Frank Cordova, director of the Utah Coalition of La Raza, agreed Bush may have a hard time selling a guest worker proposal. He added that securing the border is fine, but "I don't believe in using the National Guard to do that. ... It just looks and sounds too much of a military action."

Meanwhile, activists against illegal immigration hoped Bush would get serious about enforcing immigration laws and that the president would back away from leniency for those who crossed the border illegally.

Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said National Guard troops on the border would be a good first step.

"It's not nearly enough, and I think the American people will see through that," he said. Interior enforcement "is not happening, and pretty much everyone knows that."

Sizer suspected House members were digging in against any Senate "amnesty" proposal, and he hoped Bush would "have some positive influence with the Senate to move them more to the House" point of view.

However, Alex Segura, director of the Utah Minuteman Project, doubted Bush's sincerity on border security, saying Bush has fallen short on promises to bolster the ranks of the Border Patrol.

"The National Guard is just an attempt to push his poll numbers back up," Segura said. "If we're lucky, we'll see 200 National Guard individuals out there, and they'll probably have to bring their own cars and buy their own gas."

Michael Clara, spokesman for the Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force, said Bush's plan for bolstered border security is "right in line with what we're calling for: A balanced approach and a compromise bill."

The Senate could vote on the bill before the end of the month. Cannon, who said he likely will sit on the committee of House and Senate members that will work on the final details of the bill, feels the final product could closely mirror what the president outlined Monday.

But the deployment of National Guardsmen likely will begin sometime in early June, according to the White House.

Mike Mower, spokesman for Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said, "Governor Huntsman supports President Bush's call for National Guard troops to help make certain our borders are safe and secure."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said Bush's priorities are in the right place to secure the borders and he supports the use of the National Guard.

"Any measure of immigration reform is pointless if we don't do that first," Bishop said. "The Guard has always been key to America's defense, and their efforts on our borders will continue that critical tradition of protecting our country."

But Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, had concerns over the National Guard plan.