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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Specter, Kennedy Say They're Open to Immigration Compromise July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Two key supporters of a Senate immigration measure calling for guest-worker and legalization programs said they would consider linking those provisions to toughened border security to help break a legislative deadlock. Senators Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who heads the Judiciary Committee, and Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, indicated interest in a compromise that would delay the Senate programs until House demands for improved border security are met. ``There's certainly the recognition that some of this is going to take longer than others,'' Kennedy said yesterday after a hearing on the Senate immigration measure in Philadelphia. ``The other side is just talking about formalizing those aspects. We're glad to talk to them.'' President George W. Bush is pushing for a compromise that would implement a guest-worker program only after certain benchmarks for improved border security are reached. White House spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday the president was ``interested'' in such a proposal. Bush believes it is still possible to achieve a compromise that would include the guest-worker plan for 200,000 immigrants annually and legalization provisions for many of the 11 million undocumented workers, which he has long championed. The president ``believes it can be done,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. ``There is positive movement on the comprehensive-approach front, despite several people claiming the matter was dead over and over again.'' Momentum In an effort to provide new political momentum for a compromise measure, White House political strategist Karl Rove plans to address the issue in a speech to the National Council of La Raza, the Latino civil rights group, in Los Angeles on July 11, and Bush himself plans several immigration speeches in the coming weeks, Perino said. Laura Reiff, co-chairwoman of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, a Washington-based business coalition that favors the Senate approach, said Bush and his allies are looking at all sides to try and bridge the legislative gap. ``Everybody is willing to look at all options,'' she said. Still, any immigration compromise faces many potential pitfalls. Chief among them are whether a majority of House Republicans would allow the border-security and guest-worker provisions to be included in a single measure, and the precise requirements for allowing the guest-worker program to take effect. House Republicans have shown little willingness to compromise up to this point, and may insist on ``triggering'' provisions so restrictive that many supporters of the Senate legislation won't accept them. `Much Closer' ``We're going to arrive at a position that is much closer to what the House passed,'' said California Republican Ed Royce, who chaired a House immigration hearing in San Diego yesterday. ``If we can get border enforcement first, then the leveraging goes to those of us that want to ensure border security.'' Specter said any measure must include all components of the Senate legislation, including the guest-worker and legalization provisions. The Senate in May rejected an amendment that would have required the president to certify that border-improvements had been made before any new immigration programs could be implemented. Specter said yesterday that while such an amendment may still lack support in the Senate, lawmakers ``might'' agree to some compromise that stresses border security first as long as the legalization measures are included. Some lawmakers said there is little chance for an agreement. `Filibuster' ``Guys in the House don't want to compromise, guys in the Senate will filibuster anything less,'' than what the Senate has already approved, said Representative Bob Filner of California, whose district runs to the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans have criticized any plan that allows undocumented immigrants to gain U.S. citizenship after paying a fine and back taxes, saying such an approach amounts to amnesty for those who have broken U.S. law. The House measure calls for 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican border; the Senate version provides for a fence half that length. Both versions include expansion of an electronic worker- verification program for employers to confirm that employees are legally able to work in the U.S. The Senate would require employee verification of only new hires, while the House would eventually require all employees to be confirmed as legal. The House and Senate began an unusual series of rival hearings at symbolic locations 2,700 miles apart yesterday to examine the immigration proposals. Philadelphia Specter and Kennedy convened a hearing at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center to defend the Senate proposal, while House members met at a San Diego border patrol station. House leaders decided to hold the hearings rather than follow the usual procedure of creating a joint House-Senate committee to resolve differences between the measures passed by the two chambers. Specter said he called his hearing to let the public know the contents of the Senate measure. Lawmakers at the hearings spent most of the time promoting their approaches. Specter and Kennedy defended the Senate's ``comprehensive'' approach and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Congress must act to ensure immigrants are able to come legally to the U.S. for work. Immigrants, Bloomberg said, provide the ``elbow grease'' for many New York City businesses and without them ``the city could not survive.'' The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. In San Diego, House Republicans said that border improvements are needed to prevent terrorists from exploiting security flaws along the U.S. border with Mexico. We have to ``face up to the fact that national security is border security,'' said Representative J.D. Hayworth of Arizona.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Karl Rove is a traitor.
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