Washington – In a move that could bury President Bush’s high-profile effort to overhaul immigration law until after the midterm elections, House GOP leaders announced Tuesday a series of field hearings during the August recess, pushing off final negotiations on a bill until fall at the earliest.
The announcement was the clearest sign yet that House Republicans have largely given up on passing a broad rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws this year.
They believe that their get- tough approach – including building a wall along the border with Mexico and deporting millions of illegal immigrants – is far more popular with voters than the approach backed by Bush and the Senate, which would create a guest-worker program and allow many illegal immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship.
House GOP leaders said Tuesday that several committee chairmen will hold field hearings in congressional districts in the Southwest, the South and other areas where the illegal immigration issue is especially potent.
Those hearings will take place before the start of the formal negotiating process between the House and Senate, which could take months to complete given the complexity of the issue and the competing business, labor and social concerns.
House leaders had not yet determined when or where the hearings would be held.
The field hearings, which will be conducted through Labor Day, will be held at the discretion of the chairmen of the Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, the Government Reform Committee and any other House committee that can demonstrate tangential jurisdiction over immigration, GOP leaders said.
News of the hearings brought praise from Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and condemnation from Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. But both agreed that the delay has most likely killed chances of congressional action on immigration for this year.
“It unveils the true agenda of some Republicans in the House, including the leaders,” Salazar said of the hearings plan. “They want to energize the Republican base for the November elections.”
Tancredo, a leading hard- liner on the immigration issue, called the hearings “a savvy political move by my party’s leadership.” He agreed with Salazar that the move has implications for Republicans in November.
“It shows they understand how serious border security is to most Americans,” he said. “This is an issue that we can run on and win in November.”
How long the hearings will take is unclear.
“I’m not putting any timeline on this thing, but I think we need this thing done right,” said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., after a House leadership strategy session.
Senate negotiators played down the hearings, noting that informal talks had already started between the House and the Senate.
“There’s a general recognition that we need a bill,” said Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a key backer of the Senate legislation. “We’re going to get together. We’re going to sit down and try to work it all out.”
Asked whether a deal could be struck with the Senate this fall, in the throes of a difficult re-election season, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., allowed: “I think that’s possible. I don’t know how likely it is.”
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino sought to put the House announcement in a positive light, saying the field hearings could “possibly provide an opportunity to air out issues” that she conceded are “complex.”
But, she added: “The president is undeterred in his efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”
Denver Post staff writer Anne C. Mulkern contributed to this report.
