Juana “Janie” Perkins came to the United States from Mexico at age 10, illiterate in Spanish and unable to speak English.

She gained citizenship in the early 1980s, then earned a master’s degree in education. Last year, she became the mayor of Garden City – and now sits on the Kansas Board of Regents.

“I really try to tell others that, whatever they want to do in life, they can do it,” Perkins said Wednesday.

Perkins was showcased by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., during a conference call with the Kansas media. He sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee that shaped the immigration crackdown bill now under consideration – but unlike many conservatives, favors provisions that allow some illegal immigrants a chance to gain citizenship.

“She’s such a beautiful immigrant story of people coming into the United States currently, seeking opportunities, seeking the American dream, and finding it,” Brownback said.

Hours later, though, Kansas’ other Republican senator took to the Senate floor to warn of the national security threat posed by illegal immigration.

Sen. Pat Roberts said 2,300 illegal immigrants enter the country every day – not all of them from Mexico or other Latin American countries.

“We’ve apprehended people from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran,” he said during a roiling debate on the issue. “Their goals may be to find a part of the American dream, but they may not be as well.”

Growing numbers

The issue has special resonance in Kansas. The 2000 census found that the number of Kansas residents born outside the United States more than doubled during the 1990s – driven largely by the growth in three southwestern counties that are home to meatpacking plants.

Finney, Ford and Seward counties were three of just 61 counties in the nation where more than 20 percent of the population had been born in a country other than the United States.

And Lyon County, home to a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant, saw its foreign-born population grow during the 1990s by 1,203 residents – while the American-born population shrank by 816.

“The language barrier has a large impact for city services, whether that’s fire, ambulance, hospitals – and it causes a huge amount of expense for the schools,” said Emporia Mayor Tom Myers.

But he called the debate over illegal immigration a “bogus issue” that wouldn’t exist if meatpacking companies paid workers $19 an hour.

“What could be more boring than just a townful of native-born Caucasians?” Myers said.

Brownback has come under fire from fellow Republicans because, along with tougher border enforcement, he wants to allow some illegal immigrants to stay. He said Wednesday that he favors allowing immigrants who have been here more than five years to stay – and start on the path to citizenship – as long as they register with the government, learn English and sign up with Selective Service to be eligible for the military draft.

He noted there were more than 11 million illegal immigrants. Helping them gain citizenship is more realistic than deporting, he said.

“The notion that we’re going to go out and round everybody up is ridiculous,” Brownback said.

In a statement to the Journal-World, Roberts suggested he would be open to a tightly controlled “guest worker” program that would allow foreign workers temporary residence in the U.S.

“I will be evaluating any immigration proposal in terms of its ability to better protect our national and economic security,” he said, but added: “I am very mindful that our nation was built upon legal immigration. We don’t want to lose that history.”