(Continued from page 26)

• Tabakh still has the pig in her New York apartment, "to remind me how far I've come since those first days." The beginning was traumatic, she says, but the transition to American life was relatively smooth -- a result that some social scientists would say was partly due to her age.
• There is, in fact, a term researchers use to describe young people who, like Tabakh, were born in other countries but came to the U.S. between the ages of 5 and 12 and have a foot in two worlds. They call them "Generation 1.5."
• They remember the places they came from but come of age in their new home -- and research shows that, while they may struggle at first, many end up adapting better than immigrants who arrive as teenagers.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a Senate committee prepares to begin voting this week on far-reaching immigration legislation, advocates are watching warily to see whether opposition, thus far subdued, builds into the same kind of fierce backlash that shut down Congress' last attempt to remake the nation's immigration system.
• That time around, in 2007, angry calls overwhelmed the Senate switchboard and lawmakers endured raging town hall meetings and threats from incensed constituents. The legislation ultimately collapsed on the Senate floor.
• "I've been through this battle, and it's ugly," said former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., who supported the bill. "My phones were jammed for three weeks and I got three death threats, one of which I turned over to the FBI. So it's rough business."
• Supporters of the immigration bill, released last month by a group of four Republican and four Democratic senators, have been cautiously optimistic about their prospects because of factors including public support for giving citizenship to immigrants, a large and diverse coalition in support of the bill, and a growing sentiment among Republican leaders that immigration must be dealt with if they are to regain the backing of Hispanic voters. Backers have been working hard to build alliances and strategies aimed at avoiding the mistakes of 2007, when critics largely defined the bill and some supporters ended up turning against it.
• Opponents acknowledge that supporters started out better organized and mobilized than last time around, and they also anticipate that outside groups pushing the legislation -- including efforts headed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg -- will outspend them. Supporters include large

(Continued on page 28)