PenceBlog: <b>Immigration News, Border Trip Update</b> - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence : 6th District Of Indiana

A couple interesting stories to point out today: Ruben Navarrette Jr. has a column on Time.com about the Hutchison-Pence plan.

Navarrette writes:

But not if Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., has anything to say about it. The three-term Congressman has become a major player in this debate by devising a commonsense compromise that, Pence believes, still has a chance to break the legislative logjam between competing House and Senate bills.

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To listen to the rhetoric of Republican hardliners who seem to find as much value in a sound bite as in a solution, and others who pander to nativists, Pence has gone soft on illegal immigrants. He did it by coming up with a plan that House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner — another key figure in the immigration debate — uncharitably described this week as "amnesty lite."

Rubbish. That characterization is untrue — and unfair.

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The Congressman gained an important ally in Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who has added her name to the plan. It was Hutchison who suggested that participation be limited to those who come from countries that partner with the United States in the NAFTA and CAFTA trade agreements.

Now Pence may have picked up the backing of an even more valuable ally: President Bush. The President met with Pence this summer and, according to White House officials, came away "intrigued" with the Hutchison-Pence plan.

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In addition, Indy Star's Maureen Groppe has a story today about the immigration debate in Congress and Rick Yencer had a story over the weekend in the Muncie Star Press about Congressman Pence's recent border tour.

posted by Pence Press Office # 9:17 AM