some details of Pres. Bush proposal re immigrant workers

[Guest guest]

Of interest. This article doesn't analyze much. Colleagues' comments would be helpful to us all.

tina.castanares@...

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February 13, 2004

Officials Discuss Details of Bush's Immigrant Worker Plan

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 — Government officials outlined details of the Bush administration's sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws on Thursday, saying that the proposed guest worker program would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who were living in the United States on Jan. 7.

The officials, from the Department of Homeland Security, said legal status would also be granted to the families of immigrants participating in the program as long as the workers earned enough to provide for their relatives.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on immigration, the officials urged Congress to pass legislation that would allow illegal immigrants who participate in the program to travel in and out of the United States without restriction. Currently, immigrants who do not have proper documents are barred from re-entering the country for several years.

The guest workers, who would be required to undergo security clearances along with their relatives, would be granted temporary work permits for an initial period of three years. The officials said that the permits could be renewed several times and that the workers could apply for permanent residency without leaving the United States.

Such a provision would provide an incentive for illegal immigrants with spouses or children in the United States to participate in the program even if they have no intention of returning to their home countries in the short term, the officials said.

"The president has indicated that the initial temporary permit ought to be three years, but he indicated it should have the option of renewal," Aguirre, director of immigration services for the Department of Homeland Security, said. "He did not have a cap on that."

"I also don't think the president intends for individuals that are trying to apply for green cards to force them to get out of the country to make that application," Mr. Aguirre said. "I think it's in your power to provide for a feature for those who, as you indicated, have an interest in staying here, to let them apply for a green card and get on a parallel track while they continue to be a temporary worker."

"The president is not interested in separating families," he said.

Mr. Aguirre was testifying along with Asa Hutchinson, an under secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and Law, the deputy secretary in the Labor Department.

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