Migrant bill splits senators-- a little

Burr is skeptical; Dole would kill it

WASHINGTON -- When the U.S. Senate convenes this morning for a critical immigration vote, North Carolina's Republican senators will have different objectives.

Sen. Richard Burr will want to know whether sufficient safeguards have been added to the sweeping legislation to earn his support. The answer, he said Wednesday, is probably no.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole just wants to kill the thing.

For Dole and Burr, both strong supporters of President Bush, the immigration deal may be the most significant issue in recent memory on which they differ ideologically, if only by increments. Both oppose illegal immigration and want tougher border security. But while Dole has been outspoken in trying to slay a measure she labels "amnesty," Burr has been willing to have a debate.

"It's to North Carolina's benefit to figure out what we have to do as a country," Burr said in an interview Wednesday. "I think immigration is a huge, huge problem. ... We have the worst of all worlds right now."

Burr and Dole both work from the perspective of a state with one of the nation's fastest-growing populations of illegal immigrants. North Carolina is the largest user of legal agriculture guest workers and is among the highest users of undocumented farm workers. Illegal immigrants build houses in urban areas, process hogs and chickens in rural areas and make beds and wash dishes for the state's tourist economy. The high-tech region of Research Triangle Park and the universities are major employers of foreign-born employees and students.

The bill is long and involved, but it would offer temporary legitimacy to millions of illegal immigrants, shore up border security, impose new restrictions on the hiring of undocumented workers and boost an agricultural guest worker program.

"I don't disagree with [Dole] that this was doomed from the start," Burr said. "I was willing to work with it to see if we can get a good bill. I think it's highly unlikely now."

When the White House-backed immigration reform deal was first announced in May, Dole tried for a few days to influence the bill. Then, angry that Democratic leaders weren't allowing many amendments, she and a small group of GOP activists set about trying to kill the measure.

Burr, meanwhile, has been mostly quiet about immigration. His votes in the past month hinted that he was willing to have a discussion, but he said this week he has concerns that must be addressed.

First, he wants an independent commission to certify the nation's borders are secure before provisional visas are given to undocumented immigrants.

Next, he wants the heads of households of illegal immigrant families to "touch back" to their home countries before getting those provisional visas.

Third, he wants all undocumented immigrants screened for dangerous health problems such as tuberculosis.

Finally, he wants tamper-proof identification cards assigned to all noncitizen workers in the country.

Unless those issues are addressed, he said, he'll vote "no" this morning.

"A bad bill potentially makes the problem worse," Burr said.

He thinks some of his issues might be included in an amendment by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and one of the authors of the deal.

But Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, leading the crew of GOP activists trying to kill the bill, said late Wednesday he thinks Burr is one of two senators moving closer to DeMint's position.

On the Senate floor, amendments and parliamentary moves were shifting too quickly for many staffers and senators to keep up.

Senate leaders used an arcane procedure to package more than two dozen Democratic and Republican amendments, then split them one by one. They then put aside the amendments, which quelled debate, setting up a showdown that some expected to go late into Wednesday night.

"It's just bizarre," Dole said.

The handful of GOP activists, led by DeMint, pulled two-hour shifts on the Senate floor, sitting quietly or murmuring in the corners, ready to raise objections to anything Democratic leaders tried to slip by.

Dole pulled her first shift Tuesday evening; she returned from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday and was expecting to be back toward sundown.

"Everybody's huddling, trying to figure out what we're going to do next," Dole said.

Dole, who faces re-election in 2008, wants the Senate to start over and focus solely on border security. Thousands of constituents agree with her, she said.

Burr has been getting calls too, forcing staffers to repeat over and over into their phones Wednesday, "Senator Burr will not support this bill unless there are drastic changes."

The N.C. Republican Party pointedly left his name off a news release this week praising other members of Congress on the immigration debate.

He also has been criticized by many conservatives for his stance.

"It's been pretty vicious," Burr said, then added: "Listen, everybody has a right to pursue things however they see fit. I still think comprehensive immigration reform is something we have to do. It has to be right."

(McClatchy Newspapers' James Rosen contributed to this report.)