Free Republic

Bush leans toward guest visas for workers GOP caught between business, conservatives on illegal immigrants By RON FOURNIERAssociated Press PHOENIX - Struggling to pacify his party's warring wings, President Bush is moving toward allowing illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. before February 2004 to qualify for guest-worker visas. People smuggled in after then would be deported. State leaders in Arizona and New Mexico have stepped up pressure on the Bush administration and the Republican-led Congress to better police U.S. borders and deal with an estimated 10 million people who are living in the country illegally."They're trying to split the...

WASHINGTON - White tablecloths, polished silverware and candlelight are the tools of a cunning suitor. But when found in a dining room in the House of Representatives, they signal high politics rather than romantic intentions. The elegant atmosphere is what Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, is using to help build agreement among his GOP colleagues on an issue where there is little: immigration reform. "I want people to realize that there is more that holds us together than pulls us apart," he said. Now, the elements of a major policy push are coming...