CHICAGO - With his plan, President George W. Bush hopes to revamp an immigration system widely viewed as broken and to reestablish his credentials as a compassionate conservative ---- particularly with Hispanic and swing voters ---- at the start of an election year. But in debates, campaign stops and interviews, some Republican candidates have sharply criticized his position as they seek to tap into conservative anxiety over the proposal.

The plan has left the party divided. Some Republicans ---- backed by some Hispanic constituents ---- praise the president for trying to make it easier for businesses to employ undocumented immigrants for low-wage jobs Americans are reluctant to take. Others argue that the plan is tantamount to an amnesty for lawbreakers. The issue is so complicated and so divisive that Republicans in the House and Senate now say that it is unlikely that legislation supporting the president’s plan will be introduced in Congress this year.

In a Senate hearing last week, Bush administration officials said that illegal immigrants living in the country as of Jan. 7 ---- a group estimated at about 8 million or more ---- would be eligible for temporary work permits for an initial period of three years, if they can show they have jobs and if their employers certify that Americans cannot be found for them.

The officials said the permits could be renewed several times and that the workers could apply for permanent residency without leaving the United States. By legalizing the status of millions of immigrants who officials say are peaceful and hard working, immigration agents will be able to focus on foreigners who pose terrorist or criminal threats.

Bush has also promised to stiffen enforcement of immigration laws and to increase the number of people who can obtain permanent residency status.

Vernon Robinson, a leading Republican contender for a House seat in North Carolina, said that smells like an amnesty. He said the plan has angered voters who want illegal immigrants deported and U.S. troops stationed on the border with Mexico, particularly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Numbers USA, a Washington-based policy group that favors reduced immigration, has identified about a dozen congressional races where immigration is an important campaign issue among Republican contenders. It is still unclear whether the issue will be a deciding factor in those races or whether it will dampen enthusiasm for Bush among conservatives in the presidential election.

Mark Krikorian of The Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks to limit immigration, countered that conservative voters, already doubtful about the president’s commitment to fiscal austerity, might stay home on Election Day or vote for lawmakers opposed to legalizing undocumented immigrants.

The debate is boiling in conservative circles. In January, The National Review ran a cover story on the president’s plan entitled: “Amnesty, Again.”

This month, The Wall Street Journal published two dueling pieces on its opinion pages. Fifteen Republicans including Grover Norquist, Newt Gingrich and Jack Kemp hailed the president’s plan as “a humane, orderly, and economically sensible approach to migration.”

(By Permission, The New York Times)