President Renewing Efforts on Immigration

Demonstrations that brought immigrants into the streets by the hundreds of thousands last year have largely disappeared, in part because immigrants no longer fear a Republican Congress's plans, advocates for immigrants said.

But Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), a freshman who beat a hard-line immigration foe in November while backing the president's approach, says the nation still faces an "immigration crisis." In the Tucson sector of the border, in her district, law enforcement officers are apprehending more than 2,000 border crossers a day.

The problem for Democrats who need legislative action, such as Giffords, is that in districts where the issue has quieted down, lawmakers would like to let sleeping dogs lie. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who unseated a longtime Republican congresswoman in the fall, said the issue is dormant in Louisville, and he worries that the 700-page Strive Act is so complicated, lawmakers will never be able to explain it to their voters. Instead, he said, it will be demagogued by political opponents.

In Midwestern and Southern districts with high unemployment and job fears, especially those experiencing their first influx of foreign workers, opposition to immigrant labor remains high. Because Democrats control Congress, labor union leaders are pressing their own concerns harder, opposing expansive guest-worker programs and demanding union wage rates for legalized workers -- issues that could jeopardize crossover GOP support.

"It's going to be very, very difficult" to pass an immigration bill, Yarmuth said.

House Democratic leaders have tasked Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), who chairs the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, refugees and border security, with heading the chamber's effort. Lofgren insisted that support is broad for the principles of tightening border security, cracking down on employers of illegal immigrants and bringing those immigrants "out of the shadows" by offering them new avenues to live and work in the country legally. But she conceded that support in principle does not necessarily result in the passage of legislation.

"There's really a lot more consensus than people think," she said. "Now whether that consensus translates to votes on the floor, we'll have to see. It's still a politically charged subject."

Last fall in Indiana, Ellsworth faced Republican ads asking: "Will Brad Ellsworth vote for liberal Democrat Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the House? . . . Pelosi and other Democrats want to raise your taxes, cut and run in Iraq, and give amnesty to illegal immigrants."

In Asheville, N.C., conservatives opposed to Shuler put up billboards of a Mexican flag flying atop an upside-down U.S. flag. Lampson, in his race for the seat vacated by former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), contended with campaign signs reading: "Want more illegals? Vote Democrat."

Challenging Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), now in his third term, Republican Vernon Robinson charged, "If Miller had his way, America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals."

"Something like 90 percent of Republican ads ran on immigration. These new Dems don't want to see that again," Flake said.

House leaders have made clear that they want the Senate to go first on the issue. In the Senate, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), key Republicans, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have been making closed-door efforts to reach a consensus since November. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled the last two weeks of May for Senate action on immigration.

But there is no Senate bill. Kennedy and his partner on immigration last year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), had been expected to join Flake and Gutierrez last month in the unveiling of the Strive Act, but McCain dropped off. Opponents of such immigration plans say he is running from the issue as he tries to gain traction with conservatives in his bid for the White House. McCain aides and his Democratic allies on immigration say he is simply too busy to take the lead and has handed it off to a close ally, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.).

Add to all that tumult the growing animosity between Bush and congressional leaders over other issues, from Iraq to the firing of U.S. attorneys, and the prospects for the president's immigration proposals appear faint.

"I think he's going to have an uphill battle," Boyda said.