Senate blocks immigration bill

debate.

Senators in both parties said the issue is so volatile that Congress is highly unlikely to revisit it this fall or next year, when the presidential election will increasingly dominate American politics.

A similar effort collapsed in the Congress last year, and the House has not bothered with an immigration bill this year, awaiting Senate

action.

The vote was a stinging setback for Bush, who advocated the bill as an imperfect but necessary fix of current immigration practices in which many illegal immigrants use forged documents or lapsed visas to live and work in the United States.

It was a victory for Republican conservatives who strongly criticised the bill8217;s provisions that would have established pathways to lawful status for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

Bush won8217;t supply subpoenaed documents

WASHINGTON: President George W Bush, moving towards a US constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege on Thursday and rejected lawmakers8217; demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.

Bush8217;s attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. In reaction, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy accused the administration of shifting 8220;into Nixonian stonewalling8221; and revealing 8220;disdain for our system of checks and balances8221; in the US government.