Washington - Colorado's Rep. Tom Tancredo and 70 other U.S. representatives sent a letter today to a Senate committee, warning that legislation it's considering allowing illegal immigrants to work legally in the country will hit a roadblock if it comes back to the House. The Senate's Judiciary Committee for the last two weeks has been debating an immigration reform bill that includes what's being called a “guest worker” program, something President Bush said he wants.
“We are concerned that some of these proposals are fundamentally incompatible with the desire of the American public for real immigration reform and their clear opposition to reform proposals that amount to little more than thinly disguised attempts to provide amnesty," the House members said in the letter.
“If the Senate were to pass such a proposal, we believe it would doom any chance of a real reform bill reaching the president's desk this year.
Tancredo, R-Littleton, and the other 70 lawmakers were part of a group that led the passage of a bill in the House that imposes new border security measures, including increasing penalties for being in the country illegally.
The House bill does not include a guest-worker provision. The group considers allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the country legally a form of amnesty.
“Rewarding persons who have broken the law with an advantage that they would not otherwise have had encourages more illegal behavior and is unjust to immigrants who came to the U.S. legally,'' the letter says.
Reps. Bob Beauprez, R-Arvada, and Joel Hefley, R-Colorado Springs, are among those who signed the letter.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is not expected to finish work on the bill this week, which was the deadline given by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He is expected to introduce his own bill possibly today that includes border security measures and does not have a guest worker provision.