Brownback rescinds immigration bill support
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback said yesterday he no longer supports the immigration overhaul bill that he helped pass in the Senate.
“I would not vote for the same bill,” Mr. Brownback told reporters yesterday morning, saying that after the bill passed the Senate he had a chance to study its effects and decided it led to too much immigration.
It’s a major reversal for a man who is listed as one of seven original sponsors of the bill, along with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, who spearheaded the bill.
“What we got through was what we could get through the Senate and move the process forward,” Mr. Brownback said in explaining his vote. “There are things in it that I don’t think are good within that.”
He said the bill would lead to too much “chain migration,” allowing immigrants to sponsor family members to join them in the United States. Mr. Brownback said he supports sponsorship of spouses and children, but that thinks siblings should be excluded.The immigration issue has Republicans spinning, particularly those running for president, as they try to match their rhetoric to the beliefs of conservative primary voters.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070425-110212-8486r.htm