http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ne ... 936717.htm

Posted on Fri, Jun. 30, 2006

Congress goes home, leaving work undone
OUR OPINION: POLITICAL AGENDAS THREATEN KEY IMMIGRATION REFORMS


Election-year politicking will delay critical immigration reform -- if not put it on life support -- unless congressional leaders quickly come to their senses. The House's move to hold immigration hearings seems destined to stop House and Senate immigration bills from being reconciled before the November election. Better for the nation would be for both chambers to assemble the conference committee and start negotiating now.

Legal channels

Lawmakers will have a tough time reconciling the bills' divergent approaches in any case. The House's unrealistic solution would deport all 12 million undocumented immigrants, criminalize anyone who offers them humanitarian help and build 700 miles of fence on the Mexican border.

The Senate bill also includes increased border security but recognizes that more is needed to stop uncontrolled immigration and ensure national security. The bill would add legal channels for immigrants whose labor and energy help to fuel our economy. It offers a plan by which millions of illegal workers already here may earn legal status over time.

We welcome civil debate that challenges convention. Yet that doesn't appear to be the intent of the House hearings. The real intent seems to be to hang onto the House majority by rallying votes from GOP conservatives. These voters prefer enforcement-only policies, according to polls and House wisdom. So chances are good for a series of ''show trial'' hearings in border towns predisposed to call sensible immigration reform an ``amnesty.''

These House tactics attack the approach favored by President Bush, many other Republicans and a majority of Americans who support comprehensive reforms such as those in the Senate bill: a combination of border and workplace enforcement, more legal-immigration channels and an earned-legalization plan.

Unfortunately for the Republican Party, House leaders stand to trade short-term gain for long-time pain. Former California Gov. Pete Wilson may now be a born-again hero in anti-immigration circles. But his push for anti-immigrant measures in 1994 caused a backlash that hurt Califorinia's Republican Party for a decade.

A high price

Another backlash already has started. In April, millions of Hispanics turned out for rallies nationwide against the House bill. Now legal residents are going to civics classes and increasingly are applying for citizenship. Voter-registration drives are being organized, and get-out-the-vote efforts will follow.

There's still a slim chance for Congress to reconcile and pass an immigration bill in a lame-duck session after elections. If it approves anti-immigrant reforms, or no reform at all, the Republican Party -- and the country -- will pay the high price.