WASHINGTON – The House acted Friday to stem the tide of illegal immigration by taking steps to tighten border controls and stop unlawful immigrants from getting jobs in the U.S.
But lawmakers left for next year the tougher issue of what to do with the 11 million undocumented people already in the country.
The House legislation, billed as a border protection, anti-terrorism and illegal immigration control act, includes such measures as enlisting the military and local law enforcement help in stopping illegal entrants and requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers. It authorizes the building of a fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
But it put off consideration of a guest worker program, which President Bush and many in Congress say must be part of a lasting solution to illegal immigration.
The vote was 239-182, with opposition coming from Democrats and some Republicans upset by the exclusion of the guest worker issue, and other Republicans wanting tougher border control measures.
One measure that Republican leaders wouldn’t allow a vote on was a volatile proposal to deny citizenship to babies born in this country to illegal immigrants.
The issue next moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., says he will bring up immigration legislation in February that will provide a framework for guest worker ideas.
Nobody is advocating the deportation of the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., sponsor of a guest worker measure. Without a temporary worker program, he said, “We simply won’t enforce the law, and that’s the dirty little secret here.”
While many agree with Flake, there are wide differences on the details of a guest worker program. Some lawmakers would require that those in the country illegally leave before applying for such a program, arguing that counterproposals allowing those already here to seek legal status would be equivalent to amnesty.
Bush has proposed that undocumented immigrants be allowed to get three-year work visas. They could extend those for an additional three years, but would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit.
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