WASHINGTON (AP) - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that an immigration bill approved in the House of Representatives would make her and her aides criminals for their work on behalf of New York constituents.

Clinton's comments are her latest salvo against the Republican-authored House bill that would penalise anyone who knowingly assists or encourages illegal immigrants to remain in the country. The bill, which passed the House in December, also makes it a felony to be in the country illegally.

Speaking to the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Clinton, touted as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2008, said her work for New York constituents could fall afoul of the bill since many are immigrants.

"I realise I would be a criminal, too. My staff would be criminal. We help people with all kinds of problems," said Clinton.

Democratic critics and the Catholic Church say such language would make even humanitarian assistance to an illegal immigrant a crime; the bill's authors dismiss the claim as an absurd attempt to defeat the bill.

Clinton has, over the past few weeks, stepped out strongly against the bill as senators debate varying proposals, including setting up a guest worker programme as supported by President George W Bush and affording citizenship to most of those in the country illegally. Senators are seeking a strong bill that would allow them more leverage in bargaining with House lawmakers.

Last month, Clinton lashed out at the House bill, saying it was "mean-spirited" and would probably criminalise "even Jesus himself".

The New York Democrat continued that offensive Wednesday, urging Hispanic business leaders to help defeat such measures by resisting what she called misinformation in the emotionally charged immigration debate.

"We need to help educate the entire American public. We need to put the face of America and hardworking Americans on this debate," she said.

Over the past couple of weeks, tens of thousands of people have protested the bill around the country, staging mass rallies and school walkouts in California, Arizona and Texas and shutting down minority-owned business in Georgia.

Peter King, one of the Republican authors of the bill, said it was Clinton who was spreading misinformation, and the only way she would be viewed as a criminal under the bill was if she were a "coyote," another term for an immigrant smuggler.
The bill, he said, "has absolutely nothing to do with churches or social workers or senators assisting illegal immigrants. It is aimed entirely at alien smuggling gangs."

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