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Clinton vows to block bill criminalizing illegal immigrants
By BETH FOUHY
AP Political Writer

March 22, 2006, 2:51 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Invoking Biblical themes, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
joined immigration advocates Wednesday to vow and block legislation
seeking
to criminalize undocumented immigrants.

Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate and relative
latecomer to the immigration debate, made her remarks as the Senate
prepares
to take up the matter next week.

Clinton renewed her pledge to oppose a bill passed in December by the
House that would make unlawful presence in the United States _ currently a
civil offense _ a felony. The Senate is set to consider a version of that
legislation, as well as several other bills seeking to address the
seemingly
intractable issue of immigration reform.

Surrounded by a multicultural coalition of New York immigration
advocates, Clinton blasted the House bill as "mean-spirited" and said it
flew in the face of Republicans' stated support for faith and values.

"It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the
Scriptures," Clinton said, "because this bill would literally criminalize
the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself."

Clinton did not specifically endorse any competing legislation,
including a bill co-authored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward
Kennedy (D-Mass.) and another by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), saying she
hoped
the Senate Judiciary Committee would produce a compromise incorporating
the
best elements of all the bills and would remove the harsh penalties
contained in the House measure.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said the Senate will
take up his proposal to tighten borders and punish employers who hire
illegal immigrants if the Judiciary Committee doesn't complete a broader
bill by next week.

Among other things, Clinton said she would support legislation that
would strengthen U.S. borders, boost technology to secure the borders, and
seek greater cross-border cooperation with Mexico and other neighboring
countries.

She also called for new enforcement laws, including penalties for
employers who exploit illegal immigrants, as well as a system to allow the
roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United
States
to earn their citizenship.

Clinton expressed sympathy to representatives of communities along
the
U.S.-Mexico border that are frustrated by the stress of providing social
services to large numbers of undocumented immigrants. But she also said
she
hoped to send a message that supporters of punitive immigration policy
faced
significant political risk for doing so.

"We want the outcome to be that they're on the wrong side of the
politics as well as the wrong side of history and American values," she
said.

President Bush has argued for a guest worker program that would allow
undocumented immigrants already in the United States to keep their jobs
for
up to six years. The effort hasn't gained much momentum, partly due to
fierce resistance from others within the GOP.

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