As Congress tackles immigration reform and resentment of laborers from Mexico swells, few are facing the real nature of the crisis.

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President George W. Bush this week traveled to Texas and Arizona in a new effort to move his own ambitious immigration reform policy. In a break from the rhetoric of compassion that has marked most of the president’s statements about immigration since he first ran for office, his comments Monday were filled with tough talk about border security. He toured the El Paso region wearing a Border Patrol jacket, joined by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Paul Beeson of the El Paso Border Patrol.

“Step one of a border-control strategy is, increase the resources, so the people standing behind me are able to do their jobs,” Bush said. “Step two is when we catch somebody, don’t release them. Catch-and-release has been a long-standing policy of the federal government, and we’re going to change that.”

But along with the tough talk, Bush stuck to his long-held position that the nation’s current immigration laws are inhumane.

“We’re a nation of law,” Bush said. “We’re also a compassionate nation. We’ve got to treat people with respect and dignity.”

When he first announced details of his reform policy, in a January 2004 speech at the White House, Bush was joined by the Mexican ambasador to the US, as well as a host of Latino leaders including former Interior Secretary Manny Lujan, Gil Moreno of the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans and Hector Flores of LULAC.

In that speech Bush promised that his reforms would result in better border security, but most of his comments focused on creating more openness.

“By tradition and conviction, our country is a welcoming society,” Bush said. “America is a stronger and better nation because of the hard work and the faith and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants.

“Out of common sense and fairness, our laws should allow willing workers to enter our country and fill jobs that Americans are not filling. We must make our immigration laws more rational, and more humane. And I believe we can do so without jeopardizing the livelihoods of American citizens.”

A bill now in Congress, called AgJobs, aims to do just that.

AgJobs goes a step further than Bush’s guest worker proposal. It contains an especially controversial “earned legalization” clause, under which a worker who completes 365 days of farm labor over six years would qualify, along with his or her family, for permanent residency.

Bush’s immigration bill also has a legalization provision. Bush’s bill grants guest-worker status to illegal immigrants working in any industry—provided they pay a hefty fine, have a clean criminal record and can prove they’re employed.

AgJobs, which was authored by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was effectively blocked by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. AgJobs’ authors are gearing up for another go at passage early next year. But a swelling crowd of immigration bills in Congress promise tough competition—several congressional leaders have in recent weeks pledged to pass a comprehensive immigration package in 2006. Most Democrats and moderate Republican legislators back some sort of earned legalization for immigrants. But a growing number of very vocal anti-immigrant legislators detest the idea.

Led by US congressmembers Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado, and Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, this bloc of hard-liners argue that illegal aliens steal jobs from able-bodied Americans, dilute American culture, and are an affront to the nation’s legal norms.

Their immigration bills prioritize—above all else—militarizing the country’s border with Mexico while increasing penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers.

As the immigration debate heats up, one fact sure to weigh heavily on any decision is that 7 million illegal workers now make up nearly 5 percent of the total US labor force.

Only a small fraction of these, about 15 percent, work in agriculture. The rest are in construction, manufacturing, restaurants, hotels and other vital tax-revenue producing industries.

While hard-liners swear illegal immigrants must be booted out to save America, none explain how the nation’s economy would manage without them.