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U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-5th, hopes a revived Senate plan on immigration fails.

"I hope the Senate will continue to listen to citizens calling in," Goode said Friday from his office in Washington.

Goode said 5th District residents are opposed to allowing illegal immigrants get on a path to citizenship. He said calls, e-mails and faxes are running 20 to 1 against President Bush's plan.

"It's amnesty pure and simple," Goode said.

Goode said it is too soon to say how the legislation will fare in the House of Representatives. He said there are some Democrats and a good number of Republicans who are against the plan.

While Goode has supported Bush on tax cuts and his Supreme Court nominees, he distances himself with Bush on immigration.

"If we had a strong president on immigration issues we would not have these problems," Goode said.

Goode said businesses who hire illegal immigrants should be hit with $50,000 fines for each worker. He is against starting a new guest worker program.

The Rocky Mount Republican believes Bush supports a more liberal immigration plan as a part of his support for a globalized economy. He thinks this view will wind up encouraging North America to become one large country where borders would be insignificant.

President Bush has said he does not believe the bill gives immigrants amnesty.

"Amnesty is forgiveness with no penalty for people who have broken our laws to get here," he said. "This bill requires illegal workers to pay a fine to register with the government, to undergo background checks, to pay their back taxes, to hold down a steady job and to learn English in a set period of time."

"The need for reform is urgent," Bush said. "Our immigration system has been broken for years."

"Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse," the president said at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. "I will continue to work closely with members of both parties, to get past our differences, and pass a bill I can sign this year."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact Bernard Baker at bbaker@registerbee.com or at (434) 791-7986.

There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, most of them from Mexico.

The legislation would provide an additional $4.4 billion for border security and work site immigration enforcement.

The immigration measure would create a guest worker program, which would allow migrant workers from other countries to work temporarily in the Untied States.

The most controversial aspect of the bill is the creation of a pathway to legalization and eventual citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country, an idea which critics, such as Goode dismiss, as "amnesty."

Source: Associated Press