Bush fails to gain support among House Republicans for his guest-worker plan

August 24, 2006

President Bush may have convinced House Republicans that he is serious about enforcing the border, but he hasn’t made any progress in a 100-day campaign to get House Republicans to support his proposed guest-worker program.

"I've told the President, comprehensive is fine, but the first thing we have to do is protect the borders," says House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican. "Until you protect the borders, any reform is premature."

Hastert said that during a recent outing with constituents in Illinois, of the 150 who turned up, every person except one emphasized that the border must be secured first. “It was amazing," he said

According to Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, House Republicans are stronger than ever in insisting that a border security bill come first.

King said that Bush has convinced House Republicans that he is serious about enforcement, “but to me these are only first steps. Before we even consider any type of quote-unquote comprehensive legislation, we have to show we can control the border – not that we want to, but that we can," King said. "We have to see results before we consider going any further."

Bush began his major push May 15 with a prime-time address in which he called for National Guard troops to assist on the border, promised to get tough on businesses that hire illegal aliens, and demanded that Congress pass a bill that includes a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for most illegal aliens.

House Republicans say allowing illegal aliens to stay amounts to amnesty.

Polls show the one area almost all voters agree on in polls is the need to do more to secure the borders.

Last year, the House passed an enforcement bill that calls for 700 miles of new border fence, cracks down on employers who hire illegal aliens and makes illegal presence a felony. This year, the Senate passed a bill that includes half that amount of fencing, includes new requirements for employers and creates both a new foreign-worker program and a path to citizenship for nearly 10 million illegal aliens.

Bush has called the Senate legislation "a good immigration bill.”

Bush has also tried to boost the effort of Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican, who introduced a plan that would require illegal aliens to briefly leave the country and then re-enter. It would also give them a path to citizenship, but would make the aliens wait far longer than the Senate plan.

King and other top House Republicans such as Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. have panned the Pence plan as unworkable. King said it has not gained majority support among House Republicans.

When Congress returns from its summer recess all sides expect the leaders to sit down and take stock of where the debate stands. And all sides still say they would like to get a deal done. But those who want a broad bill say the decision rests with House leaders.

King said he would oppose writing into this year's bill any "trigger" that would automatically enact a guest-worker program or path to citizenship.

"I want a congressional vote to be the trigger," he said. "I want us to look at it ourselves, a year from now, 18 months from now, and let Congress decide whether the numbers have been met."