Commerce secretary attacks use of ‘amnesty’ in immigration debate

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Wednesday weighed in forcefully on a semantic debate that is proving key in the contest over immigration reform, repeatedly denying that President Bush's "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants represents amnesty.

Gutierrez, who spoke with CongressDaily reporters in his office at the Commerce Department, was clearly frustrated with opponents of Bush's immigration proposals who he said were trying to boil complicated policy down to a catchphrase that stirs opposition among many voters.

"It's one word: amnesty," Gutierrez said. "The president's plan is not amnesty, but people call it amnesty and that seems to stick. But it is not amnesty."

In addition to establishing a guestworker program that would bring in new foreign workers on a temporary basis, Bush wants to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens after clearing certain hurdles, including some type of penalty for breaking the law.

"The president has talked about [how] you need to pay back taxes, you need to pay a fine, you need to learn English, you need to do a background check," Gutierrez said. "It's a hard-earned path to legalization. It's not amnesty -- amnesty is an unconditional pardon."

But a leader of House conservatives Wednesday said anything short of sending illegal immigrants home, at least for a short time, is amnesty.

"If you can get right with the law by paying a fine or paying back taxes, that's amnesty," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

"I really believe that most House Republicans, and frankly most Americans, view allowing an individual whose first act in this country was a violation of the law -- to get right with the law without going home -- is amnesty," said Pence, who spoke following an Oval Office meeting with President Bush on immigration.

"If you return home and apply for the legal right to be in the United States of America, that doesn't involve amnesty because you're applying for that visa outside the United States of America," Pence said.

In the interview, Gutierrez said "mass deportation" of illegal immigrants was not practical, asserting that the need for foreign labor was an "economic reality" and that he gets calls from business officials "all the time" about labor shortages.

Gutierrez mostly sidestepped questions about legislation passed by the Senate, which approved a measure that includes principles backed by Bush.

"All those concerns will be addressed if we have comprehensive reform," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said legislation should not be delayed. Both the House and Senate have passed bills, but a conference is yet to start.

But Gutierrez also declined to criticize a decision by House Republican leaders to stage a series of hearings over the summer, which probably precludes finishing a bill before the fall.

"I believe that they will hear what I heard when I went out and talked to people about it," Gutierrez said, asserting that there is broad support in the country for "comprehensive reform" of the type backed by the president.

"If the purpose is to go out and listen to the American people, a debate is always a good thing," he said.

Gutierrez said that both he and the president would continue to push the immigration issue during the summer.

Bush's meeting with Pence was an unmistakable gesture toward conservatives who reject the president's proposal as amnesty.

Pence presented Bush with his own immigration plan, which would require illegal immigrants currently in the country to first return home before being able to qualify for work in the United States.

Pence would create so-called Ellis Island Centers, private entities that would screen and then place illegal immigrants with U.S. employers after the immigrants had returned home.

Pence was clearly flattered by White House efforts to embrace him. Both Bush and Vice President Cheney were in attendance at the session, which was extended from a planned 15 minutes to 40 minutes, according to Pence.

Pence described the president as intrigued by his proposal, but acknowledged that Bush had offered no commitment to support it.

"He thought it was an interesting idea, to ask the free enterprise system, the private sector, to create these Ellis Island Centers outside the United States of America," Pence said. "I left with the undeniable impression that the president of the United States thought our proposal was worth considering."