June 07, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1428

WASHINGTON, June 6: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, an architect of a key immigration reform bill under scrutiny in Congress, is urging lawmakers to avoid making changes that could tear the legislation apart.

In an interview, Gutierrez said he feared that amendments could “break” a fragile compromise that was reached between the White House and Republican and Democratic senators three weeks ago after intense negotiations.

“The biggest risk would be the introduction of amendments,” Gutierrez said in the interview in Spanish.

The bill being debated in the Senate and endorsed by US President George W. Bush would create a merit-based point system for future immigrants, institute a low-wage temporary worker programme and provide a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants.

At the same time, it would boost border security, punish employers who hire illegal immigrants and attempt to wipe out a backlog of visa applications from those who have gone through legal immigration channels.

The immigration legislation has come under assault from Republicans who consider the bill an “amnesty” program for foreigners who broke the law to enter the United States. But concerns have also been raised among Democrats who want to reorient the bill more towards family-based immigration, from its emphasis on merit-based applications.

One sign of how contentious immigration has become was its prominence late Tuesday at a debate of Republican presidential contenders, with only one candidate -- US Senator John McCain -- speaking up in support of the president's plan.

President George W. Bush has scolded critics of the bill, including members of his own Republican Party, and denied that the legislation offered an amnesty. Gutierrez and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff are leading an intense campaign by the Bush administration to convince lawmakers to avoid offering bill-killing amendments.

The commerce secretary said he feared amendments could be rejected by the Republican and Democratic senators who drafted the bill and that the “coalition would break.” “For me this is a nightmare,” said the highest-ranking Cuban-American in the Bush administration a year after another immigration reform bill died in the House of Representatives.

“I told all of those who are introducing amendments to be careful,” he said, asking lawmakers to show “wiseness.” Gutierrez used his own personal experience to defend the bill. He arrived in the United States in 1960 with his parents, who fled Cuba after Fidel Castro and his guerrilla army overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista.

He said he was very familiar with “the fight of the immigrants” and knew that the great majority want “to work and make a better life for their families.” But at the same time, he said, “as a US government official, I recognise the need to respect the laws.” “This has been the great debate in finding common ground” between the human aspect of immigration and the rule of law, he said. “I think we have found it.” His optimism that the legislation will win support has grown with favourable public opinion polls as the administration explains the bill's goals to Americans.

“At the beginning, there were very spontaneous reactions that in many cases were incorrect,” he said. “As people learn what this text really contains, I think that they will feel more at ease.” “I also believe that people are realising that if we do not do this now, if we do not pass this comprehensive reform, it will not happen next year because it is a presidential election year,” he said.

Gutierrez noted that Bush wants to sign the bill into law by August, four months before the first Republican and Democratic parties' primary elections.

“This is the moment. It is a great, historic opportunity,” he stressed.

“We cannot continue living with people who are living in fear, who have to hide, who are crossing the (US-Mexican) border at midnight, risking their lives,” he said. “That is not a society that reflects American values.”-—AFP