Kyl, McCain sell out to amnesty in immigration proposal

The Bush administration and negotiating Senators, including Democrats and a number of Republications, announced an immigration deal Thursday that makes a multistep amnesty program available to more than 12 million illegal aliens. In the program, Illegal aliens would have to come forward and receive probationary status while the government continues to build fencing and vehicle barriers on the border and institutes better checks to make sure employers are hiring legal workers.

Once the security improvements are finished, ‘probationary’ aliens could apply for a visa putting them on the path to citizenship, though they would have to return to their home countries before collecting a green card, the intermediary step to citizenship.

The plan would create a temporary worker system for future foreign workers. It would also rewrite the entire legal immigration system to favor those with key work skills rather than relatives of those already in the U.S.

The deal was announced at a press conference attended by seven Republicans, three Democrats and two Cabinet secretaries: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl, a key player in the agreement, said he felt pressure during last year's election to "do something."