To me, amnesty is when you give someone who has clearly broken the law a leg up on the pathway to citizenship,” he said.

Senator Kennedy held a press conference on Tuesday and said that “momentum” was on the side of his guest worker proposals, even though the possibility of a filibuster exists without the required 60 votes.