Washington – On a visit to the nation’s border in El Paso, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave said she’s steadfast in her belief that immigration laws must be enforced before a guest-worker program should be considered.
But Musgrave, R-Colo., said she doesn’t know whether she’d vote down a bill that had tough border security provisions if it also contained a guest-worker plan for immigrants.
The U.S. House and Senate both have passed immigration bills, but they vary greatly and must be merged by a conference committee representing both houses.
“I’m going to make up my mind when I see what it is,” Musgrave said in a telephone interview when asked about what legislation she’d accept from the committee. “I’m not going to predict what comes out of there.”
The bill passed by the House would make unlawful presence in the country a felony.
Unlike the Senate bill, the House version did not include a guest-worker program or a path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants. Many House members have said they will not accept those provisions.
No date has been set for the conference committee to begin work. Some speculate it may not happen until after the November election, to insulate Republicans from voting for anything that could be viewed as amnesty.
Musgrave visited the border Friday with other lawmakers and met with law enforcement officials from Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
She said local law enforcement officers told her that “when amnesty is mentioned, the number of illegals coming across the border increases.”
“Everyone knows if you grant amnesty, you just trigger a flood of more illegals,” she said.
Staff writer Anne C. Mulkern can be reached at 202-662-8907 or amulkern@denverpost.com.
