FELON, OR MERELY ILLEGAL? LANGUAGE OF HOUSE IMMIGRATION BILL ATTRACTING CRITICS FROM ALL CORNERS.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Business groups and immigration advocates on Wednesday denounced an immigration bill awaiting a vote in the House even as Republicans battled among themselves over the language.

The bill would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally. While entering the U.S. illegally currently is a felony, living in the country without proper paperwork is a civil offense.

The measure also would put deportation proceedings on a fast track, make belonging to a gang a deportable offense for legal immigrants, and allow local law enforcement to use federal homeland security grants to track down and arrest illegal immigrants.

In addition, it would mandate the creation of a $360 million system through which the nation's 8.4 million employers would be expected to check the immigration status of every worker.

But Randel Johnson, vice president of labor at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called the measure ``unacceptable to the business community.''

The nation's Catholic bishops assailed it as a threat to U.S. citizens and legal residents, as well as illegal immigrants.

Hispanic lawmakers including Reps. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, and Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, condemned it as an ``ineffective and irresponsible'' measure that would only push illegal immigrants deeper into America's shadows.

And a leading Republican strategist with close ties to the White House said even if the House passes the measure as expected, the bill will go nowhere until it also grants legal status to at least some of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

``The Senate is not going to pass something that is enforcement-only, and the president is not going to sign it,'' said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

Johnson said that the existing employer verification system is only voluntary and is used by 3,600 employers to check about 750,000 employees. If it becomes mandatory, it would have to field inquiries on more than 140 million workers.

``We just have concerns as to whether or not it's workable,'' Johnson said.

The Rules Committee, headed by Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, was still debating potential amendments late Wednesday, including one by Ohio Rep. Steven Chabot that would allow businesses to check only new employees.

The amendment drew support from Republicans and Democrats on the Rules Committee, even as other GOP members questioned other fundamental elements of the bill.

Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Florida, said he opposes making the act of being in the U.S. illegally a felony, recalling a 17-year-old constituent who found out only when she was applying for scholarships that her parents brought her illegally to the U.S. as an infant.

``No one believes we're going to arrest a 17-year-old girl who was brough here illegally as a 3-month-old, and God forbid we should,'' Putnam said.

Others, including Southern California Republicans, sought to expand the bill and make it even tougher on illegal immigrants and those who would try to use America to gain citizenship for their children.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, sought an amendment barring pregnant women from entering the U.S. for the purpose of giving birth in America, and requiring all mortgage credit applicants to be citizens or legal residents.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com