Demonstrators gathered April 10 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to protest their opposition to congressional bill HR 4437, a bill designed to strengthen the ability of the government to enforce U.S. immigration law.

Chuck Kennedy / knight ridder

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From the earliest days of the republic, when Congress enacted the 1795 Naturalization Act restricting citizenship to "free white persons," few issues have stirred deeper passions in this nation of immigrants than immigration itself.

The current debate over how to deal with up to 12 million illegal entrants is easily the most complex and divisive issue confronting the 109th Congress, exacerbated by demands to safeguard America's borders in the post-Sept. 11 era.

President Bush has made enactment of a comprehensive immigration bill, including a temporary "guest-worker" program, a top priority, but his plummeting approval rating has weakened his influence over Congress, particularly while many lawmakers are seeking re-election in November.

The House of Representatives passed a tough immigration bill in December that emphasized strict border enforcement and criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants and those who employ them.

A less punitive Senate measure that included a guest-worker program and a path for illegal immigrants to win legal status and eventual citizenship suffered a potentially fatal setback this month with the collapse of a bipartisan compromise. Senate leaders say they will try to regroup after Congress returns from a two-week recess on April 24.

The ultimate outcome likely will be decided by House and Senate negotiators, who face a Herculean task of trying to bridge differences between the two sharply different measures when election-year passions make compromise difficult. With only six months before Congress adjourns, no one is betting on the outcome.

● Sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants:

l First offense: Fines of $250 to $2,000 per violation.

l Second offense: $2,000 to $5,000.

l Third offense: $3,000 to $10,000.

l Improperly filling out I-9 forms verifying employee eligibility: $100 to $1,000 per form.

(Fines also subject to increase based on escalation clause pegged to inflation.)

l Those who engage in a pattern or practice of knowingly hiring illegal entrants: Fine of up to $3,000 per entrant and up to six months in prison.

l Unlawful entry: A criminal misdemeanor subject to six months in prison. Up to two years in prison for subsequent offenses.

l Unlawful re-entry after deportation: A felony, up to 10 years in prison.

l Overstaying visas: A civil violation. Ineligible to return to the United States for at least three years for overstays of more than six months. Barred from returning for at least 10 years for overstays of more than a year.

● Sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants:

l First offense: $5,000 to $7,500 per violation.

l Second offense: $10,000 to $15,000.

l Third offense: $25,000 to $40,000.

l Improperly filling out I-9 forms verifying employee eligibility: $1,000 fine to $25,000 per violation.

l Those who engage in a pattern or practice of knowingly hiring illegal entrants: Fine of up to $50,000 and no less than one year in prison.

l Unlawful entry: felony, up to a year and a day in prison.

l Overstaying visas: would be called unlawful presence, a felony, up to a year and a day in prison.

(House leaders say they are receptive to reducing the punishment to a misdemeanor during future negotiations.)

● Sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants:

l First offense: $500 to $4,000 per violation.

l Second offense: $4,000 to 10,000.

l Third offense: $6,000 to $20,000.

l Improperly filling out I-9 forms verifying employee eligibility: $200 to $2,000 per form.

l Those who engage in a pattern or practice of knowingly hiring illegal entrants: Fine of up to $20,000 per entrant; up to six months in prison.

l Unlawful entry: No change in current law.

l Overstaying visas: No change.

● Foreign citizens who want to enter the United States must first get a visa from their local U.S. Embassy. There are two categories:

l Nonimmigrant visas for a limited visit for a specific purpose.

l Immigrant visas for those who want to move permanently to the United States.

There are different types of non-immigrant visas, including the A-1 for diplomatic visitors, the H for temporary workers and the F-1 for students. Most nonimmigrant visas are given to tourists and business visitors.

The process for getting an immigrant visa is complicated, and applicants usually have to be sponsored by a relative who is a U.S. citizen or by an employer.

Legal immigrants receive lawful permanent residence, or "green cards" that allow them to work in the United States and identify them as permanent residents. (These cards are mostly pink now, but they were green years ago, and the name has stuck.)

There also is the yearly Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, a lottery of 50,000 green cards. Applicants worldwide can apply for the program, although not every country is included.

Becoming a permanent resident is not the same as being a U.S. citizen. To become a U.S. citizen, a person must be "naturalized," a process with several requirements, which include:

l Living in the United States as a legal permanent resident for a continuous period of time.

l Taking an oath of allegiance to the United States.

l Reading, writing and speaking English.

l Knowing the basics of U.S. history and government.

For more information, visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web Site at www.USCIS.gov

Q Why are supporters of a guest-worker program pushing to get it?

AU.S. businesses want a steady source of low-skilled and unskilled workers in such jobs as construction, cleaning, restaurant labor and landscaping. They say they need roughly 500,000 workers each year because of a chronic labor shortage in the robust U.S. economy. Foreign workers are the only realistic supply.

A: Most proposals would create a government task force to verify that employers made an effort to hire U.S. workers and gauge the impact of foreign workers on U.S. jobs and wages. Proposed caps in major Senate bills would range up to 400,000 a year, and the supply could be adjusted downward, depending on need.

A: Yes, but none creating a steady supply of low- or unskilled workers. Up to 65,000 college-educated professionals and high-tech workers enter the country each year under the H-1B program. The H-2A program is confined to agricultural workers. Up to 66,000 unskilled workers are permitted annually under the H-2B program for seasonal or one-time jobs that last no more than one year.

A: This is another source of contention, and proposals vary widely. In October, the Bush administration endorsed the inclusion of "those who are here unlawfully" in a temporary-worker program once they had paid as-yet unspecified fines. The Senate Judiciary Committee bill would put most illegal residents on track to permanent legal status under a six-year visa program separate from the guest-worker plan; those who entered the United States after January 2004 could become guest workers, but they would have to leave the country to apply.