http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4669393

Edward Lawrence, Reporter
Senator Reid In Town to Stress Immigration Reform
March 22, 2006, 09:52 PM PST

Democratic Senator Harry Reid says some of the money being spent on the war in Iraq should be spent instead on immigration reform. "We spend two billion dollars a week in Iraq. Why not spend a tiny fraction of that and put it into immigration."

The senator visited the California-Mexico border to make that point. Clark County Sheriff Bill Young traveled with the Senator. Reid added that any solution must address undocumented workers already in the United States. "They should know English. They should pay their taxes. They should have a job and they should earn. It. It will not happen quickly."

He made the same pitch to casino and construction workers at Mandalay Bay Wednesday morning. "We are a country of immigrants."

Geoconda Argnello-Kline listened to every word. Argnello-Kline says, "When I came over here I came to take care of my family and grow my family." She left Nicaragua to peruse the American dream. She's not only a citizen now, but leads the most power union in Las Vegas.

Argnello-Kline is President of the Culinary Union. "How many immigrants work in the industry? we have people who clean rooms, who cook food, cut the grass, clean houses." Argnello-Kline just wants a fair immigration system that keeps our economy moving. She says it must offer the 11 million undocumented workers in this country a way to become U-S citizens. "We are not invisible. People buy houses. People shop. People go and buy food. We are here."

Senator Reid adds, "What we should do is a program to make sure they have a right to change their status." The senator does not know exactly what he will propose concerning immigration reform, but says it will be a comprehensive plan, "Some of the suggestions are they have to pay. There would be money for that. They have to pay taxes and they have to show they have never been in trouble."

Senator Reid's Nevada counterpart Republican Senator John Ensign thinks the opposite. He says if someone wants to become an American citizen they should do it legally from their country. "It is absolutely critical if we are going to have a common sense legal immigration policy we must stop the flow of illegal immigrants by controlling our borders."

It's a debate that traps more than 120,000 undocumented Las Vegas workers in the middle. The Senate will debate immigration reform starting Monday. The House passed a reform bill that makes it a felony to be an undocumented worker in the United States. The Senate version as written makes it a misdemeanor.

Email Edward Lawrence at elawrence@klastv.com