Frist Sees `Progress' on Senate Overhaul Bill

In another sign of movement on the politically charged issue, Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), leading advocates of tougher enforcement, floated a proposal to give some illegal immigrants a chance to gain legal status -- if the opportunity were limited to those who had married, had children or otherwise put down "deep roots" in the United States.

And the Bush administration, emphasizing its commitment to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers, announced the arrest of a construction company owner, himself an illegal immigrant from Romania, on criminal charges that include money laundering. The charges could carry a 40-year prison sentence. The company, founded in 2002 with allegedly fraudulent papers, operated in at least seven Midwestern states.

A day after hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets across the nation to demand immigration reform, senators were divided on the demonstrations' effect and on the progress of crafting an overhaul. "I don't think the [rallies] impacted things on the floor," Frist said.

But referring to his continuing negotiations with Senate Democrats, he said: "We're making progress every day."

Minority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.), who praised Monday's demonstrations, disputed Frist's optimistic prognosis for Senate action.

Both Reid's expressed pessimism and Frist's assertion of optimism may have reflected political maneuvering as well as differing views on the outlook for action. Frist, a likely candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, is seeking to project an image of effective leadership. Reid, whose party hopes to mobilize Democratic voters on the immigration issue in November, is moving cautiously to avoid handing Republicans a partisan victory -- or opening the way to approval of a bill Latino and Democratic voters would not approve of.

The Senate bill would bolster enforcement, add a guest worker program for incoming foreigners and allow undocumented immigrants who met certain criteria to work toward citizenship. Senate negotiations stalled in early April, when Republicans -- who are divided on the issue -- proposed more than 300 amendments and Democrats accused them of using amendments to filibuster the measure.