GOP renews ‘amnesty’ defiance

House Republicans opposed to amnesty vowed yesterday to fight President Bush’s proposal to legalize millions of illegal aliens as outlined in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“The president worked hard to get a Congress that agrees with him on this and now he’s got it,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, in reference to the Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress in the November elections. “But we’re still going to fight him on it.”

Mr. Bush on Tuesday reissued his call to welcome foreigners with a guest-worker plan, and he called for a path to citizenship for millions of those here illegally.

“We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals,” Mr. Bush said in his speech to uneven applause. “We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country, without animosity and without amnesty.”

More Democrats than Republicans rose in applause.

Mr. Tancredo, a longtime advocate of immigration reform, termed the refrain “same song, second verse.”

“It’s the same thing we’ve been hearing from the president for a long time,” he said.

Rep. Sam Johnson, Texas Republican, called Mr. Bush’s immigration proposal “empty and implausible.”

“I’m sensing a real lack of commitment to combating illegal immigration,” he said.

Mr. Johnson said he has seen little evidence in Texas that the administration’s efforts to stop illegal entry are working.

“Our borders are out of control,” he said yesterday. “Illegal immigrants are running free across the borders.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, welcomed “the president’s renewed commitment” to comprehensive immigration reform.

“The president has been a leader on this issue and I am hopeful that he will continue his efforts with members of his party so that we can pass legislation that will solve the problem once and for all,” he said after Tuesday’s address.

For House Republicans, Mr. Kennedy’s stamp of approval was proof that Mr. Bush does not share their concerns.

“Once again, we see the president is pushing amnesty,” said Rep. Ed Royce, California Republican. “The president claims this is not amnesty, but the very definition of amnesty is changing someone’s status from illegal to legal. As a matter of national security, we need an immigration system that is sound, and this one is not.”

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