Protest victory — Senators clear way for illegal aliens

WASHINGTON — Maybe all those demonstrators made a difference.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved sweeping election-year legislation Monday that clears the way for 11 million illegal aliens to seek U.S. citizenship, a victory for protesters who had spilled into the streets by the hundreds of thousands demanding better treatment for immigrants.

With a bipartisan coalition in control, the committee also voted down proposed criminal penalties on immigrants found to be in the country illegally. It approved a new temporary program allowing entry for 1.5 million workers seeking jobs in the agriculture industry.

"All Americans wanted fairness, and they got it this evening," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who played a pivotal role in drafting the legislation.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he hoped President Bush would participate in efforts to fashion consensus legislation.

The 12-6 vote broke down along unusual lines, with a majority of the panel's Republicans opposed to the measure even though their party controls the Senate.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, voted against the bill because of its guest worker program, which he saw as a form of amnesty, according to spokesman Peter Carr.

"I'm against amnesty, and some approaches, no matter how they try to disguise it, are just that," Hatch said. "And we shouldn't give an edge to those who have broken the law when there are thousands of people in other countries who are playing by the rules and have been waiting in line to come into the United States."

Hatch acknowledged that "we're a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation that respects the rule of law."

Committee chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was one of four Republicans to support the bill, but he signaled strongly that some of the more controversial provisions could well be changed when the measure reaches the Senate floor. That is "very frequently" the case when efforts to reach a broad bipartisan compromise falter, he noted.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. urged Congress Monday to help Western states cope with the impact of undocumented workers, including the "enormous costs" resulting from the federal government's failure to control illegal border crossings.

Huntsman and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano both signed a letter addressed to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee that outlined a Western Governors' Association resolution on illegal immigration endorsed earlier this year.