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Gutierrez, Chertoff call for urgent action on immigration |
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By Ian Swanson
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Posted: 06/01/07 05:22 PM [ET] |
The two cabinet secretaries designated by President Bush to guide an immigration bill through Congress expressed optimism Friday it will win congressional approval after more people become convinced that the only alternative is to do nothing.
“If we don’t get this through, we’re going to be left with a dysfunctional status quo that no one wants, and more and more people are realizing that,” Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told reporters at a press conference, also attended by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
The immigration debate is expected to consume the Senate next week when it returns to Washington. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to finish the debate by the end of next week.
Gutierrez also pointed to a growing realization among business, immigration and church groups that this might be the last opportunity for some time to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. For this reason, he said, there is more incentive to make sure this year’s bill will reach the president’s desk.
“It’s not going to be next year. Next year’s a presidential year, and it’s not the type of year where people are frankly dying to confront the immigration issue,” he said. He added that there is no guarantee the next president “will have the appetite” to take immigration on as a priority.
Chertoff said the only alternative to the compromise legislation was to do nothing. “I have not yet heard anyone come up with a better solution that has any realistic possibility of passing,” Chertoff said.
Without mentioning any names, both cabinet members criticized opponents of the legislation for not coming up with better solutions.
Chertoff also said he believed the compromise legislation was the right solution because groups on both sides of the immigration debate were criticizing it. For example, he said the bipartisan group of senators who worked with both secretaries on the bill had found the right balance in a point system for new immigrants to enter the country. That plan gives less weight to family connections and more weight to job skills.
“I think the fact that you have business groups and immigrant groups that are unhappy proves that it’s probably the right answer,” Chertoff said.
In the Senate, the bill is expected to attract numerous amendments, some of which could endanger the carefully crafted compromise. Gutierrez said members would have to view every amendment on the basis of whether it would win or lose more votes for the total package.
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