Sen. Spencer Abraham arrived in the U.S. Senate in 1995 and quickly established himself as perhaps the No. 1 leader for high immigration.

"On immigration policy, Abraham often disagreed with prevailing party sentiment and established himself as the pre-eminent GOP defender of immigration, successfully disabling more senior members' attempts to stem legal immigration and, for the 105th, taking over as chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration," according to the Congressional Quarterly, one of the most respected non-partisan chroniclers of Congress.

Abraham replaced Wyoming Republican Sen. Alan Simpson who had worked for nearly two decades to stop the increase in immigration and to control illegal immigration.

The change in policy caused by the change in chairmen was profound. The Wall Street Journal said it was the biggest policy shift since the pop singer Madonna became a mother.

The aggressiveness of Abraham's work for high immigration is caught in the following excerpts from the book, Politics in America 1998, published by Congressional Quarterly and written by Philip D. Duncan & Christine C. Lawrence: "... this grandson of Lebanese immigrants tirelessly fought Republicans who wanted to limit legal immigration."

"In debate on overhauling immigration policy, Abraham and his allies suc ceeded in bifurcating the treatment of legal and illegal immigration, thwarting those who wanted to keep them joined in one piece of legislation."

"Though legal immigration was his passion, Abraham also spoke out on Simpson's measure to stem the number of illegal immigrants coming to the United States. In the Judiciary Committee and on the floor, he offered amendments to rid the bill of a pilot program that would have required employers in some states to verify the immigration status of potential workers by consulting a hotline. ... The Judiciary Committee and the Senate did not agree, defeating Abraham's amendment both times it was raised."

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