My Way News - U.S. Seeks to Curb Illegal Immigration

My Way News - U.S. Seeks to Curb Illegal Immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) - A crackdown on illegal immigration will have to go forward without help from Congress, the Bush administration said Friday, asserting that an executive-branch-only approach is better than doing nothing.

Two Cabinet secretaries - Homeland Security's Michael Chertoff and Commerce's Carlos Gutierrez - said they hoped to have new tools to combat illegal immigration before moving further to cope with the problem. But Congress could not agree on comprehensive legislation.

The officials said they'll rely instead on tools already in their arsenal, some of which are already under way, including a plan to administratively sanction employers who hire illegal immigrants.