Asked when the House might back a guest-worker program or other nonenforcement measures, Hastert said: "If we get a virtual no-penetration program on the border, then we can look at a lot of things."
Debate on overhauling immigration laws has been deadlocked for months.
Enforcement is a priority for the Senate, but many senators believe it cannot work effectively unless it is accompanied by a guest worker program to help meet the labor needs of the agricultural and hospitality industries, and a program to draw the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. into the legal system -- a position favored by Bush. Those provisions were in a bill approved by the Senate in May.
Many senators in both parties argue that if this year's Congress ignores these issues and focuses only on border security, it will have shirked its responsibilities and ultimately failed to adequately address the complexity of the immigration problem.
Even so, some senators expressed cautious support for the House border security package, even as they pointed to elements they thought it lacked.
"I'm not going to take a position against it," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), who helped write the Senate-passed bill. But, he added, the House bill is "not comprehensive immigration reform ... it's just security."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who wrote a bill criminalizing the construction of tunnels under the border, said she was delighted to see a similar measure in the House border security package. But she expressed disappointment that there was no provision to help California farmers get access to workers.
With California in the middle of its peak harvest season and Florida's orange harvest set to begin next month, agriculture is a concern for lawmakers of all political stripes. Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-Fla.), who chaired the all-Republican meeting that led to the border security package, appeared Wednesday at a rally organized by farmers, restaurant owners and other businesses dependent on immigrant labor.
With the administration increasing crackdowns on employers who hire illegal workers and an emphasis in Congress on enforcement, growers are getting nervous, lawmakers said.
"The status quo is killing farmers," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). "They are desperate. I've never seen anything like it."
