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Immigration coalition unraveling
By Stephen Dinan

The fragile coalition holding together the immigration bill collapsed spectacularly early this morning when the Senate adopted an amendment that punches a hole right in the middle of the guest-worker program essential to Bush administration and Republican support.

In a vote that ended after midnight, senators voted 49-48 to end after five years the temporary worker program, which would have allowed 200,000 new workers per year to come to the country.

Next up just before noon today is another vote to enhance the "triggers" that would have to be met before the guest-worker program could take effect. Sen. Tom Coburn's amendment would call for the administration to enforce existing laws, including building fence along at least 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, before the rest of the program could be enacted.

Below the fold:

• Senate OKs amnesty for deportees
• Amnesty Opponents Making Progress in Senate

See also:

• Kill The Bill (... Day 3, Take 3)
  *** CLOTURE FAILS !!!  What comes next? ***
• Shamnesty on the Senate floor, Day 3, Take 2
• Shamnesty on the Senate floor, Day 3
  Michelle Malkin: "Debate on the shamnesty bill resumes on the Senate floor at 10am. I'll be liveblogging again with all the latest. ..."
• Immigration Do or Die
  Negotiators hold out hope to save immigration bill from imminent demise while aides tell FOX News it's dead...

... and: 

• Final Cloture Motion? (Update: Failed!)
• Cloture Vote on Immigration Bill Fails Miserably
• Paris spent more time in jail than 12 million illegal aliens
• Immigration, Immigration, Immigration
• Reid: Amnesty bill is “over with” and “done” if next cloture vote fails;
  Update: Reid begs Bush for help!
• Amnesty cloture vote tanks, 33-63
• No Mas
• R.I.P.
• Immigration Cloture Fails
• Conservatives Want Solutions That Work
• 15,000 cases still pending from 1986 alien amnesty
• A wake-up call for the Senate
  Kris W. Kobac: The revelation of the terrorist plot to bomb JFK Airport should be a jolting wake-up call to the U.S. Senate — a reminder that the plotting of alien terrorists cannot be ignored as the Senate considers a massive amnesty for 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens. ...
• McCain crony Lindsey Graham throws tantrum over Obama’s amendment
  Update: Graham hissy fit video added
• Lindsay Graham Melting In Dark 
• Bruce Kesler: An Optimistic Note On Immigration Debate
• New Vent: Gorilla warfare against the open borders WSJ (H/T)
• Immigration Compromise Divides Republican Senators
• Immigration Bill in Doubt After Vote
• Obama, Graham Trade Barbs in Senate
• Shamnesty on the Senate floor, Day 2, Take 2 (Updated)

Amnesty bill collapses? Sunset provision
on guest worker program passes 
Allahpundit

Byron Dorgan’s been trying to kill the guest worker program for weeks to protect American labor. His first attempt, an amendment that would have eliminated it entirely, failed 31-64. So he tried another tactic tonight — a sunset provision that would eliminate the program after five years. And what do you know:

[graphic]

The three senators not voting were now-deceased Craig Thomas, still-recovering Tim Johnson, and … presidential candidate Chris Dodd. Dodd didn’t vote on Dorgan’s previous amendment, either. I wonder if he’s going to be pressured to come to the floor and offer his own amendment repealing this one, with the vote splitting 49-49 and our own beloved Vice President casting the deciding “yea” to repeal.

The fear (i.e. hope) now is that having one of the central planks of the bill marked for death in five years will cause the coalition supporting this travesty to fracture.

Read the whole thing.

Ed Morrissey: An Amendment Too Far

Sen. Byron Dorgan: Unlabor Day; The immigration bill will hurt American workers.

Senate OKs amnesty for deportees
By Stephen Dinan

The Senate voted yesterday to grant amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who have already been caught and ordered deported but are defying a court order, preserving their path to citizenship as part of the immigration bill.

Another showdown is scheduled for this morning on Democrats' effort to cut off the debate and force a final vote on the bill. Republicans have vowed to block that through a filibuster unless they are given assurances they can offer enough amendments before the final vote.

For now, the small bipartisan group of senators that crafted the bill behind closed doors has been successful in fending off any major changes, though the coalition took a couple of hits from Republican-sponsored amendments last night.

Yesterday's major fight was over part of the bill that wipes out the immigration charges against illegal aliens who have already faced a judge and been ordered deported, known as alien absconders, and over part of the bill that applies to aliens who have already been deported but sneaked back into the country again.

Sen John Cornyn offered an amendment to prevent those aliens from gaining legal status, arguing they have already shown disrespect for the law and should be sent home. 

Amnesty Opponents Making Progress in Senate
By Robert Bluey

Spirits among conservative critics of the immigration bill have brightened today following several Senate votes that indicate at least 40 senators could block the bill during a cloture vote tomorrow.

Well-placed sources tell me that activists are focusing their attention on the following list of senators: Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.), Richard Burr (R.-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R.-Ga.), Larry Craig (R.-Idaho), Pete Domenici (R.-N.M.), Byron Dorgan (D.-N.D.), John Ensign (R.-Nev.), Mike Enzi (R.-Wyo.), Judd Gregg (R.-N.H.), Johnny Isakson (R.-Ga.), Jon Kyl (R.-Ariz.), Mary Landrieu (D.-La.), Trent Lott (R.-Miss.), Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.), Claire McCaskill (D.-Mo.), Ben Nelson (D.-Neb.), Mark Pryor (D.-Ark.), Debbie Stabenow (D.-Mich.), John Sununu (R.-N.H.), Jon Tester (D.-Mont.), George Voinovich (R.-Ohio), Jim Webb (D.-Va.), and John Warner (R.-Va.).

These individuals are apparently still non-committal about how they will vote on the final bill or could be swayed depending on votes either for or against amendments to the bill.

Conservatives' renewed optimism came after three votes on amendments to the bill, all of which garnered at least 41 votes -- the number needed to block cloture.  ...