A compromised plan.(IMMIGRATION)

REP. MIKE PENCE of Indiana and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, both Republicans, are making a last-ditch effort to bridge their party's divide on immigration and pass a bill this year. We agree that the country, and the Republican party, would benefit if a sensible immigration plan were passed soon. The Pence-Hutchison plan isn't one.

The pro-amnesty Republicans have responded more favorably to the plan than the enforcement-first Republicans, and both sides are reading the plan correctly. Its central component is to allow illegal immigrants to continue their jobs legally. All they would have to do is briefly leave the country and then return. As Pence himself puts it: "An illegal alien currently employed in America will be willing to take a quick trip across the border to come back outside of the shadows and in a job where he does not fear a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement." This provision may stimulate the restaurant business in Tijuana, as illegals cross over for a quick lunch before their return, but it is hardly a serious immigration-enforcement idea.

When our illegal immigrant comes back, he will become a "guest worker." As a guest worker, he will be able to keep renewing his "temporary" status and exploiting other features ...