Democratic victory might give boost to Bush immigration plan

WASHINGTON -- If President Bush can find a silver lining in the Democratic takeover in Congress, it could be this: The outlook for enacting his sweeping immigration plan, which House Republicans blocked for two years, suddenly looks brighter.

A 700-mile border fence pushed through the Republican Congress could also come under renewed scrutiny. Although Bush signed the fence legislation into law, Democratic leaders opposed the measure and may hold up funds for the project, which is expected to cost at least $2.2 billion.

"I can't think of another issue that could bring together the Democratic Congress and the president like immigration," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which supports the president's initiatives. "This election has really changed the immigration debate forever."

Pro-immigration groups such as Sharry's predict that the next session of Congress will be far more receptive to the most volatile elements of Bush's immigration plan: a temporary guest-worker program and conditional legalization for millions of undocumented immigrants now in the country.

Since Bush first unveiled his intentions in 2004, those proposals have met resistance in the GOP-led House of Representatives, which refused to consider a Senate-passed bill that largely embraced Bush's initiatives.

Now Democrats will take over the House and Senate in early January under leaders who have expressed support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul.

Presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, has called for legislation offering illegal immigrants a "pathway to earned legalization and citizenship" if they fulfill "tough requirements," such as paying fines and back taxes, staying employed, and learning English.

In a postelection press conference on Wednesday, Bush again listed immigration as a top priority, describing it as "an issue where I believe we can find some common ground with the Democrats."

"I do think we have a good chance," he said.

Nevertheless, while the election may have lowered some of the hurdles for the White House, Bush still could face formidable opposition among Republicans, as well as among moderate and conservative Democrats who espoused a get-tough stand on illegal immigration.

Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, one of Bush's most outspoken critics on immigration, said he initially was "very concerned" with the outcome of Tuesday's midterm elections.

But after a further race-by-race review, Tancredo said he now believes that the next session of Congress will have a strong bipartisan coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats opposed to any form of legalization for undocumented residents.

"I've become a little more hopeful," he said Friday. "Maybe I'm whistling past the graveyard, but I have this feeling it's not going to happen as quickly and easily as they [pro-immigration advocates] all were hoping."

In many of the races, Democrat and Republican candidates seemingly tried to outdo each other in sounding tough on immigration, calling for aggressive border security and steep fines on employers of illegal immigrants and denouncing legalization provisions as "amnesty."

Representative Nick Lampson, a conservative Democrat who will replace former House majority leader Tom DeLay in a suburban Houston district, has said he doesn't favor "a guest-worker program for people who broke our law to come here."

The overall shift on immigration may be difficult to gauge until after Congress convenes since the election claimed casualties on both sides of the issue. Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio, one of the leading Republican supporters of the bipartisan Senate bill, lost his bid for reelection, as did Representative J. D. Hayworth, Republican of Arizona, a staunch opponent of Bush's plans.

"Now that the shock of the election is over, everybody is trying to figure out what this actually means in terms of what we're going to accomplish next year," said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, who advocated a guest-worker program that required illegal immigrants to return to their home countries before becoming eligible to participate.

"On the immigration front," he said, "I don't think it portends any kind of revolutionary or dramatically different approach. We still have 49 Republicans in the Senate that will have the ability to shape any kind of legislation."