WASHINGTON — Facing a self-imposed Friday deadline for reaching agreement on the thorny issue of immigration, GOP senators worked Monday toward a possible compromise that would permit some illegal immigrants to remain in the country and apply for citizenship but would deny that opportunity to others.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) launched what participants said would be a series of closed-door negotiations to bridge a divide between Republicans who favored providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and those who opposed it.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday April 05, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 28 words Type of Material: Correction
Immigration law: An article in Tuesday's Section A about congressional attempts to overhaul immigration law described New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman as a Republican. He is a Democrat.
"What we're looking for is a middle ground, something that will appeal to a broader base" in the Republican Party, said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
One option being discussed would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for more than five years to apply for a green card and eventual citizenship. More recent arrivals could not.
Another option would be to create a distinction between those who entered the United States by crossing the border illegally and those who arrived legally but overstayed their visas.
Yet another idea on the table, participants said, was to force some illegal arrivals to return to a port of entry to legalize their status, but not to require them to return all the way to their country of origin.
Senators said the Republican negotiations would continue today, and they expressed determination to pass a bill before the two-week Easter recess, which is scheduled to begin when the Senate adjourns Friday.
"We want to make sure we get a bill before the week's out," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.). He said that if he and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) could get adequate support from their GOP colleagues, they might offer a compromise that embraces the idea of distinguishing between immigrants who entered the country illegally and those who overstayed visas, as well as between recent arrivals and those who have been in the United States for a relatively long time.
A number of Republicans who oppose options that would legalize illegal immigrants already in the country went to the White House on Monday for a meeting with Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Participants included Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who have offered an alternate proposal that would require illegal immigrants to return to their countries of origin before applying for a temporary visa or permanent residence.
