Lamar Smith avoids hard line on immigration

Steve King, left, and Lamar Smith field questions on Capitol Hill. | AP Photo
Lamar Smith and Steve King will play integral roles in the House's implementation of immigration policy. | AP Photo Close
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 12/23/10 6:25 PM EST Updated: 12/24/10 7:14 AM EST

If conservatives expected Republican Rep. Lamar Smith to champion the most controversial anti-immigration measures when he takes control of the House Judiciary Committee next month, they’re in for a surprise.

After weeks of speculation that he would pursue a scorched-earth immigration agenda, Smith detailed his to-do list for the first time in an interview with POLITICO – and it’s an early but important signal that the new House Republican majority plans to attack the issue of immigration through the prism of jobs, rather than red meat for the base.
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Smith’s first two hearings will focus on expanding E-Verify, a voluntary electronic system for checking the immigration status of workers that President Barack Obama supports, and scrutinizing the administration’s record on worksite enforcement.

“They are what I call 70-percent issues – 70 percent or more of the American people support those efforts,â€