EEUU

Bush planea darle a los inmigrantes status legal

Autor: Mike Allen

Fecha: 7/1/2004

Traductor: Celeste Murillo, especial para P.I.

Fuente: Washington Post

Bush Plan Would Give Immigrants Legal Status

President Bush will propose today an overhaul of immigration laws that would grant temporary legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States and their families as long as the workers can prove they are employed, a senior administration official said last night.

In a White House speech, the president will ask Congress to create a new temporary worker program -- open to undocumented workers now in the United States and to foreigners who want to come -- that would give them legal status for three years, renewable for a yet-to-be-determined number of times, the official said.

Bush's supporters in the business community have made liberalization
of immigration laws a top priority because of a shortage of workers willing to take low-wage jobs. And both political parties see Latino voters, who generally support more liberal immigration policies, as crucial to the November elections. But some congressional conservatives object to looser immigration policies, and a Republican leadership aide predicted that opposition will be swift and loud.

The administration estimates that 8 million undocumented people, more than half of them from Mexico, are in the country. All would qualify as long as an employer will vouch for them, the official said. Administration sources described the program broadly, and lawmakers will determine its details and fate.

"So long as the undocumented person represents that they are working here and we can confirm that, then it could be as many as 8 million people" affected, the official said on a conference call for reporters. The official gave an example of "somebody who is working at the Holiday Inn" illegally. If the employer says, "We're a match, she's been working here as of such-and-such date," then "that person is now legal, let's say, for the three years of this program," the official said.

The temporary workers would receive Social Security cards and would be eligible for driver's licenses in most states, officials said.
The official said the program is designed to "match willing foreign workers with willing U.S. employers when no American can be found to fill those jobs." But if an immigrant is already working in the United States, that requirement will be considered fulfilled, the official said.
The administration also intends to expand the number of people who can obtain a green card, or lawful permanent residency, which begins the path to U.S. citizenship. Bush aides said they have not decided how much they want to expand the program, which now issues about 1 million cards a year.

Aspects of the administration's immigration proposal have emerged in recent days, but last night's briefing outlined a plan that is broader than many lawmakers and immigration advocates had expected. The plan is similar in many respects to legislation introduced by three Arizona Republicans, Sen. John McCain and Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake.
The proposal, Bush's first in his reelection year, would constitute the biggest change to the nation's immigration system in two decades. Bush is unveiling the program five days before meeting in Mexico with President Vicente Fox, who has advocated such changes.

Bush had said during his 2000 campaign that he would make the restructuring of immigration laws a top priority. But those plans were shelved after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the White House began focusing on tightening border controls, and Bush has been virtually silent on immigration for two years.

The official briefing reporters said that under Bush's plan, which he is calling "Fair and Secure Immigration Reform," eligible temporary workers "will be able to travel freely back, to and from their home country," and will "enjoy minimum wage, due process protection" and all the other employment rights of U.S. workers. "It will protect the rights of illegal workers who now live in the shadows and are fearful of coming out of the shadows for fear of deportation," the official said. Dependents would be included if the worker could demonstrate that he or she can support them.

The program includes "incentives for return to the home country," most notably agreements that would allow workers to collect retirement money that would include Social Security checks and benefits paid by their home government, apportioned according to how many quarters they had worked in each country. Social Security money is already sent abroad. But under the current system, the pensioners' home countries can penalize them for years spent in the United States.

Bush also is proposing tax-preferred "savings accounts that could be used for the benefit of the participant for either retirement or for a nest egg to buy land or capitalize a business," the official said.
The official said the administration plans "more strenuous enforcement" of immigration laws on employers and workers. Bush will propose five principles, including "We must protect the homeland by controlling our borders."

Another is to "promote compassion" by making undocumented workers "part of the legitimate part of our economy."
Officials said the program does not include any route that will make it easier for the temporary workers to become full citizens.
Bush has said that he opposes "blanket amnesty." The official said that is not an accurate description of his plan since "there is no linkage between participation in this program and a green card, and it is temporary in nature -- one must go home upon conclusion of the program."

Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group for immigrants, said the program could "result in a large group of second-class citizens who are unable to get on a path to citizenship."