In Shift, GOP Proposes Easing Immigration Rules

In a significant shift for their party, key congressional Republicans proposed Wednesday to make it easier for hundreds of thousands of people who entered the United States illegally before 1982 to gain permanent U.S. residence.

Republicans also proposed issuing as many as 600,000 special new visas over three years to foreign-born spouses and children of legal immigrants in an initiative to help families stay together in the United States.

“Our bill has as its foundation a simple goal: to take a much-needed step toward bringing fairness to our nation’s immigration policy by reuniting families and helping those who have played by the rules,” said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Seeking to demonstrate the GOP commitment to compromise, Hatch was flanked at a news conference by two Texas Republicans who are fervent backers of strict immigration policies--Rep. Lamar S. Smith and Sen. Phil Gramm.

The Republicans said that their proposal would give about 400,000 people who applied for amnesty under a 1986 law “due process” to pursue their cases with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Many of those cases have been the subject for years of complex litigation. Now, in what amounts to a major turnabout, Republicans are saying that such immigrants “played by the rules but were wrongly denied” legal status.

But the GOP proposal, while drawing qualified praise from President Clinton, left out at least two Democratic-sponsored immigration measures. That raised the question of how long and how hard the White House is willing to bargain on immigration before Congress adjourns in coming days. Clinton, in a prepared statement, said that Republicans had not gone far enough to avoid a veto.

Late Wednesday, Republicans were moving toward a showdown. A spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said the House planned to vote on the legislation today.

Immigration has become a sticking point in the year-end budget negotiations as Democrats and Republicans spar over which party is the guardian of fair immigration policy. Latino activists are watching closely because most of the immigrants affected are from Latin America. Some are in the United States illegally, others are here on temporary permits that are about to expire.

One hotly contested proposal, so far rejected outright by Republican leaders, would help Haitians and certain Central Americans who fled their countries during a turbulent period in the 1980s and early 1990s gain full immigration rights. Tens of thousands of Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans, including many in Southern California, would be affected.

Another proposal Republicans have spurned would allow certain foreign nationals who are in line for permanent residence to pay a fee and stay in the United States while their applications are processed. Under current law, they are forced to leave the country and apply from their homelands.

Advocates say that the restoration of what is called Section 245(i) of the immigration law would keep many families united.

Rep. Smith, though, said that such reform would send “the wrong message” and be “a clear and open invitation” to increase illegal immigration.

Both parties are striving to be perceived as fair and to portray the other side as intolerant.

Republicans call their package the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act; the Democratic initiative is the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), a leader among Latino lawmakers, said Wednesday that Democrats are standing “unwaveringly” behind their proposals. She declared that the Republican package is too narrow.

But Clinton, in remarks to reporters, suggested that the situation is fluid.

“I hope we can reach agreement on” immigration, Clinton said. “We’ve made some real progress and the Republicans have come some way toward our position on this. I don’t think it’s enough, and I hope we can do more.”