Senate rejects measure to secure nation's borders

National Guard troops are to support Border Patrol agents.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate rejected a call Tuesday to secure the nation's borders before tackling other immigration-related concerns such as citizenship for millions of men and women in the country illegally, a victory for President Bush and supporters of a comprehensive approach to a volatile election-year issue.
The vote was 55-40 against a proposal by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who said that anything less than a border security-first approach amounted to "a wink and a nod one more time to those who would come here" unlawfully.
Republican and Democratic supporters of the sweeping Senate bill said Isakson's approach would be self-defeating and derail the approach that Bush backed in Monday night's prime-time speech from the Oval Office.
"We have to have a comprehensive approach if we're going to gain control of the borders," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
In all, 36 Democrats and 18 Republicans joined with one independent to torpedo the amendment. Thirty-three Republicans and seven Democrats supported it.
Eager to blunt any political fallout from opposing Isakson's proposal, the bill's sponsors countered with an alternative of their own. Backed by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., it said immigration changes envisioned in the legislation could proceed if the president declared they were in the national security interests of the United States. It passed, 79-16.
What's being emphasized
Bush drew continued criticism from House Republicans for his speech, and the White House sought to emphasize the border security elements of the president's plan.
"This is going to be a tremendous enforcement support partnership," U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar told reporters at the White House, anticipating the deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops to states along the Mexican border.
Aguilar and others stressed that National Guard forces would function in support roles, leaving front-line law enforcement against illegal immigrants in the hands of federal Border Patrol agents.
Republicans expressed support for new attempts to secure America's porous borders, but they rebelled against another element of what Bush calls a comprehensive plan to alter immigration laws.
"Thinly veiled attempts to promote amnesty cannot be tolerated,' said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "While America is a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws, and rewarding those who break our laws not only dishonors the hard work of those who came here legally but does nothing to fix our current situation."
Any legislation that emerges from Congress will eventually come from House-Senate negotiations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-immigrant advocates from at least 20 states were headed to Washington to lobby members of Congress today.
Response from activists
Though reaction to President Bush's address on immigration was mixed, some activists were buoyed by the fact that the issue at least remains a priority.
"The one clear message coming out is that the White House is engaged," said Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza. "They're willing to invest in this issue."
The call to arrange meetings with members of Congress and their staffs was put out just a week ago when the We Are America Alliance, a loose coalition of the nation's biggest pro-immigrant groups, was formed.
Participants were asked to pay for their own travel, so organizers expected to get only about 100 activists, said Cory Smith of the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a member group.
By early Tuesday, however, more than 400 had confirmed -- and as many as 1,000 were expected, said Joan Maruskin, who works on immigration issues for Church World Service in Washington.
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