Conservatives in the House denounced the bill for legalizing illegal immigrants and creating a guest worker program that would admit 200,000 foreign workers each year. Representative J. D. Hayworth, Republican of Arizona, called it an amnesty for lawbreakers and "a nonstarter."
But some Republicans in the House said that the ground seemed to be shifting, if only slightly.
They pointed to Representative Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana, the leader of the conservative caucus in the House, who proposed a bill this week that would allow illegal immigrants to become guest workers, though not permanent residents or citizens.
They also said that the effort to reach a compromise could benefit from a strong push for a deal by Mr. Bush. And they noted the sizeable numbers of Republicans, including Mr. Frist, who offered vigorous support for the Senate legislation.
All of those developments, they said, might provide enough political cover for Republicans facing midterm elections in the fall to sign on to a plan that might include at least a temporary worker program.
Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who supports legalizing illegal immigrants, said that a week ago he was betting that the House and the Senate might not even agree to a meeting. On Thursday, he described the chances of a House-Senate compromise bill as "50-50."
Representative Peter T. King of New York, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he also thought there was significant support for a temporary worker program. "A good number of Republicans who are opposed to legalization are willing to support guest workers," Mr. King said.
But supporters of the Senate legislation said they hoped to keep their central principles intact. Democrats said they would not support legislation that did not place most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
Under the legislation, illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or more, about seven million people, would eventually be granted citizenship if they remained employed, passed background checks, paid fines and back taxes, and enrolled in English classes.
Illegal immigrants who have lived here two to five years, about three million people, would have to leave the country briefly and receive a temporary work visa before returning, as a guest worker. Over time, they would be allowed to apply for permanent residency and ultimately citizenship.
Illegal immigrants who have been here less than two years, about one million people, would be required to leave the country altogether. They could apply for the guest worker program, but they would not be guaranteed acceptance in it.
Some immigrant groups criticize the plan for leaving out illegal immigrants who have been here for less than two years. Others praise the legislation, but not without qualms.
"It means there is real hope that we will have immigration reform that will legalize millions of people who are here," said Cecilia Muñoz, a vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group. "But we still have some real reservations."
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House majority leader, said on Thursday that he was hopeful that the Senate and House could reach a compromise. But when asked whether that compromise might include a guest worker program, he said he did not know. ----- Quoted byt the number 2 republican in the house....Why didnt boehner just said "NO!" when he was asked whether a guest worker plan would be part of the compromise. This shows you that they are definatly backing down from even discusting a guest worker plan...I belive that Bush will make a strong push to eliminate any obstacle.
They might keep a path to citizenship for the 5yr and longer category but demand border security in place, prior to a guestworker program becoming effect.
Any attempt to delay 11 million people coming out of the shadow is a "non-starter" for president bush and the senate...this is the one part of the comprehensive bill, that should not be negotiable.
We all know that for the border to be completly secure, it would take at leats 2 years, and even after 2 years, you would hear tancredo screaming that it is not 100% secure yet since a couple hundred immigrants sneaked across the border.
I believe that the ones that are saying they want border enofrcement first, just use it as an excuse to delay the guest worker and really dont want to see it EVER..they know that there is not way that this immense border could be 100% secure.
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