Republican senators press Bush over security at borders

Republican senators on Tuesday told President Bush that his administration’s lack of credibility in the fight against illegal immigration was a major hindrance to passing overhaul legislation, and they urged him to ask for emergency funds to ramp up enforcement.

The criticism came as Bush made his first appearance in nearly six years at the Republican senators’ weekly strategy luncheon in the Capitol. Senators said the president was receptive to the idea of a supplemental budget request -- the same mechanism used to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“No one trusts the federal government to do the job right because we have never done it before,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, repeating concerns made in what lawmakers described as an intense but respectful discussion in an unadorned wood-paneled conference room.

Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, a leading proponent of the comprehensive immigration bill, said a supplemental budget request could build support for the stalled proposal by convincing skeptical GOP voters that new legislation was a good idea.

“Some people said, ‘I’m undecided. Help me with my decision,’ ” Martinez said. “A renewed energy was created today by his visit.”

After the session, the president made a brief statement. “Some members in there believe that we need to move a comprehensive bill, some don’t. I understand that,” Bush said in a hallway outside the Senate chamber. “This is a highly emotional issue, but those of us standing here believe now is the time to move a comprehensive bill.”

The discussion, the senators said, focused on the idea of a new budget request, not the details -- so it was unclear how much money the president might call for to secure the border or prevent illegal hires at workplaces.

While talk in the Capitol’s corridors swirled around the possibility of an emergency budget request, negotiations continued behind closed doors on the logjam that shelved the bill last week: how many amendments Republican senators would be permitted to introduce and debate.

Martinez and other senators involved in the talks said they were “very close” to reaching an agreement on amendments that would permit the bill to return to the Senate floor in about two weeks.

Senators who met with the president said he spent about half the time talking and half listening. Bush took pains to detail what the administration has done to improve border security and workplace enforcement, including more frequent raids on employers suspected of hiring illegal immigrants.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, one of the bill’s opponents, said that the president was “very persuasive” but that his own position on the bill would depend on “what happens from here on in in the Senate.”

“Nothing was said to change my fundamental concerns about the bill,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who described the president as “very gracious, an advocate for what he believes in.”

Among the lawmakers who pressed Bush to prove he is serious about enforcement were two Georgia Republicans who helped write the bill, Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Both have come under intense criticism from constituents and have since distanced themselves from the legislation, siding last week against bringing the bill up for a final vote.

“The message from a majority of Georgians is that they have no trust that the United States government will enforce the laws contained in this new legislation and secure the border first,” the two senators wrote to Bush in a letter Tuesday.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona made a proposal similar to an emergency spending request during the 2006 immigration debate. They introduced an amendment to an unrelated bill that would have provided $3.9 billion for border security.

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said quite a few Republicans were interested in the concept. “A number of my members do think that would be a good idea,” he said.

Although senators said the president appeared receptive, White House spokesman Tony Snow was noncommittal.

“We’re not going to comment on particular pieces of the conversation,” Snow said. “It is safe to say, however, that members believe it’s absolutely vital to demonstrate that the border-security provisions in the measure will in fact make the borders more secure. The president agrees.”

Bush’s visit capped what has been a flurry of activity by Republican backers of the bill since it stalled in the Senate on Thursday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and supporters in the Senate have launched an effort to rescue it.

On Tuesday, Chertoff wrote to senators who opposed the bill, arguing that his agency has vastly improved border security but could not continue to do a good job without changes to the law.

“The bipartisan immigration reform bill would give DHS several necessary new enforcement measures,” Chertoff wrote.

He cited, among other things, the revenue from fines illegal immigrants would have to pay to gain citizenship and the mandatory employment verification system.

The public relations blitz has not obscured the finger-pointing, as the bill’s backers in both parties blame each other for its failure.

McConnell has chided Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for pushing the Senate to vote prematurely last week. For his part, Reid said Tuesday that he would return to immigration when Republicans “have their own act together” and can deliver “25 or so votes” for the bill.

Almost all aspects of the bill are a source of friction, including the key compromise, which would give Republicans reduced emphasis on family criteria in future immigration and would give Democrats a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, estimated to number 12 million or more.

Both of those measures have prompted heavy criticism. Democratic senators and immigrant advocates assailed the shift away from family criteria to a point system that would reward education and skills.

And Republicans and much of their base have been withering in their condemnation of the Z visa program, which would give legal status to many immigrants currently working illegally.

Gutierrez and Chertoff, who took part in drafting the bill, argued Tuesday that passage was a national security and economic necessity.

“This is our best chance in decades to fix a very broken system, and if we don’t do it now,” Gutierrez said, “no one knows when we’ll get to fix this again because next year is a presidential election.”

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nicole.gaouette@latimes.com

maura.reynolds@latimes.com