Thread: Tancredo stokes immigration protest

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3488436

Article Last Updated: 2/08/2006 05:27 PM

immigration
Tancredo stokes immigration protest

By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com

Washington - As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up immigration legislation, members of a citizen border-watch group rallied outside the U.S. Capitol today, pledging to torpedo any bill granting legal status to undocumented workers.

"If the president of the United States really wanted to, he could secure the border tomorrow," U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, one of several speakers, told the Minuteman Project rally to loud cheers. " ... The unfortunate, dirty truth of the matter is, he has no desire to do so."

Shouting "stop the invasion," a few dozen protestors from as far away as California said they'd work to force out of office anyone who voted for a "guest worker" program for foreigners.

Counter-protestors shouted such slogans as "Right-wing bigots go away" and carried signs reading "Change your name, you're still the KKK."

Minuteman Project volunteers intermittently camp out along the U.S. Mexican border, watching for illegal crossings. Members of the group will lobby lawmakers as they consider immigration measures.

President Bush wants a program that would allow certain foreigners to stay in U.S. jobs for a minimum of three years. He included $247 million in his latest budget proposal to fund rollout of the guest-worker plan.

There are various bills in the Senate that would also allow the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally to work toward permanent legal status. The Senate is expected to take up the issue in March.

A House bill that passed in December included numerous provisions to secure the border, including fences in some areas. It also would force employers to verify workers' legal status.

The House bill did not include a guest-worker provision.

"The Senate is much more inclined to do something along the lines of what the president wants than the House was," said Grover Norquist, a Republican strategist who often serves as an informal liaison between Congress and the White House.

Tancredo, a leader of the anti-immigration movement, said he believes there's a "50-50 chance" that he and his followers can stop a guest-worker plan from passing in the Senate.He called the $247 million in Bush's budget for a guest-worker program "wishful thinking."

Tancredo and his followers are a "very vocal, but minority group," said Randy Johnson, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backs a guest-worker plan. Many large businesses depend on immigrant labor.

But Johnson said it might be difficult to pass a guest-worker program this election year. He noted that lawmakers are under pressure not to endorse what opponents perceive as amnesty for illegal immigrants.

There's a possibility that "the whole thing will roll into 2007 in the end," Johnson said. Or, the Senate might pass border-security measures less stringent than those adopted by the House, then try for a guest-worker measure in 2007.

One of the bills before the Senate, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz. and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., would allow people in the country illegally to pay a fine and enter a program to work toward permanent legal status.

A tougher bill in the Senate requires people to go back to their home country before they enter a guest-worker program.

If any bill containing a guest-worker provision passes the Senate, it would be sent back to the House for a vote. And Norquist said that despite Tancredo and his supporters, there probably are enough House votes for the program to pass.

"At the end of the day, the Hispanic community will be really (angry) at anyone who is not helpful." Norquist said.

Journalists representing Mexican, Spanish, Italian, Salvadoran and U.S. media encircled Tancredo after his speech, shouting questions.

"At the end of the day, the Hispanic community will be really (angry) at anyone who is not helpful." Norquist said.

He means 'the illegal community'. Legal hispanics do not want this invasion.

RR