WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved three new bills targeting illegal immigration, including one that would make it a crime to tunnel under the border and another making it easier to deport gang members who are not citizens.
The action followed House approval last week of a proposed 700-mile fence along the border with Mexico -- legislation the Senate is now debating -- and passage earlier this week of a bill meant to prevent illegal immigrants from voting.
The measures stem from the push by House Republican leaders for the federal government to focus on securing the nation's border before dealing with other immigration-related issues.
Immigration legislation: An article in Friday's Section A said a provision in a House bill would strip Salvadorans of special immigration status that had protected many from deportation. Salvadorans are not given special protection from deportation or detention, though the government is trying to set aside a long-standing court order that requires immigration officials to specifically inform Salvadorans of their various rights, including applying for asylum.
House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) hailed Thursday's bills as evidence that GOP lawmakers were "serious about securing our border and enforcing our law." He said he was hopeful the bills could be on President Bush's desk "in a matter of weeks."
But a key Republican senator cast doubt on the prospects of any of the House measures, questioning the wisdom of enacting enforcement-oriented legislation without grappling with the citizenship status of illegal immigrants in the U.S. or calls by the business community for a guest worker program.
"I don't see how we can deal with the immigration issue on a piecemeal basis," said Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Most senators have supported the more sweeping rewrite of immigration policy endorsed by Bush. And Specter expressed concern that House leaders would have little incentive to negotiate other immigration-related matters in the future "if we take care of all of their priorities and none of the Senate's."
Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, emphasized their opposition to the House approach at an annual Capitol Hill summit with Latino leaders.
"Republicans claim to be on the side of Hispanics, but their record doesn't match their rhetoric," said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
"You cannot be on the side of Hispanics, especially when you demagogue the immigration issue, when you are refusing to support sound solutions to one of the most pressing issues in America."
The decision by House Republicans to back border security and more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws while eschewing talks over establishing a guest worker program or creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is in part designed to motivate the party's conservative base in an election year.
- LOS ANGELES - County Panel Sets Hearing on Immigration Issues Dec 09, 1993
- Clinton, Dole Partisans Spar on Illegal Immigration Jun 11, 1996
- Simpson Seeks 5-Year Cut in Legal Immigration Mar 03, 1994
