Democrats, Republicans Push Immigration Enforcement Bills

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing bills that crack down on illegal immigration, keeping the issue alive in Congress during a volatile election year.

In the House, conservative Democrats are asking their party leaders to support an enforcement bill sponsored by freshman Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina.

The legislation, dubbed the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act or SAVE Act, would increase the Border Patrol by 8,000, train more state and local police to enforce immigration law, and require that all businesses, within four years, use a government program to verify the legal status of their employees.

The program, known as E-Verify, is currently voluntary. Businesses and civil-rights groups have argued that the poor quality of some government databases poses a major problem for the program.

Shuler said that his legislation is a bipartisan solution to the pressing problem of illegal immigration that costs taxpayers millions in schooling, health care, and incarceration costs.

"We obviously have to secure our borders," he said, in an interview. "I'm just hoping that we can get off first base here and start getting a piece of legislation."

In addition, he said that he has met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., several times about the measure and is hopeful she will bring it to the floor. He is also searching for a committee to take on the bill and hold hearings.

The measure has 91 Republican co-sponsors, including some of the most vocal critics of illegal immigration such as Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. In addition, 48 Democrats are co-sponsoring the bill, including many "Blue Dogs" from conservative districts.

The co-sponsors from Georgia include Democratic Reps. John Barrow, Sanford Bishop, and Jim Marshall, and GOP Reps. Paul Broun, Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Linder, Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland.

The co-sponsors from Texas include Democratic Reps. Nicholas Lampson, Ciro Rodriguez and Pete Sessions, and GOP Reps. Michael McCaul, Lamar Smith, Kevin Brady, Michael Burgess, Micheal Conaway, Louie Gohmert, Ralph Hall, Jeb Hensarling, John Culberson, Kenny Marchant, Randy Neugebauer and William Thornberry.

The co-sponsors from Florida include Republicans Gus Bilirakis, Ginny Brown-Waite, Tom Feeney, Jeff Miller, Dave Weldon and Cliff Stearns and Democratic Reps. Allen Boyd and Ron Klein.

The co-sponsors from Ohio include Republicans Jean Schmidt, Steven LaTourette and Democrats Tim Ryan and Zachary Space.

Pelosi said on Thursday that the Democratic leadership is still in discussions about a possible immigration package and that Shuler's bill has some of the principles that they support.

She also said, however, that Democrats are looking for a "balanced" measure that also deals with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Republican supporters, meanwhile, are considering a procedural maneuver to force the bill to the floor.

Democratic leaders are facing a difficult decision on the issue. A strong vote on border security could help some freshman Democrats keep their seats, and therefore, help Democrats retain control of the House, but an enforcement-only bill could also anger liberal Democrats and Hispanics.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been working on a separate measure — still in the draft stages — that could provide some legalization process for illegal immigrants.

Immigrant advocate groups and Hispanic organizations are closely monitoring the situation.

They warn that an enforcement-only measure that passed the House in 2006 sparked massive demonstrations by Latinos across the country. That measure, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., was more extreme, making illegal presence in the United States a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization, said that the Democratic leadership risks alienating millions of Hispanic voters in order to provide "political cover" to a few freshman Democrats.

She referred to the Shuler bill as the "grandchild of Sensenbrenner" or "Sensenbrenner lite."

"Democrats shouldn't tip-toe around the issue," she said. "They need to show some leadership."

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Republicans introduced 15 immigration enforcement bills this week.

They include measures to make English the nation's official language, to prevent illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses, to deport immigrants convicted of drunk driving offenses, and to withhold federal money for cities that have so called "sanctuary" policies that direct police and local officials not to check the immigration status of residents using city services.

A bill by Georgia Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson would clarify the authority of state and local police to enforce immigration law and expand training in the area.

"There are so many cases that clearly show that state and local law enforcement are the front lines of combating crimes committed by illegal immigrants," said Chambliss, in a written statement. "They are critical force multipliers but they are currently under-utilized by their federal partners."

Another measure by Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania would impose sanctions on countries that refuse to take back illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes in the United States.

It is unlikely that most of the GOP measures will get a vote in the Democratically-controlled chamber. However, some may be offered as amendments to must-pass spending bills.

Democrats decried the Republican measures.

Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and one of three Hispanic senators, said it was "a draconian approach" that would "demonize the Latino community."

On the Web:

Rep. Heath Shuler: www.house.gov/shuler

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: speaker.house.gov