United States: Hopes of an early bill to legalise undocumented immigrants in America, who include thousands of Irish citizens, have received a blow as congressmen have called for "field hearings" during the summer to examine the issues involved.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives said several committee chairmen would hold field hearings in congressional districts in the southwest, the south and other areas where the issue of illegal immigration is especially potent.
Those hearings will take place before the start of the formal negotiating process between the House and Senate, which could take months to complete given the complexity of the issue.
"I'm not putting any timeline on this thing, but I think we need this thing done right," said House speaker Dennis Hastert.
Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo, who is leading the fight against the Senate plan to legalise most of America's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, said: "Odds were long that any so-called 'compromise bill' would get to the president's desk this year . . . The nail was already put in the coffin of the Senate's amnesty plan. These hearings probably lowered it into the grave."
Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the main authors of the Senate bill, described the Republican move as "a cynical delaying tactic".
The timing means that formal negotiations between the House and the Senate will not begin until September, just as Congressional campaigns are entering their crucial final weeks, and a time when legislators typically stay well away from difficult issues.
House Majority leader John Boehne said the legislation passed by the Senate - which would provide a path to citizenship for most of the illegal immigrants living in the United States - demanded further scrutiny.
House leaders have decided to take the bill on the road in July and August, holding public hearings in various towns and cities and highlighting details in the bipartisan Senate legislation that a majority of House Republicans view as unacceptable.
"We've got to have a very clear idea of what is in the Senate bill and what people think of some of the provisions in the Senate bill. I think there are policy provisions in that bill that I have concerns about and I suspect others have concerns about," Mr Boehner said.
Senate Democrats have accused Republicans of playing election year politics rather than dealing with one of the most important domestic policy issues.
"This is a stall. They've made their stand. They don't need more hearings. They've got their bill. Let's go to conference," said Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid.
The bill approved by the Senate would allow most of the illegal immigrants in the US to remain in the country and earn citizenship.
It would create a guest worker programme for an additional 200,000 prospective immigrants each year, take a number of steps to secure the border and make a pilot employee verification programme mandatory for all businesses.
"It's unfortunate that they want to turn this into a political issue rather than deal with the serious challenge we face on immigration.
"There should be a conference committee. I think instead of taking this show on the road, Mr Boehner would be better advised to accept his responsibility here in Congress," said Democratic whip Richard Durbin.