Congress Tries to Revive Bill on Immigration

Legislative leaders Monday struggled to revive immigration reform legislation--thought dead only days ago--by patching together a fragile compromise on the thorny question of hiring foreign farm workers.

With Congress preparing to adjourn no later than next week, key House Republicans and Democrats gave tentative approval to a revised formula that would allow Western growers to keep much of their seasonal work force, now composed largely of illegal aliens.

Despite the development, however, House and Senate sources indicated that there was considerable confusion over the details of the proposal and cautioned that it could still self-destruct before it reaches the House floor.

A top aide to California Republican Sen. Pete Wilson, who has close ties to farm interests in the state, indicated that growers might not be pleased with some elements of the new plan. Wilson was a key figure in obtaining passage of a version of the immigration bill in the Senate last year, and his opposition could mean trouble in getting a final version of the legislation through the House and out of a House-Senate conference committee.

Aimed at Illegal Aliens

The overall legislation is designed to curb the flood of illegal immigrants into the country by removing the economic incentive that lures them--jobs. Employers would, for the first time, be threatened with fines or jail terms for knowingly hiring a worker who is in the United States illegally. The plan would also offer amnesty to immigrants who have lived here illegally for several years.

Growers claim that they are so dependent on foreign labor that sanctions would effectively destroy their business, leaving crops to rot in the fields. Critics, however, contend that growers simply want to ensure a cheap labor supply for themselves.

Last summer, a House committee agreed to a compromise that would have drastically accelerated amnesty for illegal farm workers to provide a sufficient work force. But the full House rejected that proposal recently, in part because opponents claimed that it was too easy for farm workers to gain legal status and access to welfare benefits.

Work Requirement

The old plan would have granted permanent work permits, called “green cards,” to illegal aliens who could prove that they had worked in agriculture for as little as 60 days between May 1, 1985, and May 1, 1986.

Under the new formula, illegal aliens would have to demonstrate that they had worked 90 days during the same period to stay in the country and would only be eligible for temporary resident status rather than permanent status. Depending on their length of stay in the country, some of these temporary residents would be eligible to become permanent residents in one year, whereas others would have to wait two years.

While holding temporary status, aliens would be ineligible for many welfare benefits.

Wilson championed the much more expansive program in the Senate bill that would allow growers to import large numbers of temporary “guest workers.”