Bush Would Open U.S. to Guest Workers

President Bush said Wednesday that his proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws would lift millions of undocumented workers from lives of exploitation, but criticism from some immigrant advocates and opposition from within his own party could block its enactment.

Bush said the current system that consigns as many as 11 million illegal immigrants to a shadowy existence is “wrong” and “not the American way.” Instead, he proposed a new guest worker program that would be open to illegal immigrants already here and to prospective workers abroad.

“Our nation needs an immigration system that serves the American economy and reflects the American dream,” Bush said in a speech in the East Room of the White House before an audience that included many Latino guests.

Most of the guest workers would be expected to go home eventually, and there would be no guarantee of green cards or U.S. citizenship. Under the plan, illegal immigrants already here and foreign workers abroad would be able to apply for a three-year work permit, which would be renewable at least once. Those already in the United States would have to pay a registration fee, to be set in consultation with Congress.

Workers would be allowed to switch jobs and to move from one type of work to another. Those already here would have to show that they were employed to gain recognition as guest workers. Those coming from abroad would be able to bring family members, if they could support them.

The election-year proposal drew immediate criticism. Democrats, labor unions and some Latino leaders said it would leave many immigrants unable to gain citizenship and would put too much power in the hands of employers.

Republican proponents of restrictive immigration laws said it was too generous.

However, some immigrant advocates and Latino leaders said the president had taken a positive step by tackling the issue.

On Capitol Hill, few expected that such an ambitious -- and preliminary -- proposal could be passed this year, given the compressed legislative schedule and the highly partisan political climate.

“I’m glad the president is engaging on this issue,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-North Hollywood), a leader on immigration issues. “But there are fatal flaws that need to be corrected.”

Bush called Mexican President Vicente Fox to personally brief him on the proposal. Fox called the plan “very interesting,” but withheld formal comment.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said officials from Mexico and the United States were studying the plan and would give Bush and Fox a list of suggestions and a timetable next week when the two meet at an economic summit in Monterrey, Mexico.

Derbez called the Bush plan “the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end,” and said it would not do enough to protect undocumented Mexicans in the United States.

Outside the Home Depot store on Macarthur Boulevard in Santa Ana, construction worker Luis Rodriguez, 25, said he wondered whether he would get any benefit as a day laborer. “The employers only need us for a short time, so I can’t see anyone trying to help someone like me,” Rodriguez said. “I hope I’m wrong.”

But Santa Ana resident Ernesto Salas, 34, was pleased. “This opens the door to everyone,” he said. “It is good that Bush has realized the accomplishments of immigrants and what we are doing for this country.”

Even if no legislation is enacted this year, Bush’s speech serves as confirmation that the social and economic contradictions of large-scale illegal immigration are once again being treated as a serious national problem.

The exact number of illegal immigrants is unknown, but most estimates range from 8 million to 11 million. Nearly 70% are Mexican, and more than 80% are from Latin America. California is home to more than 2 million illegal immigrants, the highest undocumented population of any state.

Portraying Latinos generally as the modern-day heirs of America’s immigrant tradition, Bush said that even undocumented workers deserved the protection of U.S. laws, and he acknowledged that entire sectors of the economy could not function efficiently without them.

“Reform must begin by confronting a basic fact of life and economics: Some of the jobs being generated in America’s growing economy are jobs American citizens are not filling,” he said.

Bush deplored the exploitation of undocumented workers by smugglers who lead them on dangerous routes across the desert and by unscrupulous employers who pay sub-minimum wages for long hours of work.

“We must make our immigration laws more rational and more humane,” he said.

The president’s plan was presented as an outline, not a prescription. Key details that could make or break immigration legislation would be worked out with Congress. In the Senate, the Foreign Relations Committee has already scheduled hearings for later this month.

Bush’s concept looks somewhat like a funnel. At its broad opening, it would take in large numbers of people. The president set no limit on the number of temporary workers who could come, provided the jobs they took were not being filled by Americans. But the channel leading to U.S. citizenship would be narrow, he suggested.

Immigration laws are already complex. The administration will ask Congress for an increase in the number of green cards that can be issued to immigrants coming here to work. But the number has yet to be determined, and the president went out of his way to lower expectations that guest workers would easily become permanent residents and, eventually, citizens.

“I oppose amnesty, placing undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship,” Bush said. “America is a welcoming country, but citizenship should not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America.”

Under Bush’s plan, guest workers would be protected by U.S. wage and workplace safety laws. They would be able to travel freely between the U.S. and their countries. Bush also proposed tax-free savings accounts that guest workers could cash out when they returned to their homelands. Social Security taxes would be credited to workers under their countries’ retirement systems.

Immigrant workers would be able to apply for green cards that would put them on a path to citizenship, but they would not be guaranteed acceptance.

“They will not be given unfair advantage over people who have followed legal procedures from the start,” Bush said.

Some Latino groups found that too restrictive.

“It’s not like we’re saying there’s got to be amnesty for everyone, but there has to be some innovative mechanism to allow for adjustment of status for those who are in the United States,” said Gabriela Lemus, policy director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest Latino civil-rights organization. “That is far more important to us than bringing in new workers. We have to protect the people who are already here.”

Berman said he was concerned that Bush’s plan would put too much power in the hands of employers. They could help -- or hinder -- a guest worker by deciding whether to sponsor the immigrant for a green card. “It’s a recipe for continued abuse and exploitation,” he said.

But Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-Texas), a proponent of more restrictive immigration policies, said the Bush plan was a recipe of a different sort, one that would continue to encourage illegal immigration.

Although a crackdown on employers who continued to hire illegal immigrants was part of Bush’s plan, Smith said he was skeptical that would happen.

“Gradual amnesty for illegal aliens rewards those who have broken the law and encourages more illegal immigration,” said Smith. “The loud message broadcast to the world is: Get in illegally and we’ll make it easy for you to stay.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Guest worker program

How President Bush’s immigration plan would work:

* Foreign workers living abroad and illegal immigrants already in the country could apply to a new guest worker program that would allow them to work in the United States for three years, with the possibility of at least one extension.

* The guest workers could apply for green cards to put them on a path to U.S. citizenship, but they would not get priority or special advantage over other applicants.

* Illegal immigrants already in the country would have to show they were working and pay a registration fee, of an amount yet to be set, to join the guest worker program. They would also have to pass a background check.

* Foreign workers living abroad could apply for jobs U.S. employers have been unable to fill with American workers. The jobs would be posted on a government database. Industry cooperatives, foreign governments and labor services companies are expected to assist in screening foreign workers and matching them with U.S. jobs. There would be no cap on the number of guest workers.

* Guest workers would be able to switch jobs. They would be protected by U.S. minimum wage and workplace safety rules and could contribute to retirement programs and open bank accounts. The U.S. would seek an agreement with Mexico that would give workers credit under the Mexican retirement system for contributions to Social Security.

* Guest workers could travel between the U.S. and their countries. Family members could join them here, if the worker can demonstrate that they would be financially supported. Family members could not work in the U.S. unless they join the guest worker program.

* The government would increase immigration enforcement along the borders and in the interior of the country. Companies that continue to hire illegal immigrants could expect prosecution. The U.S. would seek Mexico’s cooperation in halting illegal border crossings.

Sources: The White House; Times staff reports

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Times staff writers Richard Boudreaux in Mexico City and Jennifer Mena in Santa Ana contributed to this report.