Bush wants immigration bill in fall

President Bush yesterday told House Republicans that he wants them to pass an immigration bill this fall, but members said he may not get a bill he likes.

Mr. Bush, speaking to a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, said immigration reform is part of his agenda, and his deadline gives a boost to those looking for a guest-worker program.

“It’s great,” said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, who is sponsoring an immigration overhaul that would give those already here illegally a multistep, 11-year path to citizenship. His bill also would allow in 400,000 guest workers per year and also put them on a multistep path to citizenship. Read the story here.

Allegations fly in California Minuteman Project

An aide to state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Carlsbad, has filed a police report saying he was kicked in the shin by a UC Riverside professor and protester more than a week ago while visiting the border in support of the California Minuteman Project.

The alleged confrontation is one of several reports of trouble in Campo, the tiny southeast San Diego County border town where a group of about 30 anti-illegal-immigration activists calling themselves the California Minuteman Project has set up camp to watch the U.S.-Mexico border and report illegal crossers to the Border Patrol.

A group of about a dozen protesters who want the Minutemen to pack it up and go home have also been camping in the town, with larger groups forming for weekend rallies. Read the story here. Today at 4pm Sen. Bill Morrow will be on the show to discuss just how his aide was kicked.

Valley HOV funding OK’d

Moving to ease nightmare traffic for San Fernando Valley commuters, Congress struck a deal late Thursday to give Los Angeles $130 million for a car-pool lane on the northbound 405 Freeway as part of a massive $286.5 billion national transportation bill.

The House was expected to vote first on the 1,000-page package, but last-minute disputes had lawmakers waiting in their offices late Thursday.

While far less than the $400 million they’d requested, Southern California transportation leaders said it will jump-start high-occupancy-vehicle lane work on a 10-mile stretch of the San Diego Freeway between the Valley and Westside that carries more than 300,000 commuters daily.

“It’s a great victory,” said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, who engineered an intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying effort to fund the $500 million HOV-lane project. Read the story here.