ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 23, 2006

At border, speaker of House calls for improved security

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EL PASO -- U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert finished a two-day visit to the U.S. border Saturday with a tour of a port of entry in El Paso and repeated calls for security reforms to protect the border.

Hastert, R-Ill., said he made the trip to determine what resources are needed to secure the border and stop illegal immigration. On Friday, he and several other members of Congress made three stops in Arizona, a hot spot for illegal immigration, and saw National Guard troops building fences near the border as part of President Bush's Operation Jump Start.

Speaking for the group, which included Reps. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., and Bobby Rush, D-Ill., Hastert said Saturday that securing the border must be the focus of any immigration legislation.

The ongoing and contentious national debate about the future of U.S. immigration policy has prompted mass protests nationwide.

The House and Senate have passed immigration bills, but a compromise bill for the president's approval has not been worked out.

Hastert said he would support only legislation that focused first on security and would not give illegal immigrants amnesty.

"We have to protect America," Hastert said. "We don't think the Senate bill ... is the right thing to do."

The House bill, HR 4437, which passed in December, is focused on enforcement and does not address a guest worker program or a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

The Senate bill, passed this year, does include a guest worker program and other changes, some of which opponents have billed as amnesty.

Hastert's border visit was criticized by U.S. Reps. Silvestre Reyes and Charlie Gonzalez, Texas Democrats who were part of the delegation.

In statements, they said the tour was more about politics than substantive reform.

"If the Republican leadership is so concerned about border security, I really wonder why they didn't make this trip before the House considered HR 4437, and why they aren't appointing conferees to craft a final bill with the Senate," Reyes said in his statement.