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State Lawmakers Air Immigration Concerns: House and Senate Approaches Differ

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 May 2006, 06:07 CDT

By Aliana Ramos, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

May 17--As the U.S. Senate worked toward a bill for comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday, Illinois lawmakers spoke about the use of National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

In an address Monday, President Bush proposed rotating 6,000 Guard troops to the border for a one-year period to assist Border Patrol agents. Troops would help operate surveillance systems, install fences, build patrol roads and analyze intelligence.

"Democrats are willing to support any reasonable plan that will secure our border -- including deploying National Guard troops," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, said late Monday in a statement. "But, Americans don't want a plan that's cobbled together to win political favor. This cannot turn into another long-term military deployment with no clear plan. Far too many details have been left to the devil."

Durbin raised concerns that the National Guard and reservists already are stretched thin because of the war in Iraq and military efforts in Afghanistan.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, said he has been a long supporter of using the National Guard and active military to secure the U.S. border.

"This is another example of where the $8.1 billion a month we are spending in Iraq is affecting other aspects of our national security," Costello said in a statement. "We have shortchanged the Border Patrol and must make the investments necessary in staffing and facilities to stop the flow of illegal immigrants."

And while Bush calls for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a guest worker program, both Costello and U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, voted for a House bill to build a 700-mile fence along the U.S-Mexico border. Social service agencies, advocacy groups or individuals who aid undocumented immigrants also could serve jail time.

The bill passed the House in December 239-182.

"Bottom line is that before we can address anything, we need to address border security," Shimkus said. "If a guest-worker program had been included, the bill would not have passed the House. What we had to do was raise the issue of border security to preeminence. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws."

Durbin said there is a large gap between the House bill that passed and the bill the Senate is considering. The Senate approach helps secure the border and considers a guest-worker program.

"Simply being tough on our borders is not enough," Durbin said. "We need to deal with the people who are here. It's hard to find a poultry plant that is not dominated by a migrant work force. Downstate Illinois agriculture is more and more dependent on this work force."

He said the atmosphere in the Senate was positive Tuesday afternoon as members voted on several amendments. He said the guest-worker debate centered on how many people the nation could absorb a year and a concern that migrant workers would drive down wages.

"People who have broken our laws should not be rewarded with amnesty," Durbin said. "But people who work hard and play by the rules should have a chance to earn their way to citizenship if they pay a fine, learn English, pay back taxes and go to the back of the line."

Contact reporter Aliana Ramos at aramos@bnd.com or 239-2507.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)

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