[Honeykiss1974]

Bush plan grants rights to illegal workers
Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Bush will announce a sweeping expansion of the nation's immigration laws today that could give legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

Bush will ask Congress to approve changes to immigration policy, arguing that they would make the country safer by giving officials a better idea of who is crossing the border, bolster the economy by fulfilling employers' needs and protect illegal workers' rights.

Bush's proposal effectively amounts to an amnesty program for illegal immigrants with jobs in the United States.

Under his plan, an undocumented worker could apply for temporary worker status in the United States for an unspecified number of years, with all the employee benefits, such as minimum wage and due process, accorded to those legally employed.

Workers who are approved would be permitted to travel freely between the United States and their home countries, the officials said, and would also be permitted to apply for a green card granting permanent residency in the United States.

Tim Counts, Minnesota's Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said Tuesday that his office has not received any information about the president's proposal on the local level and could not comment specifically on it.

More green cards

Administration officials said Bush would also propose increasing the number of green cards issued each year, which is now about 140,000.

In a nod to conservatives who oppose any reward to those who enter the United States illegally, Bush is including in his plan incentives -- such as the promise of retirement benefits and the ability to open tax savings accounts -- to entice the workers to return to their home countries.

Under Bush's proposals, workers in other countries could also apply for guest worker status in the United States, provided there was no American to take the job.

Bush also is expected to broadly discuss giving workers from some countries expanded access to Social Security benefits, sources familiar with the plan said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bush's proposal, one administration official said, would "match willing workers with willing employers" and "promote compassion" by fixing what one called "a broken system."

Helping Hispanics

The president's proposals were designed to appeal to Hispanic groups, a critical constituency that the White House has targeted as Bush seeks re-election this year. The proposals will also be embraced by President Vicente Fox of Mexico, who has been lobbying for them for the past three years.

Bush is to meet with Fox at an economic summit next week in Monterrey, Mexico, where immigration will be a significant part of the agenda and Bush's proposals are likely to become a major focus.

But Bush's plans are likely face a tough fight in Congress, where conservative Republicans have said they consider programs like the one the president is proposing nothing more than amnesty for people who have broken the law.

Bush's proposal is closely modeled on legislation introduced last summer by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Jim Kolbe and Rep. Jeff Flake, also Arizona Republicans.

The issue of undocumented workers is a major issue in the state.

"We are ecstatic that they are addressing this," Flake said. "We've maintained all along that you have to deal with both sides of the issue -- those who want to come to the country and those who are here now. We're very happy to see a realistic approach. We deal with it daily, and we have to have a rational policy.'

Immigrant advocacy groups say the president's proposal, known as a "temporary worker program" and outlined by senior administration officials Tuesday night, falls short of comprehensive reform. On the other hand, groups wanting to curb immigration say the president's proposal for a three-year temporary worker plan, rewards foreign workers who broke the law when they entered the United States.

"It's a two-step amnesty," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates strict immigration rules.

"It's not what the folks on the left want, which is a quick green card, but it is an amnesty nonetheless," he said. "It legalizes illegal immigrants and is going to increase the number of green cards so that people will be able to move through the system faster."

"Extremely disappointing," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic immigrant advocacy group.

"It's a serious backtracking to where the president was two years ago when the administration was prepared to provide some kind of path to legal status," she said. "They're proposing to invite people to be guest workers without providing any meaningful opportunity to remain in the United States to become legal permanent residents. It appears to be all about rewarding employers who have been hiring undocumented immigrants while offering almost nothing to the workers themselves."

Jennifer Prestholdt, deputy director of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, said Tuesday she has guarded optimism about Bush's proposal.

"Any kind of serious and comprehensive reform of our immigration policy would be welcomed," she said. "As long as it recognizes that families need to be reunited and it rewards those who have been contributing to our country and their rights."

"It might just be election-year posturing" on Bush's behalf, Prestholdt said.

Staff writer Terry Collins and the Associated Press contributed to this report.