Democrats Plan New Migrant Policy

Congressional Democrats said Friday they plan to produce a comprehensive immigration proposal that could help millions of undocumented immigrants gain legal status, even as Secretary of State Colin L. Powell discounted the idea of a sweeping amnesty program.

The maneuvering reflects efforts to steer debate on an issue that has leaped to the front of the legislative agenda after the administration signaled earlier this week that it is preparing to revamp U.S. immigration policy toward Mexico.

Powell, head of a White House task force on immigration, provided more detail Friday about the administration’s emerging position, saying officials are considering options that “will include ways for some of those who are in the country to remain in the country and try to regularize the flow of people back and forth” between the U.S. and Mexico.

But Powell doused speculation that the White House was weighing a plan to grant amnesty to many of the more than 3 million Mexicans now living illegally in the United States. The proposals being discussed with Mexico, Powell said, “do not at the moment include just simply a blanket amnesty for everybody who is in the country.”

Indeed, neither political party appears to favor an immediate and unconditional amnesty for illegal immigrants. White House officials say that was never on the table in talks with Mexico.

And House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) talked Friday of “earned adjustments” that would allow illegal immigrants to take steps toward permanent legal residency over time.

Gephardt also said that he was working with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to draft “a comprehensive immigration proposal” and that House Democrats would form an immigration task force co-chaired by Reps. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), ranking member of the House immigration subcommittee.

Gephardt said the Democrats’ proposals likely would expand on measures the party has pushed in recent years that could make millions of illegal immigrants from Mexico and a host of other countries eligible for legal status.

The outcome in Congress would affect not only the estimated 8 million illegal immigrants now living in the United States but also a growing list of industries reliant on their labors.

The White House has been focused on Mexican migration in particular, with President Bush scheduled to meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox next month in Washington.

Representatives for the two leaders have been exploring ways to improve conditions for undocumented Mexicans living in the United States and curbing the illegal flow across the U.S. border of immigrants who often turn to unscrupulous smugglers and cross treacherous terrain to get into the country.

The talks have centered on proposals to grant legal status to some undocumented Mexicans and expand temporary worker programs that allow Mexicans to enter the country legally for seasonal jobs.

The talks have given Democrats an opening to revisit many of the immigration measures they have sought in recent years. Gephardt is expected to tout the party’s plans in a Spanish radio address that will be broadcast today on Latino-oriented radio networks.

One likely proposal would expand immigration protections initially carved out for those fleeing Communist regimes in Nicaragua and Cuba to immigrants from other countries, including Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Another would make permanent a provision allowing illegal immigrants who are eligible to file for legal status to do so without first returning to their home countries. Applicants under the program, known as 245(i), typically are required to pay a $1,000 fine.

Democrats also have pushed to expand a long-standing amnesty program available only to immigrants who can show they have lived in the United States continuously since 1972. Last year, then-President Clinton backed an effort to move that cutoff to 1986, which would have granted amnesty to as many as 500,000 illegal immigrants.

These proposals are fiercely opposed by some Republicans, including Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-Texas), who argue that amnesty and legalization programs encourage and reward illegal immigration.