WASHINGTON — The House Republican leadership overcame resistance within its deeply divided ranks Thursday and pushed toward a final vote today on sweeping legislation to crack down on illegal immigrants and beef up border security.
The bill is believed likely to pass the House on a largely party-line vote. But its fate in the Senate is uncertain because it ignores calls by President Bush and some House and Senate Republicans for a guest-worker program that would temporarily legalize the status of millions of illegal workers. Bush has repeatedly called for a comprehensive approach to overhauling the immigration laws.
With the debate over immigration increasingly prominent around the country, both the president and key members of both parties have been pressing for a way to balance the desire to control the illegal influx of individuals across the borders with the business community's need for workers to take low-paying jobs that U.S. citizens are reluctant to do. Thursday's struggle in the House illustrated that disagreements over what to do are extensive and heartfelt.
The House bill's approach is based primarily on making it harder to illegally enter the country and tougher for anyone who enters illegally to get a job. It would make overstaying a visa, now a civil offense, a federal crime, and would require employers to check the legal status of all their workers with the Department of Homeland Security. Employers who knowingly hire illegal workers would run the risk of paying high fines.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said the Senate will take up immigration reform in February and will consider both enforcement and border security measures and a guest-worker program.
After laying the groundwork for months for its legislation, the House Republican leadership thought it could achieve consensus among the party's rank and file by limiting its proposal to border security and law enforcement measures. Instead, a procedural vote early Thursday brought to the House floor the different approaches to immigration issues that have roiled the party since Bush endorsed a guest-worker program -- which opponents consider a form of amnesty -- early in his presidency.
Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who supports a guest-worker program, said he opposed the House bill because it did "nothing to solve the real problems of illegal immigration. In fact, it's worse than nothing."
