Immigration Reform Caucus

Multiple GOP Bills Create Another Legislative Front for Immigration Politics

 

Congressional Quarterly | By Karoun Demirjian and Alex Wayne

March 6, 2008

washington, d.c. — A dozen Republican senators introduced 15 enforcement-oriented immigration bills Wednesday, even as their party embraced a presidential candidate who has supported a more comprehensive overhaul of the system with a less harsh approach toward illegal immigrants.

Behind the scenes in the House, meanwhile, leaders of both parties prepared for a potential confrontation over a controversial immigration enforcement bill (HR 4088) by Heath Shuler , D-N.C.

Republican leaders continued discussions over whether to initiate a discharge petition that could force Shuler’s bill to the floor. Democratic leaders were hoping that few from their party would support that effort, but Shuler himself — in a tense March 4 floor exchange — told Debbie Wasserman Schultz , D-Fla., that he would sign a discharge petition on his bill, his spokesman Andrew Whalen confirmed.

Democratic leaders had other worries as well. Hispanic, liberal and farm-state Democrats have been pushing proposals to temporarily legalize millions of illegal immigrants and expand visa limits to allow entry of more foreign labor, especially seasonal workers needed this summer.

The crosscurrents illustrate how complicated the politics of immigration have become for both parties. Some Republicans want to aggravate the split among Democrats by pushing the Shuler bill, but some conservatives have warned that a floor vote on the measure would only help vulnerable Democrats whom Republicans might target in November.

And Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., who’s been tacking to the right on immigration during the presidential primary season to please the GOP base, may be facing a starkly different challenge to win a general election in which votes from Hispanics and independents may prove crucial. Recent polls indicate most Americans believe there are too many illegal immigrants here but are in favor of allowing those who have been here for several years to pursue some sort of legal status, if they meet certain requirements.

On Wednesday, though, there was little doubt that the dozen Republicans who offered bills believe that a get-tough policy remains a political winner.

Among the Senate proposals are familiar initiatives, including one that would improve workplace screening procedures and one identifying English as the national language. But there were fresh ideas as well, including one by Arlen Specter , R-Pa., to streamline the deportation process for illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes by increasing pressure on foreign governments through certain sanctions.

“It’s important for the Senate to illustrate to the American people that we have not forgotten the importance of this issue,” said Jeff Sessions , R-Ala., of the 15 “common sense” enforcement bills. “Each one, I personally think, represents a step toward a lawful system of immigration.”

The bills include one by Jim DeMint , R-S.C., designed to expedite the completion of 700 miles of border fencing by 2010; proposals by John Barrasso , R-Wyo., to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses; one by Elizabeth Dole , R-N.C., to deport immigrants convicted of drunk-driving offenses; and bills like one by David Vitter , R-La., to withhold federal funding for local police in cities that have “sanctuary” policies.

“The Democratic leadership in the Senate and the House would just sort of like it to go away,” Sessions said. “They’d like to not have anything happen this year, and that’s really sort of part of what we were raising here. . . . Just because amnesty was rejected didn’t mean enforcement and legality was rejected.”

Many Democrats agree. In the House, Shuler’s bill — a package of get-tough enforcement measures intended to increase border patrol resources and force employers to verify their workers’ legal status — has attracted 47 Democratic cosponsors, many of them conservative “Blue Dogs.”

But Republicans may have their own immigration problems now that McCain is the presumptive presidential nominee.

Sessions indicated his office had been in touch with McCain’s before the unveiling of the GOP bills, and he expressed confidence McCain would support them. But not everyone is convinced.

McCain had been a prominent cosponsor of last year’s proposed comprehensive overhaul, combining enforcement with a path to legal residency and citizenship for illegal immigrants, but his campaign seemed to falter after that effort died last year. More recently, he has said securing the border must be the top priority, but he has also maintained that an effective immigration policy must “recognize the importance of a flexible labor market” that provides immigrants with opportunity.

Returning to a moderate immigration stance could be crucial to McCain’s chances in November. Hispanics consider immigration among their top voting issues, and surveys indicate they’ve been turned off by some enforcement-first policies perceived as immigrant-bashing. President Bush won about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, but in the 2006 midterm elections, Republicans pulled only about 30 percent of the Hispanic vote.

The Hispanic electorate has almost doubled since Bush was first elected, from 7.5 million in 2000 to an estimated 14 million this year. Analysts believe the Hispanic vote could be crucial in swing states like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, among others.
As a result, said one expert, Wednesday’s get-tough efforts by those GOP senators could be counterproductive.

“I think they’re basically handcuffing the Republicans’ presidential nominee,” said William Frey, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. “He’s either going to have to denounce these people, which he’s not likely to do, or it’s going to keep him from moving a little bit toward the center, where he’s had a strong, principled stand on comprehensive immigration reform.”

But other experts expressed confidence that McCain is relatively immune to that sort of pressure.

“He’s been willing to take the stands that he has in face of strong opposition from segments of the Republican Party,” said Judith Gans, program manager for the Udall Center for Public Policy at the University of Arizona. “It’s not clear that this puts any new pressure on him.”