http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hea ... 91037.html

Sept. 16, 2006, 10:04AM
President unsure of timetable for immigration bill
However, Bush calls for action in Congress 'as soon as possible'


By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - President Bush restated his support for broad immigration reforms but conceded Friday that he did not know when Congress could reach agreement on an issue that has badly split Republicans.

Lawmakers are expected to leave work at the end of the month to campaign in the upcoming congressional elections without taking action on the comprehensive legislation that the president has advocated.

The president was noncommittal when asked at a Rose Garden news conference if lawmakers should revisit immigration in a lame-duck session after the November election or wait until the new Congress convenes next year.

"I don't know the timetable. My answer is as soon as possible," said Bush.

In May Bush gave a nationally televised address in which he urged Congress to pass legislation that included a temporary guest-worker program for illegal immigrants as well as beefed-up security on the border.

But talks have broken down between the Senate, which passed a measure similar to what the president wants, and the House, which approved a strict enforcement bill without the guest-worker plan and an "earned" citizenship program for immigrants.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said immigration reform now appears to be an "afterthought" for the president. At his news conference, Bush expressed far more urgency about the need for Congress to act soon on rules for military tribunals for terrorist detainees.

"He is a day late and a dollar short" on immigration, Manley said.

The president said Friday that though enforcement measures are needed, the government must come up with a temporary worker program to deal with immigrants already in the country.

"In the long run to secure this border, we've got to have a rational work plan," he said. "And when Congress gets down to a comprehensive bill, I will remind them, it's virtually impossible to try and find 11 million folks who've been working hard, in some cases raising families, and kick them out. It's just not going to work."

Bush said he had fielded questions about border enforcement when he met with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week. "They wanted to know whether or not we were implementing border security measures that they had funded last January. And the answer is: We are," he said.

bennett.roth@chron.com