illegal immgrants .... no, americans, they are "guest workers". sexypenguin

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday will outline an immigration reform proposal that would allow workers who are in the United States illegally to come forward and join a new temporary worker program, administration officials said.

Those now-illegal immigrants could then apply for permanent residence in the United States, although those in the temporary worker program would get no preference over other "Green Card" applicants from foreign countries, the officials said.

Administration officials said the measure was designed largely for economic reasons -- to match "willing workers with willing employers," as administration officials put it Tuesday night in advance of the president's announcement.

The officials said the employers would have to show they cannot find U.S. citizens to fill their jobs.

Allowing those who illegally entered the United States to come forward and keep their jobs is the most controversial aspect of the president's initiative, which will be presented as a statement of goals and principles and not a detailed piece of legislation. (Border residents question plan)

But the U.S. officials said one of the president's goals was to "promote compassion" and get the Congress and the country to "understand the broken system" that now includes an estimated 8 million "undocumented" or illegal immigrants in the United States.

The officials said benefits of getting undocumented workers to come forward include bringing these workers into the tax system and bringing them "out of the shadows," as one official put it, and guaranteeing them wage and employment rights now enjoyed by those working legally in the United States.

Here are some highlights of the president's initiative, according to several senior administration officials.

• The new temporary worker program. It would include a temporary visa for three years, and Bush will call for Congress to allow one renewal -- so a six-year total for a temporary visa. Officials said they were open to allowing additional terms, subject to congressional debate and negotiation.

• This program would be open to prospective immigrants, but also to illegal immigrants in the United States, so long as these undocumented individuals could prove they were working in the United States as of the date the new policy becomes law. Officials say that requirement -- having a job at the date of the new policy -- would discourage a flood of new illegal immigration.

• Those who qualify as new "legal temporary workers" can apply for permanent residency, or Green Cards, under existing laws but would not receive any favorable treatment. The administration will, however, urge Congress to increase the current annual limit of issuing 140,000 Green Cards a year. The officials said how much of an expansion will be determined based on negotiations with Congress.

Officials reject the notion that the new program amounts to amnesty for illegal immigrants because they say there is no guarantee those who join the new temporary worker program would qualify for Green Cards, they would have no advantages if they do apply, and they would be expected to return to their country of birth when their temporary visa expired.

The new program, like other temporary visa programs, would be administered by the Department of Homeland Security in coordination with the Department of Labor and other government departments and agencies.

The White House initiative is modeled after several pending proposals in Congress.

Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, for example, has called for a temporary worker program if employers first posted jobs on the Internet for 14 days to give U.S. citizens first crack at the positions.

It also tracks many proposals advocated by Democrats, who suspect that Bush's true goal is to increase the 35 percent of the Hispanic vote he won in the 2000 presidential election by promoting immigration reform as his first major new policy initiative of the 2004 re-election year.

"I certainly hope the administration's long-awaited re-involvement in this fundamental debate is genuine, and not because of election year conversion," Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday. "The immigration status quo is out-dated, unjust and unacceptable."

"At any time in recent months, a nod from the administration could have brought immediate enactment of two important long-stalled immigration bills with broad bipartisan support in Congress -- the AgJobs Bill, to reach a fair resolution of the controversy and work conditions over jobs in the agriculture industry, and the bill granting permanent residence to undocumented immigrant children who complete high school and go to college or join the military," Kennedy added.

Commuters walk back to Juarez through the Bridge of the Americas port of entry in El Paso, Texas. Among the president's allies in the debate is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backs the White House assertion that there is an "economic need" for new workers.

Randel Johnson, a chamber vice president who deals with immigration issues, said in an interview with CNN Tuesday that including workers who illegally entered the United States is perhaps controversial, but in his view, necessary.

"The reality of it is we are not going to deport all these people," Johnson said. "So we have to come up with something to deal with the situation. Or we can continue to put our head in the sand."

But Colorado Republican Rep. Thomas Tancredo is among the congressional conservatives who promise to fight provisions they view as rewarding lawbreakers.

"People who are here illegally -- they need to be deported," Tancredo told CNN. "People who hire them need to be fined. If they keep doing it they need to be sent to jail, It's against the law."

Show all stories by   Author:  44850 ( Click here )