PenceBlog: <b>Columnist Ruben Navarrette calls Hutchison-Pence Plan "common sense"</b> - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence : 6th District Of Indiana

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Ruben Navarrette authored this column on the Hutchison-Pence Plan today.

Here are key excerpts:

"Rep. Mike Pence visited San Diego recently to get a close-up look at the U.S.-Mexico border. And that gave me a chance to get a close-up look at Mike Pence.

"The Indiana Republican is a rising star in the GOP who has emerged as one of the most pivotal figures in the immigration debate. He also must be one of the most frustrated.

"That's because every time the three-term congressman comes up with a way to give GOP hard-liners what they say they want in an immigration bill, they decide they don't want it anymore. Every time it looks as if he is about to get into the end zone, members of his own party move the goal line.

"It's a maddening negotiation."

***

"Under the Pence plan, the first priority would be securing the border. Then comes a guest-worker program that would require illegal immigrants in the United States to return to their home countries to register at privately run centers. The immigrants would get work visas that could be renewed every two years for up to 12 years, provided they were learning English. For the next five years, they'd be given a more permanent visa. After 17 years, participants could apply for U.S. citizenship.

"Pence gained an ally in Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas who, according to the congressman, 'improved the plan immensely' by suggesting that participation be limited to those who come from countries who partner with the United States in the North American and Central American free trade agreements."

***

"And while Pence acknowledges that there is racism in this debate, he insists that it is limited to 'a very small number of Americans' and that none of his colleagues in Congress fit the description.

"Pence knows that I'm usually not so generous.

“'I'm not saying that what you have observed and rightly chastised in your columns isn't out there,' he said. 'But if we can find a way to get people right with the law without undermining our commitment to law and order, I think every community in Indiana and every community around the country would be more than happy to have these people and more like them.'

"It's a nice thought – one that I'd find easier to believe if more Republicans in Congress were embracing the common sense behind the Hutchison-Pence plan."

posted by Pence Press Office # 8:15 AM