Immigration Barriers

Senate Builds Hope But Backs Border Fence, Fueling Emotional Debate

(CBS/AP)  The clash erupted after Vitter sought a change in the legislation to strip out provisions of the bill that would allow for guest worker programs and give some illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship. The immigrant groups protesting didn't try to touch the hardest opponents of more accepting immigration legislation, though, Attkisson reports. For instance, they didn't call on Rep. Tom Tacredo, R-Colo., who wants to send all illegal immigrants home.

Hundreds of miles from the protests in Washington, Mexicans along the border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, dismiss U.S. plans to send National Guard troops to the border as a futile effort that will only fuel the booming drug- and migrant-smuggling industry.

And with heavily armed Mexican soldiers in this border city, some worry the U.S. troop buildup could spark confrontations in an area where it is often difficult to tell where Mexico ends and the United States begins.

Gilberto Areola, who lives about 20 feet from the border in the Mexican city of Nogales, near Arizona, said he will feel uneasy with soldiers patrolling the other side.

"It makes me a little scared," said Areola, 54, looking at the walled border as he stood in his doorway. "A stray bullet could affect us since we live so close to the line. I think this could cause more violence."

Tensions in both countries have been rising over increased violence spawned by drug battles, the human-smuggling industry and recent border scuffles.

Blanca Estela Aguilar, a 24-year-old party services saleswoman in Nuevo Laredo, said that with the introduction of National Guard troops she believes clashes between the two sides are likely.

"We are going to see a confrontation between troops over there and police here," she predicted. "It could be in the long or short term, but it will happen. And many people are likely to die."

The White House Wednesday dispatched political operative Karl Rove to talk immigration issues at a weekly closed-door meeting held by members of the House.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an outspoken opponent of the Senate bill, derided the effort. "I didn't see it was a persuasive event. If it was about Karl Rove seeking to convince members of Congress after debate that he's right and we're wrong it would have been better not to have the meeting," he said.

King said Rove told lawmakers Mr. Bush is sincere about enforcement. But, he added, "The president doesn't want to enforce immigration law because he's afraid he'll inconvenience someone who wants to come into the country for a better life."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., agreed that Rove did not seem to have been persuasive. "It's not the kind of issue you can compromise on; either you're giving amnesty to people who are here illegally or you aren't."

At the White House, press secretary Tony Snow defended Mr. Bush against criticism. "The president is actually taking a more aggressive role on border security than the House itself took," he said. "That is the sort of thing that is going to answer a lot of the complaints that we have heard."

The National Capital Immigration Coalition organized the afternoon demonstration on the National Mall a few blocks from where lawmakers debated the issue they cared about.

"This is a critical moment. We oppose the militarization of the U.S-Mexican border," said Juan Jose Gutierrez, one of the event's organizers.