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President Bush, in signing the $32 billion DHS's FY06 appropriation, said that unauthorized foreigners in the US must be caught and removed, but also called a guest worker program the keystone of immigration reform: "If an employer has a job that no American is willing to take, we need to find a way to fill that demand by matching willing employers with willing workers from foreign countries on a temporary and legal basis."

Bush pledged to work with Congress to create a guest worker program "that will provide for our economy's labor needs without harming American workers, and without granting amnesty, and that will relieve pressure on our borders."

Bush renewed his call for Congress to act on immigration reform on November 28-29, 2005, saying in Tucson: "Those who enter the country illegally violate the rule of law." Bush noted that the number of Border Patrol agents rose from 9,500 when he took office to a scheduled 12,500 in 2006, and supported efforts to end the "catch and release" procedure under which some unauthorized foreigners are released for lack of detention space and told to appear later in court. Many disappear. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in November 2005 announced a "Secure Border Initiative" that aims to stop and remove enough unauthorized foreigners attempting illegal entry at the Mexico-US border to deter others from trying.

In El Paso, Bush endorsed a guest worker program as a way to make the job of the Border Patrol easier: "When you match willing worker with willing employer on a job Americans won't do, with a tamper-proof card that says, 'I'm here legally for a temporary basis,' it means our Border Patrol agents won't have to chase people coming here illegally to work." He continued: "Amnesty would be a mistake. Granting amnesty to the people who have come to our country illegally would invite others to come to our country illegally."

House. Many House Republicans, including the chair of House Judiciary Committee, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), want new enforcement measures before allowing currently unauthorized foreigners to become guest workers or immigrants.

Sensenbrenner's Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437) was approved by the House December 16, 2005 on a 239 to 182 vote, and President Bush issued a statement commending the vote: "America is a nation built on the rule of law, and this bill will help us protect our borders and crack down on illegal entry into the United States."

The centerpiece of "enforcement only" H.R. 4437 is an expansion of the Basic Pilot program. All employers would submit Social Security and immigration numbers of newly hired workers within three days to government agencies by telephone or computer. If the newly hired worker's data does not match that in government records, employers would notify workers to correct the data within 30 days.

H.R. 4437 would provide $360 million to meet the administrative costs of having all employers verify new hires within two years, and would impose fines of up to $25,000 on violating employers. Employers would have six years to verify the SSNs of current employees.

H.R. 4437 makes "illegal presence" in the US a felony, which could make it hard for currently unauthorized workers to become legal guest workers and immigrants. H.R. 4437 also introduces penalties on those who support or shield illegal migrants, which critics said could mean that employees of social service agencies and churches could face up to five years in prison for helping unauthorized foreigners.

Several amendments were approved by wide margins, such as eliminating the visa lottery program (approved 273-148) and building 700 miles of additional fence along the Mexico-US border (approved 260-159).

During the House debate, the White House released a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) that said: "The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 4437 and ... looks forward to working with Congress to improve certain provisions in the bill and to implement the many necessary reforms that this legislation provides."

Republicans are divided between those who want to punish unauthorized foreigners by making it harder to live illegally in the US and employers who say they depend on unauthorized workers. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), an advocate of tougher border and interior enforcement, kept a guest worker program out of the House bill. Tancredo said: "Our borders must be secured and our laws must be enforced before any guest worker plan can go into effect." Tancredo, elected in 1998, formed an immigration reform caucus that now has 90 members.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff countered that more enforcement alone would not stop illegal migration. Chertoff said: "I think it's going to be extraordinarily difficult to ask our ...agents to stem the tide that is driven by a huge economic engine of employers looking for people to do work that won't be done by Americans." According to Chertoff, if "most" US demand for migrants were filled by legal guest workers, the unauthorized would "have no reason to stay, because they will no longer be able to have jobs."

Some of those who oppose H.R. 4437 call instead for enforcing existing immigration laws. During an October 18, 2005 Senate hearing, it was pointed out that 400,000 employees are reported to the government with social security numbers consisting entirely of zeros.

The Mexican government issued a statement decrying the House bill, saying that "a reform which only considers security measures will not contribute to a better, more integral bilateral management of migration issues." Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez, who asked Central American nations to join in opposition to additional fencing, said: "Mexico is not going to bear, it is not going to permit, and it will not allow a stupid thing like this wall."

Senate. The Senate Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing on October 18, 2005 and heard DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao testify that the gradual border buildup currently underway would eventually curtail illegal migration, but only if the US also developed a new and large-scale guest worker program. Chertoff called for a "three-legged stool" similar to pre-IRCA proposals of the early 1980s, with guest workers replacing legalization as a key element in the effort to reduce illegal migration. He called for: "tough enforcement at the border, tough interior enforcement and a temporary-worker program;" in 1986, the three-legged stool was border enforcement, workplace enforcement and legalization.

Chertoff said that illegal migrants in the US should pay a fine to get guest worker permits, and then be tracked to ensure that they left the US after six years.

Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and John McCain (R-AZ) announced in October 2005 that they would work together to craft a bill that puts enforcement first and guest workers later. McCain said that there is "90 percent agreement" between the two major bills pending in the Senate, known as Kyl-Cornyn and McCain-Kennedy, but the remaining difference "is huge."

Kyl-Cornyn would allow currently illegal workers to become guest workers, but require them to leave the US and re-enter legally as guest workers, and then depart after six years of US employment. McCain-Kennedy would allow currently unauthorized foreigners to become guest workers without leaving the US, and to become immigrants after six years.

Two Republican Senators with presidential ambitions in 2008 announced plans for enforcement-oriented immigration reforms. Bill Frist (R-TN) said that the Senate would deal with "border security" in February 2006, while Chuck Hagel (R-NE) offered a proposal in four separate bills, two of which deal with enforcement. Like McCain-Kennedy, Hagel's package would also allow some unauthorized foreigners to apply for permanent residency. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced a proposal in November 2005 that mirrors Cornyn-Kyl, requiring unauthorized foreigners in the US to leave and apply to return as guest workers for up to six years.

A December 2005 Washington Post-ABC News poll reported that 80 percent of Americans think the federal government should do more to reduce illegal immigration, and 56 percent agree that unauthorized migrants hurt the US more than they help it. However, when asked if unauthorized migrants employed in the US should be allowed to keep their jobs and eventually apply for legal status, 60 percent agreed. Only 33 percent of those polled approved the job President Bush is doing on immigration.

Employment Visas. The US grants 140,000 immigrant visas or green cards a year to foreign workers and their families whose US employers have shown that US workers are not available to fill the jobs for which the foreigners are being requested (some visas not used the previous year can be carried over to the next year).

During the 1990s, the number of foreigners admitted on six-year nonimmigrant H-1B visas tripled, and many sought immigrant visas before their H-1B visas expired. As a result, all the 140,000 immigrant visas were used up in FY05, and wait times for Chinese and Indians lengthened, since no country can receive more than seven percent of the 140,000 visas.

The Senate Immigration Subcommittee in October 2005 approved a 90,000 increase in the number of employment-based visas, bringing the total to 230,000 a year (these visas are for desired workers as well as their families). The subcommittee also proposed that the number of H-1B visas increase from the current 65,000 a year (plus 20,000 for foreign graduates with US MAs and PhD degrees; H-1B visas sought by universities and nonprofits do not count against the ceiling) to 95,000 (employers pay $1,185 for each H-1B visa, and most pay an additional $1,000 fee to have the application processed quickly). These proposals did not become law.

Some 130,000 "other than Mexicans" (OTMs) were apprehended on the Mexico-US border in FY05. They were fingerprinted and given dates to appear before immigration judges, who can order their removal from the US. However, only 15 percent appeared; the other 110,000 presumably joined the 11 million unauthorized foreigners in the US. Rep John Doolittle (D-CA) proposed that DHS end its catch-and-release policy for OTMs by building additional detention space- DHS currently has about 20,000 beds to detain foreigners.

Democrats have begun to question the qualifications of some of those nominated to head immigration-related agencies, including Julie L. Myers, named to head DHS's ICE agency. In January 2006, Myers received a recess appointment, entitling her to serve until January 2007.

About two million adult Americans receive cash welfare payments. States must ensure that at least half of those who are able-bodied do at least 20 hours of study or work a week to continue receiving payments, plus 10 hours of community service. A House bill aimed at reducing government expenditures would require states to have at least half of adult recipients working, impose a 24-hour work requirement and raise the community service requirement to 16 hours a week. In 1994, about 14 million adults and children received cash assistance payments; today the total is about five million.

Dan Balz, "Political Splits on Immigration Reflect Voters' Ambivalence," Washington Post, January 3, 2006. Rachel L. Swarns, "Capitol's Pariah on Immigration Is Now a Power," New York Times, December 24, 2005. Nicole Gaouette, "Chertoff Pushes Guest-Worker Program," Los Angeles Times, December 2, 2005. Chris Cillizza, "Borders Issue Being Booked for 2008," Washington Post, October 30, 2005. Jonathan Peterson, "Bush Polishes His Guest Worker Plan," Los Angeles Times, October 23, 2005.