Bush pushes for guest worker program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President George W. Bush said
on Saturday that his proposed guest worker program was an
essential component of a plan to stem the flow of illegal
immigration into the United States.

Bush this week signed a Homeland Security Department
spending bill that included funds to toughen border security
and increase enforcement of immigration laws.

“As we improve and expand our efforts to secure our
borders, we must also recognize that enforcement cannot work
unless it’s part of a comprehensive immigration reform that
includes a temporary worker program,” Bush said in his weekly
radio address.

“If an employer has a job that no American is willing to
take, we need to find a way to fill that demand by matching
willing employers with willing workers from foreign countries
on a temporary and legal basis,” he said.

Bush said he would work with Congress to create a program
that would address U.S. labor needs without granting amnesty to
illegal immigrants.

Bush’s proposal has raised concerns among some of his
fellow Republicans in Congress who worry that the plan would
reward undocumented workers already in the country by allowing
them to qualify for the program.

Immigration has also been a sore spot in U.S.-Mexican
relations. Easing U.S. immigration restrictions for Mexican
workers has been a top priority for Mexican President Vicente
Fox since he took office in 2000.