Bush wants immigration battle resolved

By Staff
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CRAWFORD, Texas, May 19 (Reuters) US President George W Bush today acknowledged lawmakers' doubts about a US immigration proposal, but argued it will help resolve the status of 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

With the proposal taking fire from Republicans and Democrats, the Senate was expected to start debate on immigration on Monday.

Bush used his weekly radio address to open what is likely to be an intense effort to persuade Americans to support a comprehensive approach to long-simmering US immigration problems.

''It will help us resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants who are here already, without animosity and without amnesty,'' said Bush, who is spending the weekend at his Texas ranch.

The president, in need of a victory to brighten a second term dominated by the chaos in Iraq, wants to resolve the immigration battle before it gets swept up by the presidential campaign to replace him next year.

The immigration deal was reached on Thursday between senators from both political parties and backed by Bush.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has called it a first step, but has also raised concerns about it.

The legislation will have to navigate some perilous shoals if it is to become law. Even if it gets through the Senate, the outlook is also unclear in the House of Representatives.

Conservative Republicans fear it would lead to an amnesty for illegal immigrants whom they say are already weighing heavily on America's social fabric.

At the same time, many Democrats think the elements of the worker program are too tough on immigrants. Labor unions fear the deal will drive down wages.

STRONG WORDS IN NEGOTIATING ROOM ''I realize that many hold strong convictions on this issue, and reaching an agreement was not easy,'' Bush said.

The Washington Post reported today that Arizona Republican Senator John McCain got in a shouting match with Texas Republican Senenator John Cornyn in talks that led to the deal.

The Post, citing unnamed Republican and Democratic sources, said words were exchanged when Cornyn voiced concerns about the number of judicial appeals that illegal immigrants could receive, and that it got really heated when Cornyn accused McCain of being too busy running for president to take part in the immigration negotiations.

''Wait a second here,'' Cornyn said to McCain, according to The Post. ''I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day.

You're out of line.'' McCain was said to have used an expletive and shouted at Cornyn, ''I know more about this than anyone else in the room.'' McCain's presidential campaign spokesman Brian Jones denied his boss claimed to know more about the bill, but acknowledged to the Post that ''there was a spirited exchange'' in the talks.

Bush has come under pressure from Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who says he has relatives working in the United States, to convince Congress to ease US immigration laws.

In his radio address, the Republican president sought to reassure conservatives who stymied an immigration push last year by fighting for tougher border security measures.

He said the immigration proposal would require that strong border security and enforcement benchmarks -- such as doubling the number of Border Patrol agents on the US-Mexico border -- be met before a temporary worker program and other pieces of the legislation would be implemented.

Reuters KK VP0345

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