Beware of the bolded part below -- Pelosi still peddling amnesty:
---------

Congress Back to Immigration

Mar 10, 2008
Eunice Moscoso--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON--- Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing bills that crack down on illegal immigration, keeping the issue alive in Congress during a volatile election year.

In the House, conservative Democrats are asking their party leaders to support an enforcement bill sponsored by freshman Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina.

The legislation, dubbed the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement, or SAVE, act, would increase Border Patrol personnel by 8,000, train more state and local police to enforce immigration laws and require that all businesses, within four years, use a government program to verify the legal status of their employees.

Shuler said his legislation is a bipartisan solution to the pressing problem of illegal immigration that costs taxpayers millions in schooling, health care and incarceration costs.

"We obviously have to secure our borders," he said. "I'm just hoping that we can get off first base here and start getting a piece of legislation."

He said he has met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) several times about the measure and is hopeful she will bring it to the floor.

The measure has 91 Republican co-sponsors, including some of the most vocal critics of illegal immigration such as Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.). In addition, 48 Democrats are co-sponsoring the bill, including many "Blue Dogs" from conservative districts.

The co-sponsors from Georgia include Democratic Reps. John Barrow, Sanford Bishop and Jim Marshall, and GOP Reps. Paul Broun, Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Linder, Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland.

Pelosi said on Thursday that the Democratic leadership is still in discussions about a possible immigration package and that Shuler's bill has some of the principles they support.

She also said, however, that Democrats are looking for a "balanced" measure that also deals with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Republican supporters, meanwhile, are considering a procedural maneuver to force the bill to the floor.

Democratic leaders are facing a difficult decision on the issue. A strong vote on border security could help some freshman Democrats keep their seats, and therefore, help Democrats retain control of the House, but an enforcement-only bill also could anger liberal Democrats and Hispanics.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been working on a separate measure --- still in the draft stages --- that could provide some legalization process for illegal immigrants.

Immigrant advocate groups and Hispanic organizations warn that an enforcement-only measure that passed the House in 2006 sparked massive demonstrations by Latinos across the country. That measure, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), was more extreme, making illegal presence in the United States a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization, said the Democratic leadership risks alienating millions of Hispanic voters in order to provide "political cover" to a few freshman Democrats.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Republicans have introduced at least 15 immigration enforcement bills.

They include measures to make English the nation's official language, to prevent illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses, to deport immigrants convicted of drunk driving offenses and to withhold federal money for cities that have so-called "sanctuary" policies that direct police and local officials not to check the immigration status of residents using city services.

A bill by Georgia Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson would clarify the authority of state and local police to enforce immigration law and expand training in the area.

"There are so many cases that clearly show that state and local law enforcement are the front lines of combating crimes committed by illegal immigrants," Chambliss, said. "They are critical force multipliers but they are currently underutilized by their federal partners."

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/ne ... opular.asp