Tenn. lawmakers leery of national immigration bill
By Tony Batt/Herald Washington Bureau
Columbia Daily Herald
May 20, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to proceed with a debate on an immigration deal, and at least one Tennessee senator says he’ll vote no.

Although President Bush has embraced the comprehensive immigration agreement announced Thursday by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and several key Republican senators, the reaction of Tennessee lawmakers has been far more restrained.

For example, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced Friday he will vote against the motion to proceed.

Corker issued a news release saying he has “serious concerns” after reading several summaries of the agreement.

“I hope in the near future the Senate will return to immigration reform in a framework where senators will be given the time necessary for serious debate on an issue of this magnitude,” Corker said.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is still examining the immigration deal “to make sure it secures the border before it does anything else,” Alexander spokesman Scot Montrey said Friday.

“The senator will be offering several amendments to the new bill to help immigrants who are allowed to be here to learn English and to learn about American history, customs and our way of life,” Montrey said.

Securing control of the nation’s borders appears to be the most important requirement to gain support from Tennessee’s senators and Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.

Davis issued a statement Friday saying border control is “first and foremost” among his five requirements in backing an immigration reform bill.

As for the four other requirements, Davis said, “Anyone who is here legally as a non-citizen must have (an identification) card verifying their legality; employers who hire illegals need to be severely punished; citizenship will be denied for anyone here illegally, and lastly, any legislation that comes to the (House) floor must be a permanent fix that will not have to be addressed each decade. For instance, no Band-Aid or short-term fix.”

Now in his fifth year in the House, Davis has frequently said immigration reform is the dominant issue among his constituents.

“They can’t see our government doing anything to address this issue, and they have a fear that (illegal immigrants) will take their jobs,” Davis said in an interview last year.

Davis has described immigration reform “as volatile as any issue today in America,” and complained about lax enforcement by the Immigration Naturalization Service in his district.

In December 2005, Davis voted for an immigration bill in the House that would have beefed up border security and made felons of most illegal immigrants.

But last May, the Senate passed a much more lenient immigration measure that would have allowed a guest worker program.

Then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., voted for the bill, describing it as “comprehensive” immigration reform.

But Alexander voted against it, saying the bill did not do enough to secure the nation’s borders.

Neither the House bill nor the Senate bill became law because lawmakers could not resolve differences between the two measures.