Democrats Join Pro-Enforcement Caucus

By Eunice Moscoso | Friday, May 11, 2007, 11:46 AM

The House Immigration Reform Caucus, which pushes for stronger enforcement against illegal immigration, announced this week it has 10 new members, pushing its total to 101.

The new members include three Southern Democrats — Reps. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, Bart Gordon of Tennessee and Gene Taylor of Mississippi.

This could prove significant as Democratic leaders try to shore up their rank-and-file to support legislation that would give illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship and create a large guest worker program.

“The growing list of members joining…is a reflection of how widely felt the impact of having more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States is having on middle-class Americans everywhere,â€