Guest worker program needed, Bush official says

By Donna Smith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tougher border security alone will
not stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States,
administration officials told Congress on Tuesday as they made
a case for President Bush’s proposed guest worker program.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the
Senate Judiciary Committee that halting illegal immigration
required providing a legal way for migrant workers to gain
legal temporary employment as well as greater control of the
border and enforcement of workplace laws.

“It would be enormously difficult if we were to attempt to
control illegal immigration at the border without having some
legal avenue to address the fact that there is a high demand
for non-U.S. people to come in and perform certain kinds of
jobs,” Chertoff said.

Each year, more than 1 million undocumented migrants
attempt to slip across the rivers and deserts that mark the
2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border in search of work in the United
States. Almost half of them come through Arizona.

Bush’s proposed a guest worker program has raised concern
among conservative Republicans because some of the estimated 8
million to 12 million undocumented workers already in the
country would be able to qualify for the program.

Chertoff and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao told the committee
that Bush’s plan would give no amnesty to illegal aliens or
provide a pathway for those workers to gain permanent residence
or citizenship.

“We do not support an automatic pathway to citizenship,”
Chao said.

ELIMINATING ‘CATCH AND RELEASE’

Chertoff said additional border patrol agents approved by
Congress would help the agency. He said he also was pushing to
end the practice of catching illegal immigrants and releasing
them in the United States on bond.

Illegal migrants from Mexico who are caught are returned
immediately, but people from other countries have an 80 percent
chance of being released because the agency lacks the
facilities to hold them, he said.

“Our goal at DHS is to completely eliminate the ‘catch and
release’ enforcement problem, and return every single illegal
entrant,” Chertoff said.

Immigration has become a high priority for the
Republican-led Congress, although the issue divides Republicans
and lawmakers say they expect no action on a bill until next
year.

Some Republicans back an approach supported by many
Democrats that would provide a path to legal permanent status
for those who have been living and working in the United States
for years.

Other Republicans back a temporary worker program but
reject any amnesty for those already in the country. A number
of Republicans want to focus on enforcement and border
controls.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican,
told reporters that while some border security issues may come
first, “we will do a comprehensive immigration bill.”