http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ne ... ald_nation

Posted on Sun, Jan. 14, 2007

U.S. CONGRESS
Immigration bill faces better odds
A comprehensive immigration bill backed by President Bush has a good chance to pass, now that Democrats control Congress.
BY DAVE MONTGOMERY
McClatchy News Service

WASHINGTON - As an immigration lawyer in northern California, Zoe Lofgren helped struggling immigrant farmworkers keep their families together and stay in the United States.

Now, years later, the Democratic congresswoman from San Jose is poised to take over the House subcommittee on immigration. Those experiences from the front lines likely will resonate anew as she helps direct the next congressional debate over the nation's shadow population of illegal immigrants.

With her liberal credentials and pro-immigrant views, Lofgren embodies what many believe is a new day in the immigration debate as Congress, now under Democratic control, again confronts one of the nation's most contentious issues. The shifting dynamics are strikingly evident in the House of Representatives, which was the burial ground for immigration legislation when Republicans were in charge.

KILLED PROPOSAL

During the last session of Congress, conservative House Republicans effectively killed President Bush's call for comprehensive legislation that, among other things, would grant eventual legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. Proponents of the failed legislation -- as well as Bush himself -- believe the plan now has a substantially improved chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Congress.

''I like to believe that if everybody can lower their voice, just stop yelling and go through the issues one by one, that we can come to consensus,'' said Lofgren, whose subcommittee will serve as a starting point for the immigration debate. ``I have this hope that we can produce a practical and bipartisan bill that gets broad support.''

Lofgren, in an interview, said she's been approached by moderate Republicans -- whom she declines to name -- eager to work with her.

''One Republican told me he's been more included by me than he was in 10 years by his own leadership,'' she said.

A potential Republican ally is Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake, a House co-sponsor of the McCain-Kennedy bill, which served as the basis for a comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate last year. Senior Republicans two weeks ago removed Flake from his seat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Flake believes his stance on immigration may have been a contributing factor. ''I have a contrary view to my own party,'' Flake said. ``I was an easy target.''

Flake said he hopes to work with Lofgren and other ''reasonable'' Democrats. Proponents of an immigration overhaul, he said, have ``a better shot than we've had in a long time.''

POSSIBLE ROADBLOCKS

Nevertheless, Republican opponents of Bush's plan -- which includes a controversial temporary guest-worker program -- say they plan to battle as aggressively as ever, even though they're now in the minority.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and key Democrats such as Lofgren have embraced some of the main concepts of Bush's immigration proposal. But Democrats by no means are of one mind, assuring political friction when lawmakers begin addressing the issue.

One trouble spot is the proposed guest-worker program being pushed by American businesses to bring in thousands of foreign workers each year to address what they say is a chronic shortage in low and unskilled labor.

The 53-union AFL-CIO, which helped Democrats take over Congress in the November elections, is pushing to defeat the guest-worker program on the grounds that it could take jobs from U.S. workers. That message is likely to have strong appeal to Democratic lawmakers in blue-collar districts with high unemployment. And some conservative freshman Democrats also may be as tough in calling for a crackdown on illegal immigration as the Republicans they unseated.