Other articles by Daniel Scarpinato:

Dem fortunes may be crippled further if Brewer runs in 2010 Obama's choice of Napolitano sets course for political shift in Arizona Dems' dreams go down in flames Giffords, Grijalva seek $5B for new entry ports Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Obama's inaugural to include AZ flavorGrijalva, Giffords frequently part ways Lawmakers to hand out gold: Obama- event tickets City's vote on gay marriage Giffords' clear win raises question: What's it mean? Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Napolitano is mum on attorney general talk

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Southern Arizona's two Democratic congressional representatives part ways on a Senate immigration compromise bill announced Thursday.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, a lead negotiator of the bill, says he's making ideological sacrifices in order to get something done on immigration.

"It's not the bill I would have written if I was king of the world," he said Thursday. "I'm just one senator out of 100."

Kyl, who campaigned on tough immigration reform last year, has faced criticism from some border activists for taking part in the negotiations.

But asked if his support for the bill was a policy shift, he said: "In my election, one loud and clear message was: Do something about illegal immigration. It's not an option to sit on the sidelines. You get in the game."

He rejected the notion that allowing illegal immigrants to get "Z visas" signals he supports amnesty.

District 8 Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, representing Southeast Arizona, calls the deal "an excellent first step" she supports, while her neighbor in District 7, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, says he will not support the measure without major changes, calling it "tentative and unfinished."

The bill still faces a long road, and Grijalva and others hope to add amendments. He's particularly opposed to a point-system that places work skills and education ahead of family unification, a philosophical change in U.S. policy.

"Many of us are fundamentally opposed to a rotating group of underclass workers in this country," he said, criticizing the guest-worker portion of the bill.

"The House has the opportunity to raise the bar and really create a comprehensive reform bill," he said. "Family unification is the nature of our country, and I think the Senate deal brings us into a different cycle that has not been the immigration tradition for 400 years, beginning with Jamestown."

But Giffords, who represents a more conservative district and campaigned as a supporter of tough but comprehensive immigration reform, says the bill strikes the right balance.

"I feel that this is an approach that marries both family unification but also the real need of bringing in people who have the skills that are needed in the United States," she said.

Giffords said she supports a "trigger" provision requiring border-security implementations before other parts of the bill take effect.

Both Giffords and Kyl said they believe illegal immigrants will come out of the shadows to pay fines because of the incentive of earning citizenship.

"I think once people see the process is working, people will do it," she said. Kyl called it a "carrot-and-stick" approach.

Giffords and Grijalva did share criticisms of a requirement that the head of a household must return to the home country to apply for a visa.

But Giffords, saying she realizes the need to win Republican support, added, "I'm not crazy about the touch-back program, but I'm willing to accept it."