500,000 In The Streets On Immigration

As Senate Showdown On Reform Nears, President Urges Balance

(CBS/AP)  "They should be pleased that the Senate is probably going to address this in a much more comprehensive way," he told the Tucson Citizen newspaper during a meeting with its editorial board.

The House last December passed legislation, billed as a border protection, anti-terrorism and illegal immigration control act, includes such measures as enlisting 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.

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.

The bill also makes unlawful presence in the United States, currently a civil offense, a felony. An amendment to reduce the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor was defeated, with many Democrats voting against the proposal in protest over subjecting people who have overstayed their visas to any criminal charges.

The House also voted 273-148 to end the diversity visa lottery program that's open to countries that send few immigrants to the United States. Opponents said it was susceptible to fraud and could be a way for terrorists to enter the country.

The hottest debate in the Senate will be whether to pass some version of a guest worker program proposed by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The bill by McCain, a contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, and Kennedy would provide up to 400,000 visas in the first year and allow participants, after six years, to seek permanent residency.

Their proposal, strongly backed by the business community, would supplement existing temporary worker programs, such as the H-2A program that brings about 45,000 agriculture workers into the country every year, and H-1B visas issued to up to 65,000 high-tech and other skilled foreign workers.

It also would build on a near-century old tradition of turning to foreign unskilled laborers, mainly from Mexico, in response to labor shortages, often during times of war.

Friday's Los Angeles demonstration led to fights between black and Hispanic students at George Washington Preparatory High School, but the protests were largely peaceful, authorities said.

At least 500 students at Huntington Park High School near Los Angeles walked out of classes in the morning. Hundreds of the students, some carrying Mexican or U.S. flags, walked down the middle of Los Angeles streets, police cruisers behind them.

In Northern California, about 300 students at Ceres High School near Modesto protested before school. Administrators allowed the demonstration for two class periods.

"We felt it was valuable for them to experience democracy in action," said Ceres Unified School District Superintendent Walt Hanline. "People need to understand this legislation is creating a lot of fear for people."

About 100 students refused to go to classes after the demonstration and were suspended for three days. Police cited eight for trespassing after they refused to go to a gym with the other suspended students.

In Georgia, activists said tens of thousands of workers did not show up at their jobs Friday after calls for a work stoppage to protest a bill passed by the Georgia House on Thursday.

That bill, which has yet to gain Georgia Senate approval, would deny state services to adults living in the U.S. illegally and impose a 5 percent surcharge on wire transfers from illegal immigrants.