September 8, 2006
Immigration Overhaul Takes a Back Seat
as Campaign Season Begins
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
New York Times
series of border security measures by the end of September. But they made it
clear
they would not heed President Bush’s call to create a guest worker plan or
grant legal status to the nation’s illegal immigrants before the November
midterm
elections.
The House speaker, Representative J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois,
and others said House leaders would hold a hearing — scheduled for Tuesday —
to discuss strategies to secure the border and then present a package of
legislation, perhaps as early as Wednesday.
Mr. Hastert said House Republicans would continue their discussions with the
Senate in an effort to come to a consensus about overhauling immigration laws,
but he emphasized that they would focus first on what could be accomplished
this month before Congress recesses. He said the initiatives would emerge from
hearings held around the country in August.
“Before you have a guest worker program or any other program, you need to
heal the wound or stop the bleeding,” Mr. Hastert said at a news conference.
“We
need to solve the first problems first.”
“We’re at war,” he added. “Our borders are a sieve. We need to stop the
bleeding.”
After he spoke, hundreds of immigrants rallied outside the Capitol, waving
American flags and warning lawmakers that they would be held accountable at the
polls if they did not take steps to legalize the more than 11 million illegal
immigrants in the
But the political potency of such marches, which drew hundreds of thousands
of immigrants in the spring, seemed to be waning. Organizers here had predicted
hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on Thursday, but it appeared that only
several thousand showed up. Rallies in
also drew smaller crowds than had been predicted.
Lily Najera, a 19-year-old community college student from
she was surprised by the low turnout.
“I don’t know if people are losing hope because they don’t see any
progress,” said Ms. Najera, who attended the rallies in the spring.
The prospects for passage of the House border security package in the Senate
remained uncertain. Senate leaders have acknowledged that their bill, which
would put the majority of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship in
addition to tightening the border, will probably not become law before
November.
Senator Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, the majority leader, said this
week that it would be “next to impossible” for Congress to pass such a bill in
the next three weeks. Amy Call, a spokeswoman for Mr. Frist, said Senate
Republicans would be willing to consider the border security initiatives
proposed
by the House.
“Securing the border is a key responsibility,” Ms. Call said Thursday.
“We’ll be interested to see what they bring forward.”
Senator Mel Martinez of
legislation, argued, however, that border security by itself was not enough. He
said a
mechanism like a guest worker program to create a legal pathway into the
country was an essential component of any plan intended to deter immigrants
from
illegally crossing from
“That may sound good politically speaking,” Mr. Martinez said of the House
plan. “But I think we need a sincere, comprehensive approach to the problem.
That’s what I would be insisting on, that we do provide for some legal pathway
to enter the country.”
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, assailed the House plan
as little more than political posturing on the part of House Republicans.
“Secretary Chertoff, White House officials responsible for homeland security
and every expert agree that you can’t secure our borders without breaking the
cycle of illegality for the millions who are already here,” said Mr. Kennedy,
referring to Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security.
“The president understands this,” Mr. Kennedy said, “and should step in to
help his colleagues see the shortsightedness of their actions.”