An immigration plan being negotiated in the U.S. Senate would be much tougher on illegal immigrants than what is proposed in the House, Sen. Jon Kyl said in Tucson on Thursday.

The Republican told business leaders a “general sense” exists among senators searching for an immigration compromise that a majority of their colleagues will oppose a temporary worker program providing a path to citizenship.

Congress has a 50-50 chance of passing an immigration reform bill that allows for a temporary worker program, Kyl said.

“With a constructive attitude, we will be able to get a bill passed and signed by the president,” Kyl said.

He appeared at the Tucson Convention Center in a talk to the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, discussing the war, the economy and immigration.

Kyl will join President Bush in Yuma on Monday to tour border protection efforts.

Kyl worried that a bill introduced in the House last month is too lenient. He said it may be too close to a bill written last year by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s Kennedy light,” Kyl said. “If that’s the case, I can’t support it.”

Immigrant advocates want to see protection for those who work here now, albeit illegally.

Kyl co-sponsored a bill last year that would have required illegal immigrants to leave the country before starting a process to get legal status. The Flake-Gutierrez bill would let illegal immigrants begin filing paperwork for legal status, but they would have to leave the country as part of the legalization process.

Kyl’s position has been unrealistic and punitive, said Jennifer Allen, director of the Tucson-Border Action Network, which works for immigrant rights.

“It’s unrealistic that 12 million were going to abandon ship,” Allen said when reached after the speech. “We have zero confidence in (Kyl’s) leadership when it comes to providing thoughtful solutions.”

Former GOP southern Arizona congressional candidate Randy Graf, contacted after the speech, does not like Kyl’s assertion that even a restrictive temporary worker program is necessary.

“Let’s secure the border first,” Graf said. “Once that is done and the American people are confident we are not going to be hit by the next wave, then we can think about what to do with the people here now.”

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