Congress' shift brings change to illegal immigrant debate, experts say

Tennessee struggles with illegal influx

By JESSICA FENDER
Staff Writer

Undocumented immigrants living in the United States are more likely to find paths to citizenship under a Democratic Congress, political scientists predict.

An immigration policy supported by Democrats and President Bush was batted down last year by GOP hard-liners in the House. It would have set up a guest worker program that allowed immigrants who live in the country to participate and eventually apply for citizenship.

With the Democratic takeover in the wake of the Nov. 7 elections, immigrant advocates say Congress can overhaul the patchwork of immigration laws fraught with inconsistencies and pitfalls that uproot people with families and jobs in the United States.

Anti-illegal-immigration groups are afraid of just that, saying anything that allows illegal immigrants to remain in the country will encourage more border crossings and endanger American culture, said Theresa Harmon, co-founder of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policy.

"We just hope the House will continue to dig in their heels and say, 'No, we're not going to pass any kind of amnesty,' " said Harmon, who agreed that the alliance between Bush and the Democrats would be difficult for anti-illegal-immigration lawmakers to overcome.

Less traditional immigrant destinations like Tennessee have seen the most explosive growth in illegal populations in recent years, turning up pressure on local authorities, said Philip Williams, chairman of the political science department at the University of Florida.

Estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center put the illegal population in Tennessee between 100,000 and 150,000.

"The immigration system in the United States is broken," said Williams, who studies illegal immigration. "Given that there isn't a federal comprehensive policy, you have local governments that have to deal with these issues."

Inconsistencies in immigration laws — widely regarded as some of the most complex in the country — and how they are applied make them uncertain, costly and complicated to navigate. The prospect of risking deportation scares away many illegal immigrants from seeking legal citizenship, said Nashville immigration lawyer Sean Lewis.

"Immigration law is a labyrinth of exceptions and exceptions to the exceptions. It's like the IRS tax code," Lewis said. "Once you settle down and have roots, if you have to live in the shadows, there really ought to be a way out. And there isn't right now."

Immigration reform is a much-needed common ground between Bush and Democrats eager to prove they can put aside partisanship and accomplish something, said Bruce Merrill, political scientist at Arizona State University.

He said the strict anti-illegal-immigration rhetoric heard during the run-up to November's election was an attempt by Republicans to alarm voters by linking immigration issues to homeland security, and it didn't work.

He expects many Republicans will now veer away from that line of argument.

The Republican National Committee has begun courting Hispanic voters with the an nouncement that Cuban-born Sen. Mel Martinez is in line to be the party's next public face.

Local authorities like the Tennessee Department of Safety are wary of waiting for help addressing the problem.

In the absence of federal action and with a series of high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants, the state is asking for authority for Highway Patrol officers to enforce deportation laws.

Gustavo Reyes Garcia, an illegal immigrant suspected of killing a Mt. Juliet couple in a drunken driving accident in June, touched off outrage in Tennessee when it was revealed he had been previously jailed 14 times, including incarcerations for driving under the influence.

Top brass at the Department of Safety met last week to discuss a plan that would give troopers access to federal databanks and the ability to check the immigration status of people they come across, spokesman Mike Browning said.

The state could then deport a person here illegally with a felony on his record, Browning said.