Ensign straddles risky line on immigration

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

WASHINGTON - In a recent interview with a conservative blogger, Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign walked what has become an ever so fine line on immigration.

As a conservative, Ensign wants a bill in the works toughened up with amendments to punish those who broke rules to enter this country illegally and to ensure they cannot collect certain benefits if they are allowed to stay.

As a member of Republican leadership, he appears interested in backing his party's efforts to reach a compromise on the bill.

As chairman of the Republicans' Senate campaign committee, he is responsible for helping elect members of the GOP in 2008. He knows the bill as currently written will stir intense opposition from the party's right wing, which could cost some incumbents their seats next year.

It's a more complicated role than Ensign played during the immigration debate last year before he became the Republican point man on Senate elections.

As the debate unfolds anew this week, Ensign is among a handful of Republican senators who likely have the ability to make or break the bill. Those lawmakers have signaled their interest in supporting the biggest overhaul to the nation's immigration laws in 20 years - if they can tweak it to meet their needs.

Gathering support from these Republicans is crucial because the current fragile coalition of Democratic and Republican supporters is not likely to have enough votes to push debate forward.

The bill would radically make over the nation's immigration system by allowing 12 million illegal immigrants the chance to become legal if they undergo a cumbersome application process and pay hefty fines. Critics deride the procedures as amnesty for rule breakers.

The bill would funnel $4.4 billion in new money for border security, and create a new employer verification system to prevent companies from hiring illegal laborers. A guest-worker system would be established, allowing foreigners to work in the United States for a limited time.

Nevada employers are watching the proceedings carefully. The state's restaurants alone project they will need 50,000 new workers over the next 10 years to meet growth.

"It's a supply-and-demand issue," said Paul Hartgen, president of the Nevada Restaurant Association, which was lobbying Ensign on Monday. "What do we do? Do we stop building the CityCenter?" Hartgen said. "If they can't do it, who should be our leaders in D.C.?"

Hartgen's association helped launch Nevada Employers for Immigration Reform, a 32-member group that met for the first time last week and includes companies in construction, gaming and other industries that rely on immigrant labor.

Last year when the Senate debated similar immigration reform, Ensign sought to strike an amnesty provision from the bill. He failed, and so did the bill.

This year, Ensign is willing to consider legalizing undocumented residents because he realizes - as do many other Republican senators trying to forge a deal - that it is the only way Democrats will deal on other issues.

"He understands the system is broken, and we need an immigration bill," Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said Monday. Yet the senator does not support the bill in its current form, Mazzola said. Ensign wants to toughen up the bill with a number of changes, including an amendment to deny immigrants any Social Security benefits they have accrued using fraudulent work documents. He wants an exit visa to make sure temporary workers go home.

More than 20 amendments are expected to be offered over the next several days if senators vote today to launch the process.

For example, Democrats seek to ensure the proposed new merit-based immigration system does not overtake the historical method of allowing immigration to reunite families. Republicans are looking for ways to limit the ability of those who are illegal to become fully naturalized.

On the conservative blog rightwingnews.com this month, interviewer John Hawkins said, "Don't you think it's fair to say that if this bill passes, isn't it pretty safe to say that some Republican senators will lose their job as a result?"

Ensign answered carefully: "I'm against the bill as it currently stands. But, if we can make some changes to the bill, I do believe it will be a much better bill than current law is ... and it will help actually clean up some things."