Two bills that would bring legal status to many undocumented immigrants are discussed at many meetings on Capitol Hill.

  BY RICHARD BRAND

  WASHINGTON - Passengers on the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride buses pounded the floors of Congress Thursday, meeting with about 100 lawmakers to urge them to provide more rights for the estimated nine million people illegally living in the United States.

  Their campaign comes as Congress once again turns its attention to improving the lot of immigrants, two years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks brought those efforts to a stop.

  A pair of bills that would bring legal status to many undocumented immigrants enjoys support among both Democrats and Republicans.

  One proposal, the Agriculture Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act, would revamp the current program for bringing in temporary farm workers. The measure, which would give undocumented farm workers in the United States an opportunity to become permanent residents, is the result of years of negotiations between lawmakers, labor unions and farmers and enjoys strong bipartisan support.

  The other measure, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, also known as the DREAM Act, would allow children of illegal immigrants to gain access to higher education and become legal residents.

  The two bills were discussed at many of Thursday's Capitol Hill meetings among lawmakers, immigrants and advocates.

  At the Capitol Thursday, about 900 freedom riders, having just arrived on a cross-country bus journey designed to highlight the plight of illegal immigrants, split into
  smaller groups to meet with lawmakers.

  Alma Soriano, 20, of Homestead, broke into tears during a meeting with Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., describing how she was disqualified from receiving scholarships to college because she is undocumented.

  ''I do not have the opportunity to go to school. I want to go to school to help my community,'' she said.

  Meek replied: "I want to help you go to school but that's not good enough. I want every person who is in your situation to go to school.''

  TWO PROPOSALS

  The DREAM Act, introduced this summer by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would allow undocumented immigrants to receive permanent status if they entered the United States before the age of 16 and have been here for five years.

  The Agriculture Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act, introduced Sept. 23 by Senators Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, and Larry Craig, R-Ohio, would allow farmworkers who can prove they've worked 100 days to apply for temporary residency.

  BORDER CROSSINGS

  That designation allows workers to freely cross the border, reunite with family in their homelands and sue their employers in federal court, a protection the bill's supporters say will drastically improve poor working conditions on farms.

  The bill has the backing of labor unions and agricultural interests who usually find themselves on opposing sides.

  AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney expressed support for the measure during a rally on the Capitol lawn with freedom riders.

  ''Your efforts are the heart and soul of our movement today,'' he told the ralliers. ``I hear terrible stories of harassment and shame. How can an employer refuse to
  provide a worker in the sun water? How can an employer refuse to pay a worker's salary?``

  The legislation comes as some Republican leaders call for streamlining the cumbersome -- and frequently violated -- guest-worker program currently in place.

  ''It is vitally important this country have some sort of guest-worker program,'' Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the majority whip, told The Associated Press earlier this week. "It is only fair to those here in the United States who need the workers and it is doubly fair to the families, Mexicans that need the work.''

  Delay said he hasn't formed an opinion on the Ag Jobs proposal.

  Opponents of the two bills say they encourage illegal activity.

  ''No amnesty for illegal aliens should be considered until we have reasserted control over our immigration system, until we have established a mechanism for keeping
  illegal immigrants from getting jobs here,'' said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that advocates stricter immigration policies.

  But supporters say the bills are just the beginning of a process that will make the country safer.

  SAFER NATION

  ''For reasons of public safety and national security, it makes sense to fix the immigration system so we know who is in the country and that it's not smugglers who decide who comes in,'' said Michele Waslin, senior immigration policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza, which has participated in negotiations on the Ag Jobs bill.

  ''Farmworkers in this country have always been among the worst paid workers in the worst conditions,'' Waslin said.

  ``This is the first step toward comprehensive immigration reform.''

  Although the freedom riders discussed the two proposals during the meetings, they say they are in Washington to raise awareness of the difficulties immigrants face, not to lobby for specific legislation.

  `FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE'

  ''This is a movement for fundamental change in our immigration policy to bring The United States into line with its economic reality and its history,'' said David Koff, the
  rides' national spokesman.

  The caravan -- which includes a bus from Miami -- will head to New York today.

  Standing in front of the Capitol, Jose Delgado, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who lives in Homestead, said he hopes lawmakers remember the freedom riders'
  message.

  ``I hope they understand in their hearts the sadness and pain immigrants suffer, so they can help us get our rights,`` he said.