http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/286502541489659

Published on Friday, July 7, 2006

Hastings considers immigration enforcement compromise
By LEAH BETH WARD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, said Thursday in Yakima he might be open to a new "enforcement first" compromise on immigration that appears to be tentatively emerging from talks between President Bush and some House Republicans.

But he cautioned that there are only three weeks until Congress breaks in August. When it returns after Labor Day, the election season will be in high gear, making compromise difficult.

Hastings visited Washington Middle School — where some students are in summer school — to deliver news that the House Appropriations Committee has approved $225,000 for instructional programs to improve the English language skills of immigrant children.

Immigration reform has sharply divided Republicans, with the president calling for comprehensive reform that would include border enforcement, a guest-worker program and an earned pathway to citizenship for those here illegally. The Senate has approved a bill with those components, but conservative Republicans say it amounts to amnesty.

Hastings last year voted in the minority against a tough enforcement-only House bill, saying a guest-worker component is critical to business and agriculture.

In an effort to try to pass something by November, the White House last week held discussions with Republicans on the idea of beefing up the border first, and then triggering a guest-worker and citizenship component when certain border goals are met.

Hastings said he could back something along those lines if employers don't have to wait too long for a guest-worker program.

"The problem is, how long would the transition to a guest-worker program be? Agriculture requires a stable work force," he said in an interview.

He declined to speculate on whether such a measure could be hammered out in the time remaining.

"We only have three weeks, but things can come together quickly," he said.

House conservatives' rhetoric has focused on border security, but Hastings said Republican leadership "has always recognized" that the final language in any immigration bill must include a guest-worker provision.

Although he has not specifically embraced the Senate bill, Hastings, like President Bush, believes it would not be practical to deport more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. He said his position is not supportive of amnesty.

"My position is that those who are here illegally must go to the back of the line," he said.

Learning to speak English also is necessary for immigrant children and their parents, Hastings told students, teachers and administrators at the middle school, where 86 percent of the 740-student body is Hispanic.

The money, if approved by the full Congress, would be used to develop and purchase instructional English language computer software. A similar program started last year at Davis High School.


* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 577-7626 or lward@yakima herald.com.