Thread: Commerce secretary backs US Senate immigration bill

By Donna Smith

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - Tighter borders and workplace enforcement alone will not solve the country's problem with illegal immigration and may make the situation worse by driving millions of people deeper in the shadows, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Wednesday.
In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the Bush administration, the Cuban-born Gutierrez backed the Senate's comprehensive approach combining border security and new employer enforcement measures with a plan that gives many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

"The more this issue becomes one of enforcement only, we are driving them (illegal immigrants) further and further underground," Gutierrez said, adding it was important to bring illegals out of the shadows "so we know who they are."



Wednesday's session was one of a number of dueling hearings being held by the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in a battle to win public support for vastly different immigration reform bills ahead of the November congressional elections.

The House-passed bill focuses solely on border security and enforcement and further criminalizes illegal presence in the United States. A solid group of House Republicans oppose the Senate bill, calling it an amnesty that rewards people who broke U.S. law.

Mindful of the growing political clout of Hispanic voters, President George W. Bush backs a comprehensive approach along the lines of the Senate bill. But House leaders on Wednesday said they are winning the battle.

"I think the hearings have been an absolute success and they've put us in a stronger position to craft a responsible bill that secures our borders and strictly enforces our immigration laws," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

The House already has held a number of hearings around the country stressing border security issues and Boehner said more will be held through August.

It is unclear the Senate and House will be able to settle their differences and send a final bill to Bush before the November elections. The two bodies have held no formal negotiating sessions but lawmakers have been discussing possible compromises behind the scenes.

House leaders say the Senate is shifting to their point of view. A number of senators oppose the House's enforcement only approach but some said they are discussing a phased approach that would put border security and enforcement measures in place before a guest worker and other legalization programs go into effect.

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"The more this issue becomes one of enforcement only, we are driving them (illegal immigrants) further and further underground," Gutierrez said, adding it was important to bring illegals out of the shadows "so we know who they are."

Some American or naturalized citizen will know where they are. Now you go wake up law enforcement and we'll let you know which shadow they're in. You can find out who they are.

Cuban-born Gutierrez backed the Senate's comprehensive approach

Hmmm, why am I not surprised? Perhaps if he was at least 2nd generation, he'd feel differently.

Originally Posted by MW

Cuban-born Gutierrez backed the Senate's comprehensive approach

Hmmm, why am I not surprised? Perhaps if he was at least 2nd generation, he'd feel differently.

Sure not surprising!

Side Note: there are several Guitierrez in both academia & government that are all related. Sorry I don't have the links handy for verification but they came up in some cross research I was doing and helped to connect more of the dots.