Via Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President George W. Bush is adopting a tougher line in the contentious debate on overhauling US immigration laws, putting an emphasis on border control and strict enforcement measures favored by his conservative base.

The new approach was evident as the US leader made an appearance Wednesday at a coffee shop in Alexandria, Virginia, touting enforcement measures meant to catch illegal immigrants when they try to apply for work.

“Part of a comprehensive immigration plan is to give employers the tools necessary to determine whether or not the workers they’re looking for are here legally in America,” the US president said, flanked by immigrant workers from Iran, Guatemala and El Salvador.

“Part of a comprehensive immigration plan is to make sure … that we uphold our laws and say to employers, ‘It’s against the law for you to hire somebody here illegally. We intend to find you when we catch you doing it,'” the president said.

But Bush also stressed the importance of making it easier for employers to legally hire foreign-born workers “for jobs Americans aren’t doing.”

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Via BBC News

Republicans are set to open a series of public hearings around the US on the controversial issue of immigration.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are seeking approval for the House’s tough immigration bill in a hearing in San Diego.

But Republican senators have set up their own session in Philadelphia to back a more liberal Senate proposal.

The issue has divided the party, with President George Bush’s vision initially closer to that of the Senate.

However, reports suggest the president is now moving closer to the conservative line.

The decision by Republican House leaders to call public hearings on the issue was seen by many as a serious setback for the president, who has been trying to see a bill passed ahead of mid-term elections in November.

The House and Senate have passed their own contrasting immigration bills, but work to reconcile the two bills is now delayed until the hearings are over.

Both bills seek to tighten border security, but while the Senate bill includes a guest-worker programme and offers illegal immigrants a “path to citizenship”, the House’s “enforcement-only” bill seeks to deport illegal immigrants and make it a felony to remain in the US illegally.

Democrats have dismissed the hearings as political theatre.

Terrorism

Wednesday’s first hearing will take place at a San Diego Border Patrol station.

Reports suggest Republicans will use the hearing to highlight the dangers of terrorists getting across the border and to assess improvements in border security since 11 September 2001.

HOUSE BILL VS SENATE BILL HOUSE BILL (passed December) Focuses on border security Backs construction of fence along border with Mexico Makes it a felony to live in the US illegally instead of a civil offence Seeks to deport illegal immigrants SENATE BILL (passed May) Also toughens border security Allows some illegal immigrants to seek US citizenship Proposes guest-worker programme

“My mission is to investigate our border security shortcomings post-9/11,” said Ed Royce, a California Republican and chairman of the House’s International Relations subcommittee on International Terrorism and Non-proliferation which is behind the hearings.

“The problem is that border security has become national security.”

Another hearing will take place in Laredo, Texas on Friday, and reports suggest Arizona will also host one of the hearings.

Meanwhile, senators have organised their own hearing in Philadelphia on Wednesday to defend the broad scope of the Senate immigration bill.

The hearing will “develop a broader, factual, evidentiary record on the need for the comprehensive bill, which is challenged by quite a number of House members”, said the host of the meeting, Sen Arlen Specter – himself a Pennsylvania Republican.

Bush is said to be shifting his stance on immigration

But the New York Times newspaper reports that President Bush, whose stance on immigration initially appeared to correspond more closely with the Senate bill, is moving closer to a compromise with conservatives on immigration.

It quotes Candi Wolff, White House director of legislative affairs, as saying Mr Bush is considering “triggers” on the immigration bill.

This refers to the idea that the guest-worker and “path to citizenship” schemes which Mr Bush has publicly backed could be introduced only once border-security targets have been met.

This “enforcement-first” approach would bring Mr Bush much closer to the “enforcement-only” measures demanded by his Republican colleagues in the House.

Via CNN.com

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) — The economy of the country’s largest city and the entire nation would collapse if illegal immigrants were deported en masse, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a Senate committee hearing Wednesday.

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Via Yahoo News

SAN DIEGO – Two U.S. Border Patrol agents under investigation for smuggling migrants and drugs into the United States have disappeared, a federal law enforcement official said Friday.

Authorities fear the agents, who are brothers, were tipped off to the probe and fled, perhaps to Mexico, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department’s Office of the Inspector General.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site late Friday that Border Patrol spokesman Damon Foreman identified the agents as Raul and Fidel Villarreal. Foreman said they were under investigation for suspected smuggling activity and resigned.

Border Patrol spokesman Richard Kite said he could not discuss criminal probes when he was asked if the Villarreals were under investigation. Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge of ICE investigations in San Diego, confirmed the investigation and said no arrests have been made.

The agents were suspected of working for Mexican-based organizations to smuggle Mexicans and Brazilians into the United States, the source said. They allegedly picked up migrants who crossed the border on their own while they were on patrol and took them to a driver.

The brothers didn’t show up for work Monday and later told supervisors they were quitting because of a family illness, the source said.

The Times said the Villarreals did not respond to a request for comment. A woman who identified herself as their mother at their home in National City said she did not know when they would return.

The investigation comes less than a month after two customs officers at San Diego border crossings were charged with waiving cars loaded with illegal immigrants in exchange for cash.