Thread: GOP courts consensus on border policy

www.chron.com

July 31, 2005, 10:20PM

GOP courts consensus on border policy
Party hopes to mend its own rift while reconciling U.S. labor and security demands
By SAMANTHA LEVINE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - White tablecloths, polished silverware and candlelight are the tools of a cunning suitor. But when found in a dining room in the House of Representatives, they signal high politics rather than romantic intentions.

The elegant atmosphere is what Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, is using to help build agreement among his GOP colleagues on an issue where there is little: immigration reform.

"I want people to realize that there is more that holds us together than pulls us apart," he said.

Now, the elements of a major policy push are coming together for the first time since Congress last passed a comprehensive immigration overhaul in 1986.

President Bush has put immigration near the top of a list of goals and is re-entering the debate after backing off when a guest-worker proposal he announced in January 2004 was roundly criticized.

But it will take more than what Shadegg calls "unity dinners" to bridge the divisions that split Republicans when it comes to fixing what many see as a dangerously crippled immigration system.

Immigration policies are under stress everywhere, and certainly in Houston. It's one of 31 cities that bar police officers from enforcing immigration law, such as patrolling for illegal visitors or asking for documents, a fact that has drawn harsh criticism from congressional conservatives and some local officials.

This month, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, the group that sent hundreds of unarmed volunteers to patrol Arizona's remote border to catch illegal crossers, discussed plans in Houston to start a chapter in the city and monitor day-labor sites.

Last week, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, introduced legislation that would allow border-state governors to establish armed citizen militias to patrol the U.S. borders and catch people trying to cross illegally.

About 1.1 million people were caught crossing illegally into the United States last year.


An ambitious plan
Over the past few weeks, Bush has enlisted Republicans such as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Dallas to build a lobbying machine made up of corporations and activist groups that will try to win over lawmakers when the president decides on a specific reform bill.

Senior White House adviser Karl Rove has begun meeting with key lawmakers, such as GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who have introduced immigration measures.

"We have really just begun some of the intensive consultations with members of Congress about moving forward on a comprehensive piece of legislation," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "It's critical that any reform address border security, enforcement and the economic reality of demand for willing workers."

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has said Congress should think about passing separate bills, one dealing with enforcement against illegal immigration and another creating a guest-worker program.

Shadegg and Republican leaders, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., want to finish work on the immigration issue this year.

It's an ambitious schedule: Specter's panel will be busy this fall with Supreme Court confirmation proceedings and, more importantly, the majority party is still badly split on what approach to take.

"It doesn't look like the stars are properly aligned for any type of compromise at the present time," conceded House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican who takes a hard line on illegal immigration and whose committee would have jurisdiction over any legislation.

Within the incredibly complex and politically radioactive immigration debate, one of the toughest parts will be figuring out how to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

They represent about 30 percent of America's foreign-born population, and many have been here for years, buying homes, having children and owning businesses.


'We need them'
Mexicans account for most unauthorized immigrants and up to 75 percent of all new illegal entrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

About 14 percent of all illegal immigrants, or 1.4 million, reside in Texas.

Nationwide, illegal immigrants account for about 6.3 million workers in a labor force of 146 million. Their economic importance has prompted many business groups, which traditionally support Republicans, to back guest-worker programs and immigration reforms that create easier paths toward citizenship.

"We need them," said John Gay, co-chair of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, which is made up of high-level business and trade groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Most lawmakers agree that any immigration reform proposal should beef up border security, create tamper-proof identification documents, and get tough on employers who knowingly hire workers here illegally.

They want to convert illegal immigrants into legally documented residents with some combination of a temporary guest-worker program and clearer paths to citizenship.

But the methods proposed to do that highlight the fundamental disagreements that split the GOP.

One faction supports tough policies that address the anger some U.S. citizens harbor toward foreigners who break the law to enter the country.

In the post-Sept. 11 era, many also see illegal immigration as a dangerous gap in national security.

A comprehensive proposal from Sens. Cornyn and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would require all illegal immigrants to leave the U.S. within five years and then apply to return either as temporary guest workers or as immigrants in the process of obtaining green cards.


Exodus bill criticized

Cornyn, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee, wants a system that he says is fair to those who enter the country legally and avoids rewarding people who break the law to do so.

The bill includes strict enforcement measures, funds the hiring of more border agents and immigration inspectors and sets tough sanctions on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. But the mass departure program has come under fire from several Republicans, including Armey and Shadegg.

They say undocumented workers will not come forward if they know they are going to be deported, even if it's for a short period of time.

Cornyn points to a Pew Hispanic Center survey in which most undocumented immigrants said they would participate in a program that would let them work legally in the U.S. and require them to eventually return home.


A bipartisan approach

The measure also has some support among agriculture groups.

"Many farm workers are younger with few ties in the United States," said Austin Perez, director of congressional relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"A lot of them really are coming here to build a nest egg so down the road they can go back and buy a home or start a business. A work-and-return program would make a lot of sense."

But Armey and others support an initiative introduced in May by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz.

Under their proposal, illegal immigrants could apply for temporary work permits for up to six years.

They could earn legal resident status by meeting several requirements, including criminal background checks and English literacy tests.

added to the homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article-581-thread-1-0.html

I am ashamed of Cornyn and I hope he lives to see the day when he's ashamed of himself. I took my vote from him at the last second because of his great love for illegals. Rest assured that anything he gets involved in has nothing to do with keeping illegals out of this country.