DAVID ESPO - The Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 11:00 pm
WASHINGTON -- Senate supporters of landmark immigration legislation looked ahead Wednesday to passage of a measure along lines set by President Bush, but they also signaled a willingness to seek common ground with conservatives whose House version would be far tougher on millions of men and women in the country illegally.
With Senate approval assured today, Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said, "Does anybody have a better approachfi Not yet. But we're still open for business."
"If there are some unneeded and unwanted complexities in this legislation, they could probably be smoothed out," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He said it was good news that new suggestions were coming from the House.
The Senate bill's passage, long assumed, was assured with a decision to limit debate. That 73-25 vote set the stage for final approval today in what will be a bipartisan ratification of legislation that calls for increased border security, a new guest worker program and a shot at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
By contrast, legislation passed last year by the Republican-controlled House is generally limited to border security. It would expose all of the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the country to felony charges, and it contains no guest worker program.
Contentious compromise talks seemed sure as supporters of the Senate bill beat back the last in a long series of potentially lethal challenges to their handiwork.
An attempt by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to scuttle the bill on grounds it violated spending limits was turned aside. The vote was 67-31.
For a second consecutive week, the White House dispatched top presidential aide Karl Rove to meet with rank-and-file House Republicans. Officials said his mission was to reassure critics by emphasizing Bush's commitment to stanching the flow of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border. Asked as he departed the Capitol whether he had made progress, he replied, "Could be."
Whatever impact Rove had, supporters of the Senate bill said at a news conference they did not underestimate the difficulties ahead as they seek an election-year compromise.
Numerous conservative House Republicans have denounced the Senate measure as conferring amnesty on lawbreakers. Some have demanded that House leaders refuse to enter compromise discussions with the Senate, and they have warned that giving too much ground could cause conservatives to stay home this November and spell defeat for the party in midterm elections.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the man who would lead House negotiators, has a reputation for hard bargaining.
Nor is it clear how widespread support is among Democrats for a compromise. Some party strategists argue that Republicans would bear the brunt of public dissatisfaction if Congress failed to act on immigration. In this view, GOP lawmakers would be saddled with defending the votes they cast last winter to millions of Hispanic voters eager for an overhaul of existing law.
On the other hand, Senate Democrats are likely to provide more votes for passage of the measure than Republicans. And one lawmaker from the House, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., spent time in the Senate recently during debate on a provision for a new program of jobs for migrant farm workers, signaling his interest in having legislation emerge from Congress.
McCain and others said they saw signs of flexibility among House Republicans. They also claimed public support was on their side and said the party would benefit in the fall if the president and the GOP-controlled Congress could agree on legislation.
"The politics of solving this problem is better than the politics of doing nothing," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
McCain, of Arizona, a likely presidential contender in 2008 as well as a key architect of the Senate bill, re-enforced the view. "The American people accept a comprehensive solution," he said. "The president supports one."
"We've had conferences with Chairman Sensenbrenner in the past," said Specter, noting that earlier this year Congress passed a compromise anti-terrorist Patriot Act after particularly contentious negotiations.
In the House, prominent Republicans have sent mixed signals in recent days.
"Regardless of what the president says, what he is proposing is amnesty," Sensenbrenner said last week. He repeated the contention on Sunday, at the same time saying, "I don't think anything is a deal-breaker." Appearing on CBS, he said, "We can't have legal proceedings to deport 11 to 12 million people, that is evident."
A prominent House conservative, Mike Pence of Indiana, added a new dimension to the debate this week, proposing what he called a "real rational middle ground."
He outlined an approach that calls for securing the border, creating a guest worker program to "efficiently provide American employers with willing guest workers who come to America legally" and ordering tough sanctions on employers who hire illegal workers. In remarks at the Heritage Foundation, he added, "The only way to deal with these 12 million people is to insist that they leave the country and come back legally if they have a job awaiting them."
Major provisions of Senate and House immigration bills
Highlights of immigration and border security bills, one pending in the Senate and another already passed by the House.
Senate bill:
Allows illegal immigrants who have been in the country five years or more to remain, continue working and eventually become legal permanent residents and citizens after paying at least $3,250 in fines and fees, back taxes and learning English.
Requires illegal immigrants in the U.S. between two and five years to go to a point of entry at the border and file an application to return.
Requires those in the country less than two years to leave.
Illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors would be deported no matter how long they have been in the U.S.
Creates a special guest worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers, who could also earn legal permanent residency.
Provides 200,000 new temporary "guest worker" visas a year.
Authorizes 370 miles of new triple-layered fencing plus 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Authorizes hiring an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents this year, for a total additional 3,000 agents this year.
Adds another 14,000 Border Patrol agents by 2011 to the current force of 11,300 agents.
Authorizes additional detention facilities for apprehended illegal immigrants.
Requires employers and subcontractors to use an electronic system within 18 months to verify new hires are legal. Increases maximum fines to employers for hiring illegal workers to $20,000 for each worker and imposes jail time for repeat offenders.
Delays by 17 months, until June 1, 2009, a requirement now in law that Americans re-entering the U.S. after cruises or short visits to Canada and Mexico show a passport or high-tech identification card.
Declares English the country's national language.
Increases the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers from 65,000 to 115,000 annually, beginning in 2007. Immigrants with certain advanced degrees would not be subject to the caps, which could rise by 20 percent depending on labor market demands.
Limits National Guard tours of duty on the U.S.-Mexico border to 21 days.
Allows additional countries to participate in the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of certain countries to visit the U.S. without a visa. The United States and more than two dozen countries now have reciprocal visa waiver agreements.
House bill passed in December:
No provisions providing path to legal residency or citizenship for illegal immigrants. No new temporary guest worker program.
Makes illegal presence in the country a felony and increases penalties for first-time illegal entry to the U.S.
Makes it a felony to assist, encourage, direct or induce a person to enter or attempt to enter or remain in the United States illegally.
Beginning in six years, all employers would have to use a database to verify Social Security numbers of all employees.
Increases maximum fines for employers of illegal workers from current $10,000 to $40,000 per violation and establishes prison sentences of up to 30 years for repeat offenders.
Requires mandatory detention for all non-Mexican illegal immigrants arrested at ports of entry or at land and sea borders.
Establishes mandatory sentences for smuggling illegal immigrants and for re-entering the U.S. illegally after deportation.
Makes a drunken driving conviction a deportable offense.
Requires building two-layer fences along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the United States.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.