MEDIA REACTION: U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW; SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000356 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW; SAO PAULO "Immigrants In The U.S." Liberal Folha de S. Paulo (4/3) editorialized: "Debates over the new U.S. immigration law are dividing the U.S. The Republicans at the House approved a very tough bill that transforms illegal immigration into a federal crime, thereby making easier to arrest and deport undocumented foreigners.... Another item of the bill is the construction of a wall aimed at preventing Mexicans from entering the U.S. Such legislation is a violent response to a concrete problem that frightens an increasing number of Americans. The already 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. have been accused of taking jobs from Americans, reducing their salaries, increasing crime rates and benefiting from social programs. Fortunately, not everyone in the U.S. shares such a prejudiced view.... Senators, who are more moderate, introduced an alternative immigration bill that also reinforces border surveillance and facilitates the deportation of illegal foreigners, but avoids the worse excesses of the other bill.... The Senate's bill has already angered the most conservative Republicans, who see legalization as amnesty. President George W. Bush, who supports a more generous legislation, is facing a dilemma. If he supports the House's bill, he will be contradicting his own statements. If he supports the Senate's alternative, more identified with the Democrats, he will oppose the most radical Republicans, a group to which he owns his reelection." McMullen