Debate on immigration heating up in Senate

WASHINGTON — Founded by immigrants and praised as a haven for the oppressed, the United States now is struggling to decide the fate of as many as 12 million people living in the country illegally.

The Senate takes up the emotional debate on the heels of weekend rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people protesting attempts to toughen laws against immigrants. Among the ideas that President Bush and members of Congress are considering:

• Erecting a fence on the Mexico border to deter illegal immigration.

• Treating people who sneak across the border as felons to be deported.

• Allowing foreigners to stay in the country legally as custodians,

dishwashers, construction workers and other low-paid employees.

• Allowing those working in the United States a path to citizenship.

• Requiring them to get in line behind everyone else back in their home countries who want to become Americans.

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the issue and Bush headlines a naturalization ceremony for 30 new citizens at Constitution Hall. Demonstrations are planned near the Capitol, including a prayer service with immigration advocates and clergy who plan to wear handcuffs to demonstrate the criminalization of immigration violations.

Bush is going to Mexico this week for a meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it's important that Mexico "recognize the importance of defense of the borders and of American laws."

Protests raged across the country over the weekend, led by more than 500,000 people who marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in one of the largest demonstrations for any cause in recent U.S. history. Marchers also took to the streets in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Dallas and Columbus, Ohio.

The president, working hand-in-hand with the business community that relies on cheap labor, is pressuring Congress to allow immigrants to stay in the country legally if they take a job that Americans are unwilling to do.

Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., also supports the idea and has vowed that his committee will advance a bill to the full Senate on Monday, even if they have to work "very, very late into the night."