Baca backing migrant measure
By George Watson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/01/2007 01:00:00 AM PDT

Rep. Joe Baca wants to help President Bush improve his image.

It might seem strange that a Democratic congressman from Rialto would willingly choose to boost the deteriorating public perception of a Republican president.

But looking at the wry grin on Baca's face might help explain the sentiments of the Latino lawmaker: He thinks supporters of new legislation that would overhaul immigration have the president right where they want him.

Baca knows Bush wants to reform the nation's immigration system. It's been something the president has sought since his election seven years ago.

And as one of 29 sponsors of H.R. 1645, Baca is hopeful that he will see the passage of the House's ambitious legislation to tackle immigration issues by clearly reaching out to conservatives through several elements that would strengthen the nation's border.

"It will be a positive light for (Bush)," Baca said Friday while taking a break from the Women's Forum in Fontana, which he has hosted since 1992. "In light of the war, the economy, the troubles he has had, this will provide him with the highest mark he can achieve, maybe in all of his administration."

The bill, dubbed STRIVE, for Security Through
Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act, was introduced late last month, and even in name, appears to be an effort to stretch across the political divide.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a pair of legislators who normally find themselves firmly on opposite sides of most every issue.

"Our current immigration laws are at odds with reality," Flake said when the bill was unveiled March 22. "This bill addresses that problem by bolstering border security, increasing interior enforcement, and creating a temporary worker program that's enforceable and fair."

The measure includes a plan that allows the estimated 12million undocumented immigrants to apply for conditional immigrant status. It would also add more Border Patrol agents and implement a strategy allowing future foreign workers to come onto the nation's soil and fill jobs Americans won't.

Another measure seeks to double the holding capacities for detainees who are being returned to their home nation. Currently, the nation's facilities can hold about 20,000 detainees. The legislation calls for 20 new facilities to be built on former military bases.

Some have speculated that the region's three former bases - San Bernardino International Airport, the March Inland Port near Riverside and Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville - could be chosen.

"It's way too early to speculate," Baca said, adding that no bases have been identified.

In one respect, the idea of more detainee facilities troubles Baca. But if they are built, he sees the economic value in having them come to this region. They would mean more jobs, he said, while adding that the proximity to the Mexican border could make it easier for detainees' families to stay in touch with them until they are eventually deported.

Flake and Gutierrez have been working on immigration reform far before this year. Their reform bill a year ago died in the House, which was why the legislation's current form has far more concessions that conservatives would find attractive.

"You have to give and take," Baca said. "Sometimes, you may feel like you're giving a lot. But to get the legislation, you will sit down and talk about what it's going to take."

Matthew Specht, a spokesman for Flake, said supporters of the legislation knew they would have to be inventive to bring in conservatives.

A main fear, both Specht and Baca agreed, was the need to get the legislation completed and signed by Bush this year.

"There's a sense that if this carries over to next year, that presidential politics could really complicate the process," Specht said, citing the 2008 presidential election.

Added Baca, "That's why it's important to get it done now."

Federal legislators are on a two-week Easter break, but leading figures in Congress have expressed a desire to begin hearings as soon as they return.

Starting the debate is crucial, Specht said, because there has yet to be any in the House, a fact that includes the circumstances involving last year's version. The Senate is further along, Specht said, because members debated their own bill last year.

Flake has already been receiving support from his home state of Arizona, where people generally have been anti-immigrant and strongly in support of better border security.

The congressman's constituents are, as a whole, already supporting the bill, Specht said.

"People are so sick and tired of the federal government's failure to secure the border and enforce immigration laws, we are pretty desperate for something to be done about it," Specht said.
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