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Bush unveils plan for foreign workers

IMMIGRANTS: They could stay in the USA temporarily, and more could come in, if they have jobs.
By Claire Vitucciand Sharyn Obsatz, The Press-Enterprise, Wednesday, January 7, 2004

The plan would allow millions of immigrant workers now in the country illegally to get work visas for three years. The visas would be renewable for an as-yet-unspecified period. The workers would have to show they have jobs and their employers would have to certify that no Americans can be found to do the work. The plan would also allow employers to bring new workers into the country on the same temporary basis to do jobs that they cannot fill with Americans. At some point, most of the workers would have to return to their native country. The plan does not include a blanket amnesty for undocumented immigrants already in the United States .

WASHINGTON - Thousands of undocumented immigrants working in the United States would be given temporary legal status as part of a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration policy announced by President Bush.

The president's proposed "temporary worker program" aims to legally match foreign workers with U.S. employers. It would free undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation and give them the same employee benefits, such as minimum wage, that other workers get.

The plan, which still must be drafted and then approved by Congress, would allow those living illegally in the United States or those living in foreign countries the right to work legally provided they have a job or job offer. It would also require temporary workers to return to their home countries after their work period was over.

At a special ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Bush said the United States is a welcoming society that depends on immigration. He also stressed that today's policies don't work.

"We must make our immigration laws more rational, and more humane," Bush said. "And I believe we can do so without jeopardizing the livelihoods of American citizens."

Eliseo Medina, the international vice president of the Service Employees International Union, said the president's plan is a good first step.

"We have been extremely concerned with making sure that we have an immigration system that recognizes their hard work and allows them to come out of the shadows of society and be able to live a life without fear of deportation," Medina said.

Bush also wants to increase the nation's annual allotment of green cards, now about 140,000 a year, which allow for permanent U.S. residency. But he didn't say how much it should be increased. The waiting list is years long and millions of people deep. Bush's plan doesn't put temporary workers ahead of those already waiting for green cards. And administration officials said that some temporary workers who apply for green cards but don't receive them before their temporary status expires would be forced to leave the country.

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