WASHINGTON - Democrats don't want a homeland security package bogged down with immigration-related amendments, so Sen. Wayne Allard's proposed amendment might get shelved this week.

The U.S. Senate has spent much of this week working on bipartisan legislation that's meant to more fully implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Already, the bill has been slowed by a debate over whether to give airport security screeners collective bargaining rights. Meanwhile, since the Senate is expected to take up immigration reform legislation this year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he doesn't want the homeland security debate to get sidetracked by immigration-related amendments.

But Allard is continuing to push for an amendment that would require the Social Security Administration to alert immigration officials when a valid Social Security number is being used in multiple places around the country.

Allard's proposal was inspired by last year's immigration raids on Swift & Co. meat processing plants in Colorado and other states, when investigators said they detected a trend of illegal immigrants working under stolen identities.

Allard and his backers consider the issue integral to the homeland security issue, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists relied on false identification documents during the planning and execution of the attacks.

"Identity theft not only affects innocent victims. It poses a security threat to our country," Allard told colleagues Wednesday. "As the 9/11 Commission put it: 'Fraud in identification documents is no longer just a problem of theft.' "

Reid spokesman Jim Manley would not comment on Allard's proposal specifically, but he said immigration-related issues should wait until the debate expected later this year.

Allard spokeswoman Laura Condelucci said that if the Social Security amendment does not go forward this week, "This isn't the last you'll hear on this from us."

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