Debate Erupts Over Foreign Workers

Some question Bush's motives for giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants

Jan. 8, 2003
By Judy Keen and Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Bush's announcement Wednesday that he wants to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants working in the USA launched a political debate about his motives.

Under Bush's proposal, foreign workers who have jobs waiting for them also would be allowed to enter the country legally and stay at least three years.

"America is a stronger and better nation because of the hard work and the faith and the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants," he said. "Our nation needs an immigration system that serves the American economy and reflects the American dream."

The announcement was timed to ease tensions with Mexico before Bush meets next week with President Vicente Fox in Monterrey, Mexico.

It also was part of the Bush political team's re-election plan, a detailed, day-by-day strategy that maps out everything from the issues he discusses to the states he visits this year.

Bush's political strategists hope the immigration proposal will pay off in November. Bush got 35% of Hispanic votes in 2000 and wants more this year. Among his target states are Florida, New Mexico and Arizona, which have large Hispanic populations.

The proposal was greeted skeptically by some conservative Republicans, who complained that Bush's plan amounts to amnesty for lawbreakers. "It is dangerous to offer additional incentives and rewards for illegal immigration while giving only lip service to border security," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said.

Employers, who would benefit from a larger pool of low-wage workers, generally welcomed the plan. Among groups endorsing it were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association.

The president's move was criticized by organized labor, groups that favor immigration curbs and congressional Democrats. Democrats questioned whether Bush will follow through and push his idea in Congress or whether, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi put it, it is "election-year window dressing."

Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe said that rather than providing a way for guest workers to gain citizenship, Bush "is guaranteeing their deportation" when they leave their jobs.

Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza, an advocacy group for Hispanics, dismissed the proposal as "piñata politics," an appeal to Hispanic voters that doesn't deliver what's promised.

Republicans in Congress said privately that the test of Bush's motives and likelihood of passage will depend on the effort he puts into winning approval. He worked hard for a new prescription-drug benefit for Medicare recipients; he has done little to achieve his 2000 campaign promise to reform Social Security.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, top Democrat on an immigration subcommittee, said Bush "is going to have to expend enormous political capital on this."

Contributing: William M. Welch in Washington and Deborah Sharp in Fort Lauderdale

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