Immigration Showdown Heats Up
Senators writing an immigration bill broke from the House's get-tough approach on Monday by refusing to make criminals of humanitarian groups or individuals who help illegal immigrants as more than 1,000 immigration rights activists rallied outside the Capitol.
The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that would protect church and charitable groups, as well as individuals, from criminal prosecution for providing food, shelter, medical care and counseling to undocumented immigrants.
"Charitable organizations, like individuals, should be able to provide humanitarian assistance to immigrants without fearing prosecution," Durbin said.
The House voted in December to make offers of such non-emergency aid a felony. The Senate panel also rejected a proposal Wednesday by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to require humanitarian groups providing aid to illegal immigrants to register with the Department of Homeland Security.
The immigration bills have sparked protests around the country — and with the committee's action on Monday, demonstrators at the front of the Capitol claimed to have already had an impact. At least 200 clergy members were present, including dozens wearing handcuffs to protest the House's action.
"This is not about legislation any more," said Jorge Medina, an immigrant from Honduras now living in Charlotte, N.C. "This is about feelings now. We are Americans, too. We are not from Mars and we are not from the moon."
President Bush used a naturalization ceremony Monday at which 30 new citizens from 20 countries were sworn in to warn critics of his proposal to let some illegal immigrants remain in the United State against stoking anti-immigrant feelings.
"The immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and dignified way," the president said as lawmakers began tackling the hot-button election issue of what to do with the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.
Half a million people in Los Angeles alone protested changes by the House that would make illegal immigration a felony and build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Similar but smaller protests were held in Dallas, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Columbus, Ohio, among other cities.
On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators, many waving U.S. and Mexican flags, marched through Detroit. In Huntington Park, Calif., several hundred high school students walked out of class as protests against an immigration crackdown continued on California's Cesar Chavez Day.
The committee faces a midnight deadline for completing a bill with a version of the "guest worker" program that Mr. Bush wants for illegal immigrants. The House rejected that program, and Majority Leader Bill Frist has said the Senate will start debating a bill Tuesday without it if the committee fails.
Overhauling the nation's immigration laws "is not going to be easy," Mr. Bush said at the naturalization ceremony at Constitution Hall, two blocks from the White House.
"No one should play on people's fears or try to pit neighbors against each other," Mr. Bush said. "No one should pretend that immigrants are threats to America's identity because immigrants have shaped America's identity.
"No one should claim that immigrants are a burden on our economy because the work and enterprise of immigrants helps sustain our economy," the president said. "We should not give in to pessimism. If we work together, I am confident we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver a bill that protects our people, upholds our laws and makes our people proud."
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calls for tougher border security have dominated debate over the knotty problem of controlling immigration.
But the tough immigration-enforcement bill passed by the House last year has galvanized forces that want worker programs for illegal immigrants already in the country.
"We will not accept enforcement-only approaches," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.
CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports big business is strongly opposed to a harsh immigration bill, which would deny a source of workers they say they very much need. Though it is illegal to hire undocumented workers, millions of them work every day all over the country. Many take low-pay, unskilled jobs that employers say are otherwise impossible to fill.
But high-tech companies have a stake in this, too, Fuss adds. They say they can't get enough visas to legally bring in highly skilled people they need from India and other nations.
Employers and immigration advocates prefer a bill drafted by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., that would allow illegal immigrants to become eligible for permanent residency after working for six years. Both McCain and Frist are likely candidates for the Republican presidential nomination next year.
Another approach offered by Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would let illegal immigrants get temporary work permits for up to five years. They would have to leave the United States but could then apply for legal re-entry.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, said Monday it would be unrealistic to round up and deport millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Instead, he told CBS News The Early Show, the United States should create a "path toward legalization" based on whether the immigrants are law-abiding, pay takes, are learning English or demonstrate other "positive behavior."
He said the U.S. should work with Mexico on joint border patrols and "more enforcement on the border that is sadly lacking" now.
Later this week, President Bush is going to Mexico week for a meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it's important that Mexico "recognize the importance of defense of the borders and of American laws."