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US Immigration News

01-17-2004 > George W. Bush proposed a new immigration policy

Our office welcomes the new immigration reform proposal. We look forward to the Congress and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services implementing it in the near future. We are available for consultations to explain the proposed plan and how it will affect immigrants and businesses that employ immigrants. Please schedule a phone consultation and Immigration Attorney will call you at your convenient time and guide you in the right direction.

President Bush will propose a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws on Wednesday that could give legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States, senior administration officials said Tuesday night.

Under this proposal, which effectively amounts to an amnesty program for illegal immigrants with jobs in the United States, an undocumented worker could apply for temporary worker status here for an unspecified number of years, with all the employee benefits, like 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.

Administration officials said that Mr. Bush would also propose increasing the number of green cards issued each year, which is now about 140,000, but they did not provide a specific number. The administration officials, who briefed reporters in a conference call on Tuesday night, said only that Mr. Bush would ask for a "reasonable increase."

Mr. Bush's proposal, one administration official said, would "match willing workers with willing employers" and would "promote compassion" by fixing what one called "a broken system." The officials declined to call it an amnesty program.

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

But the president's plans are expected to 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.

We are ecstatic that they are addressing this and 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."

This proposals apply to all illegal immigrants in the United States, which officials estimate at 8 million to 14 million people. About 60 percent are thought to be Mexican. Mr. Bush entered office with immigration reform at the top of his foreign policy agenda, and in the late summer of 2001 various guest worker proposals were under discussion by United States and Mexican officials. But the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks led to increased concerns about the safety of America's borders and derailed the negotiations.

Under this proposals, an undocumented worker and an employer would have to apply for the guest worker program hand in hand, with the employer serving as the sponsor for the worker. There would also be a fee to register for the program, but officials would not say how much that would be.

The plan also includes incentives for workers to return to their countries, like a promise of retirement benefits there based on income earned in the United States.

Critics of this proposal noted that unless the White House sought, and obtained, a large increase in the number of green cards issued each year, many of the undocumented workers who apply under the president's program could face an extended wait for residency, 10 to 20 years, by some estimates.

Administration officials acknowledge that the wait for a green card could take up to six years or longer, meaning that some guest workers who apply for green cards but do not receive them before their guest worker status expires would face the prospect of being forced to leave the United States. In that case, critics of the proposal said Tuesday night, workers would be better off remaining illegal and staying indefinitely in the United States, rather than revealing themselves to immigration officials when they sign up for a program that may, these critics assert, lead to their deportation.

The gist of the policy is this: George Bush would enact measures that could potentially provide legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States. Bush's proposals would give renewable three-year visas to illegal immigrants already working in the United States; additionally, foreign applicants who are newly hired for jobs in the U.S. could also apply for legal status.

But, what are the catches for illegal aliens: First, businesses would have to show that no Americans want the jobs available before they bring in temporary workers from abroad. Second, immigrants might be put in a weak position, as their visas would be connected to their employers. Further, for illegal immigrants, the new proposal, if the aliens applied, would allow the government to keep tabs on the alien. After three years, if the government doesn't renew the temporary visa, the immigrant could be deported. Also, the policy is unclear on whether or not immigrants could ever apply for permanent citizenship.

There are many advantages to immigrants, however. First and foremost, the policy would more or less grant amnesty to millions of undocumented workers, allowing them - at least for the three year period the visa is in effect - to travel freely between their homes countries and the United States. Moreover, as a legal immigrant, the worker would get the same rights to minimum wage and due process.

Bush has also proposed that the United States increase the level of green cards issued each year.

Bush will outline the plan in his State of the Union speech, and Congress is expected to fill in the details. There is no telling whether or not Congress will ultimately pass Bush's proposal. As of now, it is not binding law.